Poland

Rating:
Summary: Poland, I hardly knew ye...
Review: I am a third-generation Polish American; my grandparents, the Kulwickis and Schmidts, disseminated little of their family and cultural history to their children in the effort to assimilate in this country. I knew next to nothing about them, where they came from, and what would be appealing about sailing halfway across the world to a place where they would be mocked and marginalized. Michener's work helped me reclaim my heritage, take pride in what I came from, and added to my nagging suspicion that the Germans and Russians have always been just a bunch of bullies. Beautiful work; ambitious, thorough and engaging.

Rating:
Summary: Poland Was Excellent
Review: I am half Polish and I finally committed myself to reading an imposing Michener novel. Once I got past the first few chapters I couldn't put it down. I have always felt the tragedy that is and was Poland and Michener has told a magnificent story. My maternal grandparents fled Poland at the turn of the century. I could see their story and my history on these pages. I read it several years ago, but it is the best I've read to date and I feel compelled to give it my highest rating for the benefit of Amazon's readership. There is a flow and a rythm to Mr Michener's writing style that is hard to resist. He deserves his place in history as best-selling author. Larry (Possum) Ronnow

Rating:
Summary: A good book but not a great book
Review: I compare this book to Noah Gordon's 'The Physician', which I found fantastic. I felt Michener's book just wasn't as good. Michener's characters just weren't that real. And his elaborate detailed descriptions of food and clothing annoyed me. What I liked best were his descriptions of the battles. Sobieski and the defeat of the Turks at Vienna captivated me. But even that somehow came across as a legend rather than as realistic history. The chapter on love and arranged marriages was very interesting. I guess my main criticism is that this book came across like the movie 'Braveheart'; which I wished were closer the the Britannica version of the Scottish hero. But I did feel that I learned a great deal from reading Michener's book - it did put Poland on the map for me.

Rating:
Summary: A good book but not a great book
Review: I compare this book to Noah Gordon's 'The Physician', which I found fantastic. I felt Michener's book just wasn't as good. Michener's characters just weren't that real. And his elaborate detailed descriptions of food and clothing annoyed me. What I liked best were his descriptions of the battles. Sobieski and the defeat of the Turks at Vienna captivated me. But even that somehow came across as a legend rather than as realistic history. The chapter on love and arranged marriages was very interesting. I guess my main criticism is that this book came across like the movie 'Braveheart'; which I wished were closer the the Britannica version of the Scottish hero. But I did feel that I learned a great deal from reading Michener's book - it did put Poland on the map for me.

Rating:
Summary: Junk literature
Review: I firstly read Michener's Poland and then H. Mankiewicz trilogy. Junk literature Mr. Michener's book.

Rating:
Summary: Great read...but stunningly historically inaccurate.
Review: I loved reading the book. But when I got to the section around 1920, I was shocked! Michener (probably based on being brainwashed by his Polish nationalist informants and simply not checking his facts) has Russia invading Poland!

Virtually all historians agree it was the other way around. To quote Isaac Babel:

Newly constituted as an independent nation after World War I, Poland sought to take advantage of the nascent Soviet state's upheaval to expand eastward, restoring its 1772 borders and its former stature...Jozef Pilsudski, leading the Poles, articulated the Polish mission both as a fulfillment of his country's historical destiny and as a crusade to save European civilization from the alien disease of Bolshevism....

Hostilities had begun in February 1919, in the wake of German withdrawal (after the November 1918 armistice) from the Russian-Polish borderlands...The Poles quickly acquired the upper hand. In April they took Vilna; in August, Minsk.... Polish troops kept moving, taking the Latvian city of Dvinsk in January 1920.

But many accounts date the beginning of the war to April of that year, when Poland moved deep into the Ukraine. On 6 May the Polish Army (aided by Ukrainian nationalist troops) took Kiev from the Reds."

In fact, in the treaty of Riga signed in 1921, Poland literally doubled its size, having unilaterally seized territory, some 80,000 square kilometers, from the Soviet Union.

Now that I see how wildly inaccurate Michener's storytelling is in this instance, I wonder about all the rest.

Be careful -- fun reading, but perhaps very poor history.

Rating:
Summary: Stunningly Historical Inaccuracy- but Great Fiction
Review: I rate this book with 5 stars because it is Great Fiction. It is not written by a historian and is not meant to be taken seriously as historical accurate account. It is written by a popular travel fiction writer. Remember this throughout the book. Take Micheners sources into account and the era of the ruling communists at the time he wrote this. He wanted to make the Polish people (under communist occupation and abroad) fell good.

Another reviewer from WA, USA noticed Michener's Stunningly Historical Inaccuracy at the Polish Conquest of Ukraine in the 1920's. The whole book by Michener is full of these inaccuracies, but after all, do not forget this is fiction, not accuracy.

Michener only echoed the Phantastic Fiction that was spoonfed to him by his hosts.

For some actual Polish History read "A Concise History of Poland" by Jerzy Lukowski and Hubert Zawadzik.

Rating:
Summary: A Rousing read and remarkable historically accurate.
Review: I read this book after I had just finsihed a university course on the history of Poland. I was shocked at how historically accurate this work was. Michener definetly did his homework on this one. Even better it is extremely well-written. Despite the fact that I knew the history and therefore the outcomes of many of the events he was describing the detail which he gives to his character's lives as you follow a family history through time is riveting. I could barely put it down. If you can only read one of his books I highly recommend Poland.

Rating:
Summary: A Rousing read and remarkable historically accurate.
Review: I read this book after I had just finsihed a university course on the history of Poland. I was shocked at how historically accurate this work was. Michener definetly did his homework on this one. Even better it is extremely well-written. Despite the fact that I knew the history and therefore the outcomes of many of the events he was describing the detail which he gives to his character's lives as you follow a family history through time is riveting. I could barely put it down. If you can only read one of his books I highly recommend Poland.

Rating:
Summary: A good book which helps one understand Europe
Review: I read this book because my wife is Polish and I wanted to share with my children their herritage. The book gave me insight into Europe and some of its longstanding conflicts. The Holocoust of World War II is just one of a string of holocousts. I was amazed at Sweden's behavior during its conquest and slaughter of Poland. It helped me to understand what happened in Kosovo. Michener's mix of history and fiction was at times confusing. His fictional characters seemed so real when compared to historical figures. I would recommend a continuous review of the list of who is real and who is not given at the front of the book. Overall it was a good book which gives a flavor of Poland and Europe