Customer Reviews

Pursuit Of Freedom: A True Story Of The Enduring Power Of Hope & Dreams

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This is an excellent true story about a 13 year old girl escaping Hungary in 1957. It portrays the author who was born in 1944 and what her life was like during the tail end of the Nazis and the beginnings of Communisim. The book begins with her mother telling about living under the Nazi rule and it goes back and fouth between the mother and daughter revealing both perspectives of their lives in Hungary and their escape to freedom. It also reveals what life was like for Hungarian refugees in other parts of the world after leaving Hungary.

I highly recommend it for anyone interested in Hungary during the mid-1900's and to read first-hand what life was like for the refugees. It's a very readable and emotional book.

Pursuit Of Freedom: A True Story Of The Enduring Power Of Hope And Dreams is the compelling autobiography of Susanne M. Reyto. She tells of life in Hungary, and the ravages that the nation faced - first from the Nazis, then from the rapacious claims of Communism, which exhorted taking from the people to give to the party. Families were torn apart; respected citizens were ostracized, and author Susanne Reyto had to navigate the treacherous environment to build her own life, and cling to hope amidst darkness all around. A moving true story of human endurance and the will to realize one's dreams.

We must learn from past history to better appreciate what we have today. Freedom is precious and we must preserve it. On the death of President Reagan we are reminded of his statement, "Mr Gorbachev, tear this wall down!" These words helped open the door to freedom for millions of people. This personal journey describes what life without freedom meant and what this family and others had to endure under two oppressive regimes, Nazism and Communism. A must read for young and old; better than a text book.

Ultimately, PURSUIT OF FREEDOM is a vivid & compelling account of life under tyranny, glimpsed through the day-to-day struggle to survive, the guesses at the shifting of stifling oppression, & the dangers through which millions of Hungarians, Jew & Gentile alike, never made it to personal freedom. Susanna Reyto's family did, suddenly & surprisingly in 1957: first to Austria, & then to Italy where they boarded a ship for Australia, to new names & new lives. The best form of revenge is to live well & prosper while those who made you their enemy, perish.

Rebeccasreads highly recommends PURSUIT OF FREEDOM as an enthralling, if occasionally repetitive, tapestry of family memories. The surviving black & white snapshots tell a thousand stories. What Susanna's family lived through: the invasion of by Hitler's army & its determination to exterminate Hungarian Jews; then the victorious Soviet Army, after which the Communist Party's tyranny destroying a prosperous post-WWII society, is an ugly era in our global story. One which has much bearing on this time of terrorism & religious tyranny in such societies as Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran & North Korea. It also serves to remind us that we forget the stories of our past at our peril. It gripped me from page one & didn't let go until its final pages.

Outstanding! & elegantly presented with a lovely red ribbon bookmark.

I loved reading this inspiring story. It shows how perseverance and optimism helps to overcome adversity. I recommended it to friends, all of them bought it and loved it and shared it with their children; A more interesting way of learning history.