1956
The World in Revolt

During my forty two year teaching career my students repeatedly complained when I used the term “watershed date” in class. There are certain dates in history that deserve that characterization, i.e.; 1648 the dividing line between the Medieval and the modern, 1789 the year of revolution and of cours......more

Wide ranging and very readable look at an epic year of the Cold War. 1956 is well known for the Hungarian Uprising and the Suez Crisis which to some extent overshadowed other key events that were equally seismic in their impact. Simon Hall’s book pulls together many seemingly disparate events includi......more

found it by chance and then couldn't put down; while we know how things turned out, the author manages a lot of suspense plus many details one usually learns only in specialized books the current fashion for year books (1945, 1946, now 1956) or short periods with a thematic (outside the usual WW1/WW2......more

I had usually thought of the 1950s as a fairly quiet and conservative period of time. Possibly that was because I was only four years old when the 1950s began and 14 when they ended. Maybe I was not paying attention although I do remember listening to Fidel Castro in Cuba on my short wave radio. This......more

A fascinating review of one of the most eventful years in history. 1956. It was a year of revolution, war, struggle and hope for the people living through it. War in Algeria and Egypt, revolution attempts in Poland and Hungary and civil rights struggles in America. One word that summarises the outco......more