THE PICNIC: A DREAM OF FREEDOM AND THE COLLAPSE OF THE IRON CURTAIN (W.W. Norton, 2024)

The gripping story of a collective passion for freedom that shook the world.

In August 1989, a group of Hungarian activists organized a picnic on the border of Hungary and Austria. But this was not an ordinary picnic—it was located on the dangerous militarized frontier known as the Iron Curtain. Tacit permission from the highest state authorities could be revoked at any moment. On wisps of rumor, thousands of East German “vacationers” packed Hungarian campgrounds, awaiting an opportunity, fearing prison, surveilled by lurking Stasi agents.

The Pan-European Picnic set the stage for the greatest border breach in Cold War history: hundreds crossed from the Communist East to the longed-for freedom of the West. The fall of the Berlin Wall, the end of the Soviet Union—the so-called end of history—all would flow from those dramatic hours. Drawing on exclusive interviews, Matthew Longo gives an invaluable account of historical change, and the disillusionment that followed, as emotionally powerful as it is revealing.

Winner of the 2024 Orwell Prize for Political Writing

One of Slate‘s Ten Best Books of 2023 • A New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice • A Kirkus Reviews Best Nonfiction Book of 2023

“Longo’s engaging account of the fall of the Soviet empire focuses on ordinary protesters like the organizers of a picnic attended by hundreds on the border between Austria and Hungary in 1989.” —New York Times Editor’s Choice

“The true charm of Mr. Longo’s book, and its greatest historical value, lies in his accounts of ordinary citizens—mostly East German—who sought to throw off their Communist shackles by fleeing west at great personal peril. We also owe him a debt for resuscitating the Picnic, now “largely omitted from history books, pushed aside by the macroscopic politics of the end of the Cold War.”” –Tunku Varadarajan, Wall Street Journal

 “An elegantly crafted account of an extraordinary but largely forgotten August 1989 gathering….[Longo] quickly proves himself an unusual sort of political scientist, evincing a philosophical bent, a gift for poetic turns of phrase, and a knack for gaining the trust of widely varying interview subjects…. he provides food for thought relating to both timeless questions of struggle and agency, and topics in the headlines today. Like many good works of history, it can be mined for sources of hope— and lead to dark reflections about ironic shifts.” –Jeffrey Wasserstrom, Boston Globe

 “A terrific work of history that also becomes a meditation on what freedom means and how tyrannies fall, The Picnic adopts and explicates a wry Hungarian proverb: ‘The future is certain. It’s the past that keeps changing.’” –Dan Kois, Slate

“This little gem of a book tells the story of…a key Cold War moment…Longo’s vivid narrative captures the tension of the moment…an intensely moving story that explores the nature of freedom.” –Victor Sebestyen, Sunday Times

“A pivotal – and exhilarating – moment in late 20th-century history…Matthew Longo’s thoughtful and vividly realised book skillfully dramatises the extraordinary chain of events at a summer party in Hungary that led to the end of Soviet power…it recreates, through intimate personal histories and eye-witness recollection, the ways in which one idealistic, grass roots protest…became a catalyst for the dramatic peaceful revolutions that reunited the continent…gripping.” –Tim Adams, Observer

“Longo covers the Picnic at ground level, evoking the dramatic events in vivid colour…Anecdotes and impressions…are woven through the historical narrative, providing an insight into how deeply this history still matters today…the chain of events in 1989 and its historical context are outlined with clarity and verve. The narrative is spiked with Longo’s commentary and anecdotes from his trips, making The Picnic a deeply personal account of a fascinating milestone of Cold War history.” –Katja Hoyer, Telegraph 

“Fascinating and revelatory…The significance of the picnic has never before been documented, certainly not with this level of diligence and testimony, and Longo’s engrossing and dramatic book adds a new, captivating chapter to the history of the Cold War.” –William Boyd, New Statesman

“A brisk and engaging account, told in a lively blend of novelistic narration and reportage and featuring interviews with a number of people closely involved in these historic events…It’s an uplifting tale, but Longo takes care not to oversentimentalise it.” –Houman Barekat, Guardian

“The most brilliant history allows an experience either forgotten or missed to feel close and vivid—as if we were there. Longo’s writing reanimates the heady days of freedom of 1989 and reflects on what was missed in that extraordinary year, on how inarticulate solidarities have since eroded to the detriment of everyone, and on how confining walls could fall even as durable institutions of freedom were not built in their place.” — Samuel Moyn, author of Humane

“Full of insight and empathy. intimate and compelling, The Picnic is beautifully written and ingeniously plotted. Like all the best books about the past, it brings the present compellingly to life.” — Patrick McGuinness, author of The Last Hundred Days

 “A compelling, poignant, beautifully textured retelling of the collapse of communism in Central Europe through the personal ordeals, trepidations, longings, and disenchantments of its participants — culminating in a heartfelt rethinking of the meaning of 1989 for the world today.” — Stephen Holmes, co-author of The Light that Failed

 “Exhilarating…With vivid detail, Longo brings to life the defiance and courage of the Picnic’s activist organizers and the hundreds of East German refugees who fled Hungary that day. A gem of a book, filled with timely and compelling insights into the power of ordinary people and the limitations of authoritarianism.” –Clarissa Ward, author of On All Fronts

“One of the best books on Cold War history.” — Nelson DeMille, author of The Maze

“A fascinating reconstruction of the extraordinary moment in 1989, when the spontaneous actions and inactions of a few individuals made history swing wide open on its hinges. With the gifts of a fine documentarian, Longo makes that great moment of collective hopes newly vivid, and the extent to which those hopes remain unfulfilled freshly urgent.” -Philip Gourevitch, author of We Wish to Inform You that Tomorrow We Will Be Killed with Our Families

 “Extensively documented, well written, and thoughtful in its consideration of what freedom means, this book is an informative and engaging history of the event, its origins, and the aftermath…A much-needed reminder of the inexhaustibility of the human quest for personal and collective freedom.” –Kirkus (starred review)

 US Publicity: Kyle Radler (W.W. Norton)

UK Publicity: Joe Pickering (Bodley Head)