Customer Reviews

Fin De Millenaire Budapest: Metamorphoses of Urban Life (Globalization and Community, V. 8)

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From an architectural standpoint, Budapest is one of the world's most beautiful cities, and the fall of Communism has forced the city to endure a painful transition to a free-market economy. For most of the population, it has not been an easy ride. Bodnar, herself Hungarian, discusses such topics as the privatization of state-owned housing and the resulting inequities. She describes the uneven way in which the private sector has renovated historic buildings. Another chapter is devoted to Moscow Square, which mirrors the fall of Communism as it fills up with beggars, illegal immigrants, and pedlars. Shopping malls, gated communities in the suburbs, and the privatization of movie theaters are other topics that also receive detailed attention.

I'm reluctant to criticize a book like this where the author has put her heart and soul into a topic that is dear to her. But be forewarned that this is a scholarly, academic study, including the application of statistical regression, that is unlikely to appeal to most readers.