a remarkable work israel bernbaum has produced by this book. after having escaped the warsaw ghetto, he fled to the sowiet union and later to paris and in the end went to the usa, he found the courage and the personality to describe the horror and the unbelievable pain in simple words and very strong pictures. this book, addressed to his children turns out to be an essential for all children anywhere in the world. As a very personal view at the fate of the tremendous number of jewish people suffering, fighting and dying in the warsaw ghetto, he still ends up without hatred. instead he is pleading for respect against every person regardless of nationality, race, colour or religion. small wonder former president of germany, richard von weizsäcker, expressed utmost respect for the book to isarel bernbaum. the book was awarded the german youth book price of the year 1995.

in my opinion this book should be made an item of all relevant history lessons anywhere in the world.

This book, following on from his engaging account of Napoleon's victory over Prussia in 1806, is Loraine Petre's second book in his series of five accounts covering Napoleon and his campaigns. This time the author offers the reader an in-depth military study of Napoleon's campaign in Poland. In this account we find Napoleon manoeuvring into Poland to meet the advancing Russian armies moving to assist the meagre Prussian forces left over after being defeated in detail by Napoleon and his Marshals.

The author follows every move of this fascinating campaign and offers detailed insights into the battles fought during the terrible winter weather in Poland. We read about the bloody battle at Eylau and latter of Napoleon's crushing victory over the Russians at Friedland. Using numerous sources and first-hand accounts the reader gets a detailed military narrative and analysis of each skirmish and battle fought in this campaign.

Again a word of caution, this book was first published in the early 1900's and the style of writing does take some getting used. However, once you have mastered the style the narrative moves along quite easily except for the occasional break to check the maps as you follow the converging armies in the hinterland of Poland. The maps (10) are not the best but detailed enough to locate the points mentioned and to follow the various movements in the battles. The author also provides a number of black and white plates of the personalities and locations mentioned in the narrative.

Overall this is a very decent military study covering Napoleon's campaign in Poland where within six months he had beaten the Russian armies and forced the Russian Czar to sign a treaty at Tilsit. "Napoleon's Campaign in Poland is a brilliant overview of Napoleon's vaunted army confronting some of its most worthy opponents." - From the back cover of the book.

The book kept me interested but it wasnt edge of the seat action but i would definately recommend it

The history of Poland, which is commonly overlooked and, when examined, is often the victim of historical generalization and stereotyping. The latter portion of the eighteenth century, commonly referred to as the Partitions, is a fine example of this attitude. This is the period in which Poland was literally erased from the map of Europe and annexed by surrounding nations. Early examinations of this era were often biased towards the typical European view of Poland, that is their own incompetence and helplessness lead to their demise. Jerzy Lukowski tries to shed light on the subject with this book, and in doing so explains what led up to the Partitions of Poland, and the internal problems that made the nation crumble from within.
Lukowski takes the time, although very brief, to recap the events prior to the Partitions. Each nation which was a major player in the annexation of Polish territory has their current government described, as well as the political situation each find themselves in. The most dominant political factor is security, both of the nation and the leader. Lukowski makes an effort to guide one through these intricate and somewhat confusing alliances and treaties in an attempt to show the political mess that Poland and surrounding neighbours were involved in. With this broad view of the political situation within Europe at the time, Lukowski makes it easier for the reader to understand the reasoning each leader had for their respective nation to carve up Polish lands.
Of equal importance to the external factors of Polish partitions of this era were the internal ones. The author tells of the Jagiellonian line which gave the nobility of Poland a large number of extremely generous privileges which nearly left the administration of the country in the control of an overwhelmingly selfish nobility:

"A veritable Dutch auction for gentry support by squabbling magnate factions culminated in the resolution that all nobles were entitle to vote viritim, in person, for their future kings; no ruler would be allowed to take his place before confirming all the existing privileges of the nobility." (p. 4)

These nobles had the Polish crown under their command, and with that, made it hard for Poland to regain it's foothold in international affairs. The weak central government is commonly referred to by Lukowski as a major factor in the annexation of Poland.
Jerry Lukowski's book is a great contribution to the field of European history, more specifically, Polish history. The topic of the Partitions of Poland had not been evaluated in quite some time before the publication of this book, let alone one in the English language. It is clear that Lukowski has spent many hours researching for this book, and the details provided within show that. This book provides great insight to this rather unique period of European history.
Although very well written, Lukowski has obviously intended for the readers of this book to have prior knowledge of Polish and European history. Many names and dates are referred to that a person ignorant of the era's history may not quite understand the significance of.
Another noticeable annoyance of the text is the use of polish terms. Numerous words are referred to once by the author in its English form with the Polish definition afterwards, and the Polish term being used throughout the rest of the book. For those who have a poor memory, forgetting the definition of a Polish word requires the scanning back a few pages to obtain the proper definition. A more helpful solution would be to define a word in Polish once, and then use the English version for the remainder to make the read more flowing.
Finally, the maps included in the back of the book are quite detailed and helpful to fully understanding the situation in Europe during this era. (pp. 207-219) The index included is also greatly appreciated by the reader.
Jerzy Lukowski has wrote a novel which examines a period which is often left neglected by many scholars. The detail of the topic are high, as is the required knowledge of Polish and European history prior to reading the book. To those who would appreciate a fresh view on this unique European period, this book is recommended.

Naval and WWII buffs will find this book quite informative. A missing chapter of WWII has been written by Peszke. He starts with the Polish Navy's development between the world wars and provides the background for its WWII activities. Serving as a separate national force in the Royal Navy for most of WWII, the Polish Navy played a substantial role for its size. Its officers and men crewed destroyers, submarines and mine warfare vessels. They fought in the Mediterranean, English Channel, Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, and Norway. Accounts of battles, personal profiles and plans for a future navy make for interesting reading. Of particular value are the appendices which include a list of major naval units. THE FORGOTTEN FEW: THE POLISH AIR FORCE IN THE SECOND WORLD WAR by Adam Zamoyski is a complement to Peszke's work. With Poland now a free nation, it can be expected that additional unbiased information about its part in WWII will be forthcoming.

The letters are more powerful than the pictures. The letters focus on Vachon's reaction to the poverty and despair that hangs over Poland. These are the first pictures I've seen of "Operation Vistula", the expulsion of townsfolk and complete destruction of villages in Southern Poland, intended to deal with the "Ukrainian Problem". Sound familiar? The pictures of the carnage in the cities is predictable, but it's the simple country folk for whom my heart bleeds. An entire farm family with no shoes.

Michael Checinski identifies himself as a Polish Jew who has survived the Holocaust (Lodz ghetto). He has some interesting perspectives on Polish-Jewish relations. For example, he shows that the so-called Kielce pogrom (July 4, 1946) was not a spontaneous anti-Jewish riot, as usually portrayed, but was in fact a staged Communist murderous stunt designed to humiliate Poland internationally, divert worldwide attention from the sham election which would officially bring the Communists into power, and scare Poland's remaining Jews into fleeing to Palestine (because the Soviet Union at the time was backing the soon-to-be State of Israel as an anti-British measure). Checinski refutes the argument that Polish nationalist guerillas could have been involved in the so-called Kielce pogrom. To the contrary: Checinski cites evidence indicating that top Soviet intelligence officials, and specialists in Jewish affairs at that, were at Kielce before the "pogrom", and left soon afterwards. He cites a Jewish eyewitness who was shot by Communist security forces at point-blank, and inside his home, thus refuting the argument that the Jews were killed by an enraged Polish mob while the security officials merely arrived later and then proceeded to break up the ostensible riot. Fascinating reading!

Tim Sharman presents a contemporary photograph of the country I call home. From the czars of the past, to the modern day presidents, this work is thorough and to the point. It is a wonderful all encompassed minibiography that does not bore the reader with minute details. I further recommend James Michener's Pilgrimage: A Memoir of Poland and Rome.

This small booklet is a wonderful source for anybody interested in Polish folk costumes. There a quite a few pictures scattered throughout the book both in color and b/w. The book is all in Polish (at least my version) so a knowledge of this slavic language can help. Enjoy!

A very good work about the rights of stockholders in Poland. Usable for academic affairs. The interesting point is located in the actuell reform of law-system in Poland (in order to get a member of the European Union).