Rating: 
Summary: 150 German fighters shot down?
Review: That must be the one hell of a squadron of antiquated Hurricanes piloted by crop dusters that trimuphed over the mighty, professional Luftwaffe!
Rating: 
Summary: a real page turner with rare insight
Review: The authors are masters of "le mot juste" when it comes to insightful thumbnails of former world leaders. The first half of the book is both tragic and comical, juxtaposing these young Polish pilots willing to risk all to have a chance to engage German fighters, and the lacksadaisical champagne-sipping French, on the one hand, with the exceedingly cautious Brits and Scots on the other hand, as they come to grips with the German onslaught. Each vignette relating how the English military officials gradually catch onto the fact that these Polish pilots are a priceless asset in the Battle of Britain forms a heartwarming story. Even the pilots who were killed in battle left me feeling that they died doing what they wanted to do most --- to hit the Germans and avenge the rape and plunder of their country, culture and civilization, both Jewish and Christian. The second half of the book provides some bone chilling insights into FDR's self-centered "real politik" and his total cluelessness in dealing with Stalin and the Soviet threat. How much could have been averted in terms of the Cold War and Berlin Wall had the U.S. President been savvier and basically less credulous. Equally rewarding are glimpses into Churchillian tailspins as that great statesman tries and fails, all too humanly, to keep his country's faith and integrity. Last but not least, anyone with any interest in the nature and tactics of Stalin needs to read this book. It is a masterpiece that conveys both a very comprehensive picture of certain aspects of WWII, militarily, politically and historically. It also does long-delayed justice to the bravery and suffering of the Polish people.
by Anne Wagner Findeisen, Esq/
Rating:
Summary: Honor Restored
Review: The authors have done a wonderful job with this book.I found this book to be hard to put down. They tell an important, over-looked story--the tremendous Polish contribution to the Allied cause in World War II-- in an accessible manner. Using the stories of the Kosciuszko Squadron (from its initial founding by American pilots after World War I to help win the Polish-Soviet War in the 1920's, to the disgraceful betrayal of them and the Polish nation by their fellow "allies") and many of its pilots, the authors manage to tell the much broader history of Poland, putting everything in an historical context. Every detail is very thoroughly researched and documented. I highly recommend it!
Rating: 
Summary: first half gripping, second half plodding
Review: The first section of the book--just about the first half--presents a now largely-story, about the Polish airmen's huge contribution to the World War Two effort, including their important role in the Battle of Britain which many to this day believe to be a decisive turning-point for the Allies against the Germans. This story provides both histories of some of the airmen involved and a sense of Polish history and its tragedies up to that time. This information is presented in such a thrilling narrative that I couldn't stop reading.
Sadly, once the second half starts, you feel as if you're reading a different book. I don't know if one author wrote one half and the other wrote the latter; perhaps it wasn't as simple as that. At any rate, the latter half is largely given over to the emergent geopolitical situation vis-vis the United States and Britain trying to appease Stalin. This information is presented so drily, you think you landed in the middle of a rather fusty history book, totally not suited to the beginning of the book. I think the publisher could have benefited by editing this material down to one concise chapter. By using that method, the shamefully craven behavior of the biggest Allied countries would have been covered, because it's important for folks nowadays to know exactly how Poland was betrayed, but the editing would have made this information conform more to the narrative brio of the first half. As it is, the two halves of the work do not coalesce.
Rating:
Summary: A must-read for every Polish-American
Review: The great achievement of this book is that it is very accessible to the non-professional historian while it presents a solid body of historical facts and figures. It is a quick and easy read and, more importantly, a very enjoyable read. I found it hard to put down at times. The snippets of biographical information about the Kosciuszko squadron pilots interspersed throughout the book give it a human dimension which captures the reader's attention. The authors' commentary on the political developments and what they reveal about the political leaders' personalities and character strengths and weaknesses is equally interesting. Having read some of the other reviews and as a Polish-American, I have to say that I am in complete agreement with the reviewer who said, "Poles will read this book with a melancholy mixture of pride and anger, Britons and Americans with an uneasy combination of admiration for the Poles and shame at their own nations' conduct." What is presented in this book underscores the fact that the motivations behind human actions, particularly in the political sphere, are never pure (despite the rhetoric) and always very complicated. Yet, if one digs deeply enough to the basic essence of one's values, one's actions will either uphold or betray those values.
Rating:
Summary: A truly valuable, but disturbing document
Review: The heroic exploits of Polish airmen, sailors and soldiers during WWII are a matter of historical record. All those still believing in the Nazi-inspired myth of the Polish Air Force being destroyed by the Germans on the ground within a few days, should read this. The Polish fighter pilots not only fought bravely for weeks against overwhelming numbers of superior German aircraft, but shot down some 150 Nazi planes in September of 1939 and after the fall of Poland took the fight to a recalcitrant, cowardly France, then to Great Britain, where they accumulated the highest shoot-down record in the RAF. The book also addresses (maybe in a bit too much detail) the shameful and disgraceful treatment of Poles and Poland by both Great Britain and the US during WWII and after the war. The ignorant, scheming attitude and actions of Franklin Delano Roosevelt and to a slightly lesser degree Winston Churchill are amply and ably documented. The misguided adoration of Joseph Stalin and the Soviet Union, by both of these revered "statesmen", should be known by everyone, who for some reason still retains any respect for these men without honor. Both were creators and signatories of the Atlantic Charter, which later became the basis for the U.N. Charter. The third point of the Atlantic Charter reads:"...they [signatories] respect the right of all peoples to choose the form of government under which they will live; and they wish to see sovereign rights and self government restored to those who have been forcibly deprived of them". This and other points of the Charter have been broken consistently by both Churchill and Roosevelt in regard to Poland. Polish fliers were idolized by both the British and US media, when their contribution was vital to the survival of Great Britain. The king and Winston Churchill visited the Polish squadrons on a regular basis during the Battle of Britain. Books, articles and even movies about them appeared all over Britain and the US. Unfortunately, as soon as the immediate danger to Great Britain has passed, Poland, Poles and their legitimate (i.e. London-based) government were relegated to the role of impediment to British and U.S. relations with "Uncle Joe" Stalin. Highly recommended for all students of history and to everyone, who values the truth.
Rating:
Summary: The Forgotten Heros of WWI
Review: The history of Poland's part in the defeat of Nazi Germany is often neglected. We hear of the heroics of the other Allies but not of the Poles. Typically the people of the west think of the Poles as those idiots that charged tanks with cavalry (turns out this was wartime German propoganda) and not being involed in the winning of the Battle of Britan.
This book written by a non-Pole is a step on the road in righting the history of the war. The contributions of these pilots who fought on knowing that they would never be able to see their homes again due to the betrayl of their anglo-american allies.
Read the book to answer these questions for yourself: Who realised the amount of fighter pilots Poland contributed to the war effort? Who knew of the amount of kills they racked up? Who knew how poorly the Brits treated the pilots as idiots who were better pilots than there own? What honor did they receive at the end of the war? How did the allies look down on these heros?
This book shows the human side of the life of a fighter pilot be he Polish, American or German. All pilots think and act the same.
I encourage that this book be read by Americans of Polish descent, you have a proud heritage to live up to.
Rating:
Summary: A Question of Honor
Review: The story is heroic and very touching to have gone through so much,and not to be able to go home and not to be able to participate in the victory celebrations after the war must have been a bitter pill to take. After all the reason for WWII was the invasion of Poland.I highly recommend this book.
Rating:
Summary: Incredible Read
Review: This book is what I would describe as an incredible read. It reads well and is informative, while not bogging you down in the depressing stastics that one associates with this dark period of human history. The book itself is presented in a quasi-narrative form following primarily the life of five Polish fighter pilots that fought against the Germans in WWII first with the French and ultimately with the British. The later half of the book goes in depth into the meetings and dealings of the Big Three, Stalin, Churchill and Roosevelt, and how they completed the 5th partition of Poland, in effect, throwing all the high morals they established in the Atlantic Charter to the gutter. The book conveys a sense of unforgotten romance often associated with Polish history, the fighter pilots are gentlemen-warriors, scholars and intellectuals, and also portrays American and British society's reactions to the triumphs of these incredible individuals. This book will shock and astound anyone who reads it, and will force you to reflect upon the mishaps of history that are still clouded in ignorance and misinformation.
Rating:
Summary: Heroism and Betrayal
Review: This book retells, in all its grim truth, the story of how the Polish armed forces, particularly its Air Force, fought bravely for the Western Allies in WWII against the Nazis. That account takes up the first third of the book or so, and then the story begins to unfold about how Churchill and FDR, in order to placate Stalin and the Russians, slowly but surely went back on their promises to the Polish people, and in the end betrayed them into captivity by another totalitarian state, which captivity lasted almost 45 more years. It's a heartbreaking tale, extremely well told and documented, and shows the political saints of the Western Allies to have had feet of clay as regards Eastern Europe. Churchill at least suffered qualms of conscience occasionally about what he was doing to the Poles, but FDR didn't seem to give a damn! Read this book and you will be filled with the same righteous indignation I felt when going through it. Being Polish, of course, I have a vested interest in the country and the people, but it still is a book well worth reading for the other side to the story of the "peace" settlement concerning Eastern Europe.
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