Review of Europe in Autumn by Dave Hutchinson

The European Union very well may be the most interesting social experiment ever attempted by mankind.  Taking almost a billion people with differing culture, language and belief, not to mention centuries of unending feuds and wars, and unifying them under a single government is an act unprecedented in world history.  In many Europeans’ eyes, however, it’s just that: an experiment, nothing certain about future coherence.  A thought experiment which sees “Europe calving into icebergs”, Dave Hutchinson’s 2014 novel Europe in Autumn (2014) locates an atypical espionage thriller on the continent post-EU.

From Scottish independence to Silesia’s secession from Poland, Europe in Autumn is set in a Europe recognizable culturally yet fragmented politically.  Rudi is an Estonian chef working in Cracow, who finds himself faced with an interesting and profitable proposition after his restaurant absorbs an evening’s destruction from a group of drunk Hungarian mafia.  His Estonian passport giving him access to polities in Europe where Poles are not allowed, he completes a simple mission into Germany and returns safe and sound.  That step his first into the world of cross-border information trafficking, it isn’t long before the information begins tracking him too, fully exposing just how intricate and complex the relationship between government and the individual truly is across the freshly shattered European continent.

Review of "Rising '44: The Battle for Warsaw" by Norman Davies

His wife from the country and the two owning a home there in addition to a residence in Britain, Poland is once again the setting of a Norman Davies’ book.  But where God’s Playground and Poland, Past and Present survey the history of Polish culture (must be ‘culture’ as for significant time periods no country existed) from various perspectives, Rising ’44: The Battle for Warsaw focuses on a two month event that occurred in Warsaw toward then end of WWII.  Germany feeling the effects of its losses on other warfronts around the world, in mid-1944 the underground Polish remaining in Warsaw saw hope that their city could be reclaimed and staged a rebellion to coincide with the arrival of their allies, the mighty Soviet Red Army.  The outcome of the situation could only have been more tragic for those who lived through it.

Davies divides Rising ’44 into three sections: stage setting, the uprising itself, and the aftermath.  Rather than attempting to outlay the players and game board in linear fashion, Davies opts to divide the first section into three parts: the Germans, the Russians, and the Poles and their allies.  Each group is introduced, their goals outlined, and status set at the time just preceding the rebellion.  Having the effect of three roads converging at an intersection, the uprising bursts from the text in affective detail at the start of the second section.  

Based on the amount of data included, trivial to vital, Davies and his team examined all available records related to the plight of the native Poles and Jews in hiding in Warsaw in the summer of 1944.  Their underground routed through a network of sewers and tunnels, the Poles—with promised but limited assistance from British, Russian, and American allies—maintained their position with guerilla warfare throughout the war, using and salvaging the most basic of weapons.  The Germans never able to fully exterminate them, in August and September that year the Poles switched into full attack mode in the belief their Russian allies arriving on the city’s doorstep would step in and help.  The final section of the book deals with the aftermath of this battle, in particular the state of Polish society and politics from the end of the rebellion until now.  

For those with more than background knowledge of WWII, the opening section can be skipped as many other books offer more exhaustive detail about the movement and mindset of allied and axis powers during the war prior to 1944.  The Warsaw Uprising itself, however, is not to be missed.  The focus of the book, Davies brings it to life in both touching and graphic detail.  Diaries, official documents, written accounts, and verbal histories are all used toward painting a picture of what life was like for the Poles living and hiding in the city, not to mention fighting to reclaim it.  The food shortages, transportation methods, weapons training, communication with the outside world, even a media network are described as they affected events that transpired.  The Germans only mostly portrayed as ruthless oppressors, many of the individual stories involving interaction between the two sides are emotional and transcend scholarly accounts of history.

Davies’ writing, as usual, strikes a middle ground between cut and dry facts and engaging prose.  Confidently and consistently expressed, the uprising comes to life beneath the author’s pen.  What also comes to life is an acknowledged agenda.  Aside from the main goal of bringing attention to the details of the uprising, another of Davies’ goals in Rising ’44, is to emphasize the negative effects of Stalinism.  Not as subtle as the information related in his Europe: A History, Davies’ version of the Warsaw Uprising condemns Soviet involvement in the situation every bit as much as the Nazi’s.  The aftermath section in particular contains specific examples tailored to highlight the atrocities the Soviet “allies” committed against the Poles during and after the war.  Soviet realpolitik not garnering the attention of Nazism has in the half-century since, Rising ’44 makes further inroads toward bringing to light the darker side of Stalin’s regime.

In the end, Rising ’44 is informative and engaging reading for those interested in the history of Poland and WWII.  While the earlier Europe: A History saw Davies riding on the coattails of previous research, Rising ’44 shows the historian and his team more than capable of doing their homework.  The two month window in the history of Warsaw during WWII is examined from many angles and with specific details.  Though biases against the Nazis and Soviets are undisguised, the text suffers none for it.  An emotionally engaging history of the people living beneath the streets of Warsaw and their rebellion against oppression, this is one of Davies’ best works, the quality of human stories that emerge from the chaos worth the price, alone.

Buying Books in English in Poland

Warning: I know this blog post gets a fair amount of traffic, but I haven't updated it in more than six years.  The only sites I can vouch for now are Allegro, Englishbooks.pl, Amazon.co.uk, Empik, and Merlin.  The rest, I'm not sure.  The only shops I can still vouch for are Empik and Szarlatan...  Browse at your own risk.

I am an American living in Poland, Wroclaw specifically, and if you can’t tell by my blog, I read extensively.  In the two years I’ve been here, I’ve tried to avoid paying the exorbitant prices asked by retail bookstores in Poland for English language books, including making orders in the US and asking my family to ship the books.  Though the final cost ends up roughly the same, I’ve since found alternative channels in Poland which require significantly less time.  The following is the result of my search to find cheap, English language books in Poland. (Note: If you scroll toward the bottom you will find specific locations in Wrocław to find books, otherwise all are Poland-wide.)

1. Allegro.pl – If low price is your aim, then without a doubt Allegro is the best source for English language books in Poland.  The Polish ebay, titles appear and disappear quickly, but most often prices can’t be beat.  Also, as many Polish booksellers use Allegro as their shop window, it makes the site great one-stop shopping.  English language books can often be found for 20, 10, and sometimes even 5 zl, though the high prices do also exist.  As sellers are interested in maintaining high ratings, service is usually top-notch.  I’ve never had a problem with any of the sellers, all delivering goods within 7 days after payment.  The drawback of Allegro is that selection is unpredictable, random, even.  New releases exist, but usually for the same price as a shop.  For some, the other disadvantage might be that the books are used, though the ones I’ve purchased have always been in fair condition at minimum.  The last potential disadvantage is that the website is available only in Polish.  However, if you have somebody to help you navigate (what is actually an intuitive interface), contact with the sellers can be done in English.  Having a Polish bank account to speed transactions doesn’t hurt either. And lastly, allegro makes you sign and agreement before you can begin buying/selling.  So, if this is a game breaker, find a friend with an allegro account!

2. Englishbooks.pl – Underrated and underused, this great site offers a very large selection of overstock and used books for great prices.  Anywhere from 8-30zl, the selection tends toward books which have had numerous printings, for example older, mainstream titles like Agatha Christie, Stephen King, Dan Brown, etc.  This is not to say other titles are not available as well; a quick search using their engine will let you know if they have what you’re looking for.  The site available in Polish/English, non-Poles will have no problem navigating the site and making transactions, the proprietor, Anna, speaks great English.  She offers wonderful service, as well.  The orders I have made have been processed quickly, the books in hand a week or less later.  So, before searching the other sites below, this site comes highly recommended as a great starting point.  If what you want happens to be available, it’s almost guaranteed to be the cheapest, though probably used. 

3. Tradebooks.pl – Due to market concerns and society's ongoing transition to ebooks, Tradebooks.pl had to close its doors in Poland, unfortunately.  Updated August 30, 2012)

4. American Bookstore –This website (for bookstores of the same name located in Cracow) tends to have higher prices (35-55zl), but service is top notch, not to mention the website is available in Polish/English.  The selection is quite good and I have found myself ordering from them a couple of times when the title I sought was unavailable on the previous sites.  They even offer COD.* Going to the shop, however, will give you better prices.

*At least they did last time I ordered.  Worth checking beforehand.

5. Amazon.co.uk – At first it may seem like ordering from a foreign supplier would be an expensive option compared to the other choices, but Amazon UK’s international shipping is not that bad ( £4.00 per delivery + £0.40 per kg), making mass orders more reasonable.  Needing several books for my Master’s thesis, I found it was actually cheaper to buy a couple of the more obscure academic titles through Amazon.co.uk rather than the other channels mentioned here.  Having received the books eight days after ordering them, time also is not an issue, and I have tucked this site away in memory as an option for those times I’d like to order several books that aren’t so easy to find.  (It’s possible that Amazon.de also offers a similar service for English language books, I’ve just never checked it out.)

6. Massolit – Though their lovely used books store/cafe in Cracow offers a larger number of titles, what’s offered on their website is not shabby either.  It's not up to date, however.  If you see a title online, be sure to write and ask whether it actually exists.  With regards to non-fiction, it's difficult to beat them for used books available in Poland.  My only complaint is that prices most often hover too close to the price of new books even though almost their entire stock is used.  On average, expect to pay 20-30zl for fiction and 40-60zl for non-fiction.  The website is available in English, and though I’ve never ordered anything from them (preferring to visit their shop for a better selection), I imagine the competency of the staff extends to delivery. 

7. Empik – I have a love/hate relationship with Poland’s version of Amazon.  As they have good business ties with a few European book suppliers, often the only place I can find the book I want in Poland is Empik.  Furthermore, titles newly available in the UK are almost immediately available on Empik.  Seemingly aware of this, prices are most often quite high, new books usually beginning at 45zl and going higher.  Despite this, my sheer desperation for a new release has on a couple of occasions made me bite the bullet and pay an exorbitant price.  Consoling me is that Empik offers free delivery to any of their stores if the buyer is willing to make the pick up in person, which saves 8-10zl.  My other complaint is that the listings on their website (available in English) can’t be trusted.  Though they do once or twice per year go through and remove titles no longer available, on a couple of occasions I have ordered books only to be informed 30 days later that it was no longer being stocked.  If money’s no object, than Empik’s your place.

8. Merlin.pl is also another Polish website which offers English language books, however, I’ve found the selection extremely limited, prices high, and therefore not worth mentioning here.  Their selection of Polish language books, however, is really great and reasonably priced.

9. Book City is a relatively recent site on the web (at least I only discovered it recently).  I would call them empik+. There prices are on average better, the selection is slightly better, and the one time I ordered from them, the shipment was made promptly and correctly.  The thing that keeps me checking their site is that 1 time out of 10 the book I'm looking, if available, is priced relatively reasonably (e.g. 20-30 zł, instead of the unreasonable 35zł+ on empik.

In conclusion, these websites are the result of my travels and excursions on the web – by no means exhaustive.  If I have overlooked a website, by all means comment on this post or write me an email and I’ll be glad to check it out.  I’m interested in cheap, good books too, and would love to see the availability of English language offerings expand in Poland!

Places to find English language books in Wrocław:

I have now lived in Wrocław for more than 6 years, and in that time I think I've scouted out all of the nooks and crannies around the city where even one or two novels in English are for sale.  So, if you live in Wrocław and are looking for reading material, here you are:

1. Szarlatan - tucked just behind Plac Grunwaldski, Szarlatan is a quirky, esoteric little shop.  They sell a wide variety of curios, inlcuding old postcards, vinyl records, and other trinkets.  But mostly they have books.  If you walk through the leaning stacks all the way to the back (i.e. as far as you can walk into the store), you'll find a back corner filled with random novels sold REALLY cheap, typically in the 3-12zł range.  The proprietors are quiet but friendly (like most Poles) and don't seem to mind me poking around for an hour through the disorganized stacks.

2. That little shop in the Fenix building whose name I don' know - All I know is that in the southeast corner of Wroclaw's main market is the Fenix building.  Entering through the front (to the left of the McDonalds) there are elevators and stairs.  Go to the first floor, turn right, and walk all the way to the end into the bookshop.  After entering the shop, turn right, and in the corner is a small selection of English language books.  The proprietor of this shop purchased the stock of Tradebooks.pl (see above) when they went out of business, and every once and a while will update what is available on the shelf.  The books are priced 12-25zł, which makes a quick look worthwhile.

3. Columbus - One street north of the main square is Igielna Street.  Close to its intersection with Kużnicza Street is a small language bookstore called Columbus. After entering the shop, on the left wall is a selection of English language novels.  This shop can also supply most any language learning material you may want or need.  Prices are between 15-30zł, so not bad.

There used to be other shops, but slowly they are drying up.  I did not mention empik above, as this is obvious, and they are located around the city.  It's perhaps more difficult to avoid an empik shop than find one.  If money is no object, than empik's selection of recent titles may be what you're looking for.

Culture Corner: Poland - Out the door...

From a landscape point of view, Poland has a lot in common with America’s New England.  Similar to the Appalachians, a single ridge of mountains transverses the southern border of Poland, Germany to the Ukraine.  Spread from this chain to the sea in the north lie loosely rolling hills, farmlands and forest, the latter occupying the majority.  Here and there are scattered lakes and ponds, and connecting them, the lazy, winding river.  The occasional city appears in a shallow valley, but most of the Polish population lives in towns and villages, the distance to the nearest house never far.  Sound like Maine?  

The flora and fauna one sees in Poland are easily recognizable to anyone who has spent time in America’s northeast.  Birch, pine, spruce, maple and the like populate the woods, along with deer, fox, squirrels, and mice.  There are of course some differences – no wild boar or badgers root the forests in Maine, but generally speaking, the similarities strike home watching the landscape roll by the car window.  It goes without saying then that I spend a lot of my free time here as I do at home in the US: in the out-of-doors.  Hiking, climbing, and just being under the sun are regular parts of my life.  As such, I’d like to share some photos with you so you can have an idea for yourself what the Polish landscape is like.

Here is an actual view looking out the car window.  (This photo fails to convey an important difference between the US and Poland, however: the sheer lunacy of Polish drivers.  Undoubtedly as this photo is being taken, one of these drivers/madmen is getting ready to pass us at autobahn speeds.)

  A very typical Polish village on a summer’s day.  

 And one of those nice meadows filled with wildflowers…

The Tatras are Poland and Slovakia’s only claim to real mountains, i.e. mountains which require more gear than the latest North Face fleece and a bottle of Dasani.  The highest is Gerlach at 2,655 m (8,710 ft for the metric impaired) with several of the surrounding peaks nearly as high.   They’re beautiful in every season (as you will see) and worthy of the numerous postcards for sale in the tourist towns of the foothills.

This is a National Park on the border with the Ukraine called Bieszczady.  It rolls with sublime hills, wide open vistas, and these colorful trees in autumn.

This is a path very near my house I often go running on.  Could’ve been New England, no?

Like the Yeti, here is a rare sighting of the author himself enjoying Bieszcady in November 2011.

Winter too settles in, temperatures drop, and water becomes walkable.  Above is a scene from a local park called, in fact, South Park.  If it could speak, I’m sure it would lay honor to the name decades before the cut-and-pastes from Colorado made the moniker famous.

This has happened to me only once in Poland, but I thought I would offer it as proof that at least it’s possible.  It goes without saying then, the blizzards that the grandmas in Maine drive through with the pedal to the floor are not as easily handled by the Polish.

Hiking in the Karkonoszy mountains last winter, this is a “cabin” we stayed in.  

In the Tatras once more, this time it’s winter.  On the right is a lake called “Eye of the Sea,” and since they’ve built a stone stairway to it, even ladies in high heels have access.   In the upper right is Poland’s highest peak, Rysy.

This time truly a Yeti, here I am climbing Rysy.  Crampons buckled as tight as I could get them, ice axe in a death grip, and teeth grinding with every step vertically, we made this (successful) assault in early winter 2010. 

But like Maine and New England, waiting through the winter long enough means that the sun will shine.  Which also means you can once again go with your friends to the local lake for a nice, refreshing swim…

 

For those who were paying attention, you probably noticed that not only does the landscape bear strong resemblance to the northeast of America, the flow and look of seasons is likewise very similar.  So, even though I’m six hours ahead of most of you, we still hold a cycle of life in common.  Think about it.

Culture Corner: Wroclaw

A couple of years ago I promised you a culture corner from Poland.  That ship never sailed, and probably so did your confidence in me.  Well, better late than never, I come limping into the harbor, hopefully with goods intact.  

The following is a photo introduction to the city I’ve lived in for more than two years now, Wroclaw.  Pronounced like ‘vrots-luv’, it’s located at the geographical center of Europe and home to nearly 750,000.  Though probably never to be known amongst the other giants of culture in Europe, Paris, Rome, London, and the like, Wroclaw nevertheless has its own charm and is certainly cosmopolitan.  There are regular theater and opera events, several museums and galleries, a historical city center to wander, and a host of cafes, bars, and restaurants to while away the hours.  German or Prussian for almost the entirety of the past millennium, the city and entire Lower Silesian region were part of Poland’s post WWII reparations.  As such, you’ll see a lot of German influence in the architecture and cityscape in the following photos.  Neither too big or too small, Wroclaw is a city I enjoy living in and hope the photos indicate as much.

  First the overview , literally.  This is Wroclaw’s city center.  In the foreground is the river Odra, along its banks are the city’s main university (on the right) and the city market (on the left), and in the background are numerous spires, red clay tile roofs, and towers representing the remaining influence of the Catholic church.  In fact, taking this photo I’m standing in the towers of the city’s cathedral.

Strangely enough, one of the things I like most about Wroclaw are its dwarves.  Each uniquely prepared by an artisan, these small cast iron fellows (no ladies, yet) appear in the oddest of places around the city.  Walking past a spot as you’ve done a hundred times, suddenly out pops a dwarf you’d simple never noticed.  Each performing some activity – usually associated with the building they are located near - they add character to a city that, in the wake of communism, needs a little color.  Each dwarf has its own name (these two are Grajek - like “Player” - and Spiewek -“Singer”) and if you want, you can buy a children’s map that will take you on a tour of the city’s famous places, dwarf by dwarf.

Part of the main city square, this is Plac Solny (Salt Plaza).  All of the building facades in this areas have one vibrant color or another, lime greens, sky blues, creamy yellows, and as you see, sometimes in cadmium pink.

This is the exact heart of Wroclaw, it’s old City Hall.  Gothic to the max, laws have been enacted, proclamations decreed, and people defenestrated from this building over the centuries of its existence.  Just slightly to the right of this photo is the old stone whipping post where criminals were once publicly punished.

In the hands of many over the years, the Jesuits to the Prussians, this is currently the University of Wroclaw, a place I attended for two years.  

 A street scene from the old city center, the Wroclaw Opera House on the right, the moon on the left.

There are things for the young to do as well, such as attending “black music” parties (despite that Poland is 97% Polish, the remaining three percent occupied by Gypsies and Ukrainians).  I guess that’s what allows them to be so vague in their advertising.  Oh, and in case you were unaware, the Europeans adore Michael Jackson.   …and Bon Jovi.

Sitting in the window of what was formerly the city jail, this is a sad dwarf, now watching as people enter the premises to enjoy the galleries, museum pieces, and café.  

Wroclaw has a botanical garden as well, this particular section being the backside of the Japanese Garden in early, early spring.

This is the interior of the market you saw in the first photo.  It has the freshest fruits and vegetables, flowers, candies, cold cuts, fish, and just about anything else you can think of can be found here, one of my favorite places in Wroclaw.

Not only on the ground or tucked in windows, dwarves are sometimes flying overhead attached to lampposts!

And lastly is Wroclaw’s cathedral, St. John’s.  Named after the city’s patron saint (his severed head part of the city’s sigil), the Gothic church is a relaxing sight in the evening when walking the quiet cobblestone streets of its island home.

That’s all I have from Poland for now.  Will post more in the near future.

Review of "The Teutonic Knights" by Henryk Sienkiewicz

Anyone who is familiar with Polish reading habits will be aware that their appetite for speculative fiction is insatiable.  Heading into the local bookstore, the number of fantasy and science fiction books lining the shelves far outweigh the other genres, even popular fiction.  While spec. fic. is certainly enjoying popularity at the moment in the US, it does not compare to what one finds in Poland, seemingly everyone taking a shot at a Pratchett or a Martin.  This begs the question, in what part of Polish culture did this love come from?  After reading The Teutonic Knights, I think I may have found a potential source.

Henryk Sienkiewicz won the Nobel Prize for his novel Quo Vidas, a meticulously researched novel about Roman life at the time of Christianity’s onset.  Awarded for the historical spirit in which he wrote the novel, the same devotion can be found in all other of Sienkiewicz’s books, including The Teutonic Knights (also known as The Knights of the Cross).  Forgivably biased to his fatherland, The Teutonic Knights tells the the story of Poland’s fight to retain its independence under threat of  its Templar neighbors in the 13th century.   The Teutons to be kept at bay, Sienkiewicz portrays the crusaders as the blackest of villains, despite that they were knights templar and played a marginal role in the Catholic church.  The Teutons wanton disregard for Polish honor an affront that could not go unanswered, the tale is told from the point of view of two Polish knights, the older Maczko and the younger Zbiszko, each symbolically representing facets of Polish history, the honor of the past and the hope for the future.  There are several memorable secondary characters who complete the story, but it is the individual duels and wars for honor and virtue these two wage against the Teutons which take center stage.  Sienkiewicz could not have chosen a better climactic moment to resolve tension than the Battle of Grunwald, which finishes the novel and sets Poland back on its feet toward regaining independence. 

 

Good and evil the only forces at play - character motivation beyond obvious - the style of The Teutonic Knights seems a bit simplistic by today’s standards.  But one must remember to place the book in the context of Sienkiewicz’s time, particularly the beginning of the 20th century when Poland was lacking independence.  This and other novelizations of proud moments in Polish history served to bolster patriotism and national pride, fostering the hope one day they could regain their nation from the occupiers.  In fact, it’s possible the current day independence of Poland owes some small debt of gratitude to Sienkiewicz and other Polish writers of the time for writing of national pride with such spirit.  And so while characterization and morals are expressed in all too clear terms - baddies vs. goodies - it must be remembered that the lifelike representation of individuals was not Sienkiewicz’s goal.  Rather, he intended to show the larger social and political forces at work and the direction they were headed.  As such, Sienkiewicz’s masterful interweaving of historical background with plot elements involving the struggle for power remains the strong point of The Teutonic Knights.  Sound anything like modern epic fantasy?

(Side note: with heroic knights, damsels in distress, and risks of honor aplenty, this is a book Don Quixote would have loved!! Strange that Don Quixote was written 300 years prior…)

Review of "Microcosm: A Portrait of a Central European City" by Norman Davies & Roger Moorehouse

Another work featuring the second place he calls home, Norman Davies returns to Poland with Microcosm:Portrait of a Central European City, this time bringing the expertise of Roger Moorehouse along with.  Not always known by the name we currently use, Davies and Moorhouse explore the evolution of Wroclaw through the ages, from small river village in European no-man’s land to modern day Polish metropolitan city. 

What makes the history of Wroclaw’s development interesting is its location.  Set nearly at the geographic heart of Europe, the city has had many claimants over the centuries, the modern day Polish occupation of the city mere decades in age.  Prussians, Germans, Piasts, Bohemians and Russians, Habsburgs and Napoleons, and a host of other dynasties and noble families have at one time or another called Wroclaw their own, signs in Germany often still using the name ‘Breslau’ from when the city was their own.  Readers of Davies other tomes, like Europe or The Isles, will find this work not only lighter in weight, but in tone.  Information is still delivered both prosaically and technically, but at the same time in more manageable pieces, closer to general overview than detailed exposition.  The duo’s (and their respective team’s) research is extensive and (as far as I, a non-scholar) can determine, comprehensive. 

Though focusing on German, Polish, and Jewish interests, the stories of the afore-mentioned groups and their roles in shaping the city are well defined, rendering Wroclaw's history a multi-cultural skein.  And despite being sponsored by the city, Davies and Moorhouse include enough negative reports of Polish occupation to lend the work credence.  Certainly not as fascinating as the histories of Paris or Rome, that Wroclaw has constantly been a footnote in the major events of European history has not done anything to prevent it from being an integral part of events as a whole, and by writing Microcosm, Davies and Moorhouse have proved just that.  Recommended for anyone interested in the Central Europe has played in the larger European arena, or someone who has interest in knowing how one city could have been called so many names over the years, Vratislavia, Presslau, Wroclaw, Breslau, Vretslav…