Peter Hetheringon’s mammoth biography brings Piłsudski to life on its pages, says reviewer Patrice Dabrowski. And while he’s at it, he provides the reader with a brief but thorough and lively history of Poland, as only a non-Pole can.
Jan Karski is a hero not just for our times but for all times, says Irene Tomaszewski as she recalls her first meeting with the modest hero. He represents the best in humanity and the collective will of a nation that would not submit.
Michał Kasprzak’s brilliant review cuts to the essence of “The Auschwitz Volunteer.”
Meeting a heroine from the “generation of ‘44” is a privilege. Fortunately, Aleksandra Ziółkowska-Boehm kept a record of her friendship with one of the Warsaw Uprising’s great women.
When the ideology is stripped away, say reviewer Joanna Szupinska about Wiesław Myśliwski’s Stone Upon Stone, all that is left is love for life and respect for the earth. Could one ask for anything more?
The fickle affections of the Great Powers are well known in history. Thomas McLean’s The Other East looks at this unreliable relationship from a literary perspective. Reviewed by Lukasz Wodzynski.
Rome’s Most Faithful Daughter led astray? Neal Pease reviews Mikołaj Kunicki’s book about the politics of Bolesław Piasecki.
In this review of Aga Maksimowska’s Giant, Andrew Borkowski, whose Copernicus Avenue won the 2012 Toronto Book Award, may well be giving us a glimpse of next year’s winner.
The longtime director of PIASA, Thaddeus Gromada, is a proud góral, as this book about Poland’s highlanders, reviewed by Anna Jaroszynska-Kirchmann, clearly shows. And take a look at his jump over the ciupaga. This is no armchair góral.
James Conroyd Martin’s very popular Polish trilogy is now complete. Martin has a genuine fondness for his characters, says reviewer Maureen Mroczek Morris, as does the reader.
Halik Kochanski’s The Eagle Unbowed took western scholars and media by storm, garnering rave reviews. Mikolaj Kunicki of Notre Dame University weighs in with his thoughts.
There are some things that Poles have always known, but Western readers are only now finding out. Anne Applebaum’s book, Iron Curtain, suggests Piotr Wróbel, makes people think and ask questions. About time.
Patrice Dabrowski reviews Bernadette McDonald’s gripping and heart-wrenching chronicle of the greatest Himalayan climbers of the 20th century. Winner of the American Alpine Association’s Literary Award, the Grand Prize at the Banff Mountain Book Festival, and Britain’s Boardman Tasker Prize.
Larry Wolff’s rich and engaging tale about Galicia and its four ethnic groups – Poles, Austrian Germans, Ruthenians and Jews – all of whom assigned a different meaning to the “idea” of Galicia. Reviewed by Lukasz Wodzynski.
Historian Adam Zamoyski has updated his biography of Chopin, giving us a comprehensive portrait of the composer, the man, the patriot, and the lover. At once scholarly and sensitive.
CR on Facebook
CR on Twitter
E-mail CR