Sandor Kopacsi was Budapest's chief of police when the Hungarian Revolution erupted on October 23, 1956. In a dramatic shift of allegiance, Kopacsi--once a Communist true believer--refused to obey orders to disperse demonstrators demanding liberalization of the regime and withdrawal of Russian troops from Hungary. Arrested several weeks later for his role in the uprising and ultimately convicted, Kopacsi survived to write this extraordinary memoir, the only blow-by-blow insider's account of the first armed challenge to Soviet domination of Eastern Europe. The memoir, which contains an added chapter and epilogue, is the riveting, eloquent, and unique story of Hungary's heroic bid for freedom, written by a man who witnessed and participated in the revolution.