Preface

The scene: Budapest. A hot summer evening. Looking across the Danube, with a view of the eastern bank.

In the cover photo showing this pastel-colored European scene, what's the first building that jumps out at you? Almost certainly it's the Parliament building on the left. The massive neo-Gothic building catches the eye with its graceful dome, thrusting spires, dozens of exterior statues and other ornate embellishments—and catches the eye all the more so because it stands in stark contrast to the more utilitarian buildings around it on the Danube waterfront.

Why the difference? For one thing, the Parliament building was completed in 1902; the other stark, utilitarian buildings largely date from Hungary's stark and utilitarian Communist era, ...

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