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Egon Balas

Will to Freedom: A Perilous Journey Through Fascism and Communism Hardcover – January 1, 2000

by Egon Balas (Author)

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Will to Freedom is an eyewitness account of the social and political upheaval that shook Eastern Europe from the mid-1930s to the mid-1960s. As an underground resistance fighter, political prisoner, fugitive, and Communist Party official, Egon Balas charts his journey from idealistic young Communist to disenchanted dissident.

Attracted by its anti-Nazi stance, Balas joined the Hungarian Communist Party in 1942, after Hungary had entered the war on Hitler’s side. He helped organize work stoppages and distributed antiwar leaflets. In his memoir, he offers a compelling account first of his eventual imprisonment and ordeal under torture and then of his escape and life in hiding.

Print length

469 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Syracuse University Press
Publication date

January 1, 2000
Dimensions

6.08 x 1.22 x 9.05 inches
ISBN-10

0815606036
ISBN-13

978-0815606031
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Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

"Deeply moving, rich with information and insight." - Elie Wiesel

"Egon Balas recalls all that happened in vivid detail - their names, the places, the underground resisters, the enemy collaborators, the narrow escapes, the tortures, the betrayals, and forced confessions The few who, by a quirk of fate, survived." - George B. Dantzig, Stanford University

"A welcome reminder that a highly intelligent, stubbornly courageous, and lucky human spirit will sometimes prevail over baneful forces." - Herbert A. Simon, Carnegie Mellon University

"[Balas] takes the reader from his Transylvanian school years and early Communist commitment through a fascist prison in Budapest to imprisonment in a Romanian Communist prison, all the way to a brilliant academic career in the United States. Few writers have discussed more dramatically what it meant to be a political idealist of Jewish background in the turmoils of Nazism and Stalinism in East Central Europe." - Istvan Deak, Seth Low Professor of History, Columbia University

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Syracuse University Press; First edition (January 1, 2000)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 469 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0815606036
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0815606031
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.75 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.08 x 1.22 x 9.05 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #4,467,401 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #7,180 in Jewish Holocaust History
- #16,859 in Historical European Biographies (Books)
- #28,578 in United States Biographies

Customer Reviews:
18 ratings

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Mark W.

Interesting insights into a country controlled by Nazis, then by Soviet communists

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on July 5, 2022

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A fascinating and well-written autobiography. Four years in prison, two by the Nazis for being a communist and two by the Soviets for not being enough of a communist. He spent much of his time in prison having to write "confessions" of his past life and contacts and what was discussed in great detail in order to try to capture other dissidents. Thus, his autobiography is sprinkled with many surprising details. He was a gifted mathematician and operations researcher and he describes his academic journey in these fields.

Helpful

Brilliance and bravery saved him

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on October 19, 2001

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If ever I get imprisoned I'll remember to use a coffee-stained napkin and stale bread to make a chess set. I also learned from Egan Balas that to exercise in a confined space one takes an odd number of steps - else one walks in circles. Algorithmic ingenuity enabled him to successfully take up mathematics in his late 30s, against the conventional wisdom that good mathematicians do their work when young, and become an outstanding professor of industrial administration, applied mathematics and operations research at Carnegie Mellon University.
He tells stories of his lives - escaping death narrowly - "according to my own taste", making it one of the most compelling biographies I have ever read.
This would be an extraordinary thriller if it were fiction - but it's not, it's real. The highly personal account of how a Transylvian Jew became a revolutionary worker, a dapper diplomat, a tortured prisoner and a creative academic takes one through some absolutely awful scenes. Balas' craftiness enabled him to survive and his toughness under severe torture protected his friends. This is not some second hand account of Communist and Nazi hate, Balas drags the reader through his pain and suffering. There are happier moments - such as when he comes out of prison and addresses his daughter - not realizing that he's speaking to a younger sibling born in his absence and that his daughter has grown considerably.
For anyone who wants to understand willpower and survival in Hungary and Romania during the 2nd world war this is a must read. Besides historical interest, the story's suspense makes it an ideal gift for thriller and spy story readers.

4 people found this helpful

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S. Shen

inspiring legend from a sagacious elder

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on April 17, 2008

Verified Purchase

I am a PhD student doing Operations Research - more specificly, Mixed Integer Programming - that is why I purchased this book, just because of the curiousity about the autobiography of a brilliant mathematician in our field.

I started this book in the end of Feb and couldn't help stopping digging into his unbelievable and inspiring life stories and have already started the third time. Everytime I get new gains and thoughts. First, it is definitely a good encouragement for my research work, by his enthusiasm and passion for knowledge and mathematics; in addition, I always can judge my attitude to life and people by learning from his experience and his eternal optimistic awareness. Here is a book, where you can find faith, justice, intelligence, honesty and love.

6 people found this helpful

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Kathy R

Good reading for somebody interested in Eastern European history

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on April 29, 2019

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Well written autobiographical novel! It is an interesting reading for anybody who want to have knowledge about life under communist dictatorship in an Eastern European country. It is history of this part of the world!

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Lenore

the difference between equality,feedom, socialist economy, capital economy, and opportunity

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on August 14, 2019

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I liked the scientific approach to writing the book and subject matter.

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CF

outstanding human being, inspiring to follow his autobiography

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on April 6, 2015

Verified Purchase

This autobiography is mindblowing. Explained in a plain and captivating style, it brings us to how past generations have endured (and fought) terrible times. Egon Balas is an increadible person from which we should all learn.

One person found this helpful

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CJB

Incredible Story, Great Man

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on August 28, 2012

Verified Purchase

This book has opened my eyes and made me so thankful for my life. Dr. Balas, his family, and his friends have experienced so much terror and yet have been able to adapt and remain optimistic. I've read a lot of memoirs about World War II, genocide, etc., but this gave a different perspective.

One person found this helpful

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HarapAlb

Representative tale of what communism actually was

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on April 21, 2022

The story and the spirit of the main character were spectacular (autobiography) and ties to other similar tales of Lena Constante and Harry Brauner. Apart from a great exhilirating story, it's also explanatory of the joke now sedimented in the common psyche of 'davai ceas'. As relevant as ever given Eastern Europe's panic in regards to the invasion of Ukraine.

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Will to Freedom: A Perilous Journey Through Fascism and Communism Hardcover – January 1, 2000

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