Vera and the Ambassador: Escape and Return

Vera and the Ambassador is a quick and wonderful read. Vera is the most charming, open and insightful autobiographer I have read. Vera's story is powerful and timeless. Donald's story is an outstanding primer for political appointees and the career folks in government who serve with them. The honesty and intimacy in this lovely book makes it a delightful and quick read. Its also a love story - not just between Vera and the Ambassador - but between a mother and a daughter. Wonderful. Timeless.

President Clinton appointed financial banker Donald Blinken as the American ambassador to, Hungary. Mr. Clinton selected Mr. Blinken because the President understood the fledgling democracy would need someone who could help the country adjust to the global economy and Donald's wife Vera was born and raised in Budapest; as a child she and her mom fled just after WWII ended and the Soviets brought down the Iron Curtain. This memoir provides alternating insider looks at Hungary during a critical adjustment point. Rotating perspectives, Donald's sections enable the reader to obtain a glimpse at world events impacting the former Communist nation such as joining NATO and helping with the Bosnia crisis. Vera's entries are more personal as she compares the 1990s Budapest to her memoirs of living there in the 1940s. VERA AND THE AMBASSADOR is one of the best autobiographies in recent years, as readers will appreciate the couples' take on the 1990s in East Europe with Hungary as their prime focus as well as the historical viewpoint of how much the capital changed in four plus decades of Soviet rule. Harriet Klausner

An enthralling true account of two lives brought together by the tumultuous events of the second half of the 20th century. Their individual voices, trading off chapters, convey the personal drama they each experienced, alone and then together. Vera's dramatic story of escaping Hungary to find refuge in the U.S. is riveting and unforgettable. Donald's recounting of the cataclysmic events leading up to and following the fall of the Berlin Wall is equally compelling. Their shared tale of living in a rapidly changing, post- Iron curtain Hungary, as the American ambassador and wife, reveals a world not known to most citizens about the enormous personal sacrifice, dedication, and influence, these, our overseas representatives make year in-and- out. Fascinating and illuminating, the book records a significant time in history recorded by two very remarkable individuals.

I found this a very touching and informative book. Vera Blinken's descriptions of her wartime experiences in Hungary were moving, and her courage in confronting them was inspiring. I would have liked to know even more about her personal growth in addressing these issues. I also very much enjoyed reading about Donald's and Vera's experiences in Hungary at such a formative time in its development. Donald's diplomatic abilities and Vera's American/Hungarian sensitivities made them a formidable team.

You have heard about millionaires who "purchase" Ambassadorships to London or Paris for their personal pleasure/prestige. Now read the true story of an American couple who simply wanted to help Hungary recover from its nightmare years of Communism. They felt they could contribute both to America's foreign relations and the Hungarian people by serving the US Government in that country. The political difficulties they confronted in Washington, D.C. make their successes in Budapest seem easy! This is the inspiring story of a devoted couple who worked together effectively to make a small part of the world a better place. And as Vera (Mrs. Blinken) was a refugee from Hungary, educated in the USA, she recounts the history and progress of her native land with accuracy and compassion. Ambassador Donald Blinken, whose keen business intelligence enabled him to assist in the rise of free market capitalism in Hungary, as well as American participation in it, often comments on how much he was helped by Vera's fluency in Hungarian and her understanding of it culture. It is a pleasure to read, for a change, Good News!