Can anyone suggest a good historical novel about any or all of these localities? We'll be in Prague, then driving to Nurnberg and cruising down the Main-Danube Canal to the Danube River, ending in Budapest.

Kafka's "The Trial" and "The Castle".

Alan Furst's "Blood of Victory". First World War- very 39 Steps

Thank you - I will look for Furst first and then tackle Kafka when I'm a little more ambitious. Haven't read him since college. My husband searched the internet and could not come up with anything halfway decent.

I read a very good book title "A View From Stalin's Head" when I went to Prague. It is a book of short stories mostly all set in Prague. It does have some gay content so I only recommend it for the open-minded- however,it was a great vacation book.

The Good Soldier Svejk, by Jaroslav Hasek (depending on which translation you find, the title may be given as The Good Soldier Svejk and His Fortunes in the World War, or some variation on those words) - classic satire about a Czech soldier in the First World War

The Radetzky March, by Joseph Roth - the last years of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, as told through the lives of three generations of a family

Jiri Weil's "Mendelsohn Is On The Roof" is a novel about the Nazi Occupation of Prague. The title comes from the famous incident where Nazi officials tried to pull down the statue of Jewish composer Felix Mendelsohn from the roof of the Prague State Opera.

Jiri Weil's "My Life With A Star" also takes place in Prague, and deals with a Jewish man's struggle to stay alive under the Nazi Occupation.

"Embers" by Sandor Marai. Written in the 1940s in Hungarian, it came out in English translation a year or two ago. The end of the Austro-Hungarian empire from the perspective of two friends in love with the same woman. Exquisitely written.

These are good suggestions - I'll look for all the ones I haven't read. I read "Life with a Star" years ago. It was powerful & so I'll have to re-read it. Thanks again. Nan