Young Men Go West: The Hungarian Revolution of 1956 and One Teenager's Risky Escape (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9781964781037)

This debut nonfiction is a winner of the 19th annual National Indie Excellence Awards.

On October 23, 1956, 200,000 people took to the streets of Budapest, Hungary, to protest the oppressive communist regime. But when the secret police began killing the unarmed student protestors, they turned into freedom fighters and fought back.

For almost three weeks, the freedom fighters - most of whom were in their teens and twenties - waged guerrilla warfare against the Soviets and Hungarian secret police. They fought bravely, even when they knew they didn't have a chance.

Over 190,000 people fled Hungary on foot after the revolution, including the author's grandfather, Joseph, who was 16. He and his brother escaped, fearing it would be worse if they stayed. They were caught at the border, and had to go on alone, not knowing each other's fate. The Hungarian refugee crisis of 1956/1957 was an extraordinary exhibition of the power of the international community that has never been replicated.

Young Men Go West is a blended narrative nonfiction of Joseph's escape, and a historical nonfiction of the Hungarian Revolution. His story is one of both fear and optimism; and the collective story of the Hungarians' plight for freedom is one of loathing for the Soviets and of their courage in the fight for sovereignty.