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Poland in World War II by Andrew Hempel (2000), 117 pages.

 

This is a short book with the subtitle "An Illustrated Military History," published recently by respected Hippocrene Books, which has offered us dozens of books in English on Polish themes. In this case, about half of the contents is taken up by photographs, and the text is based on the author's lecture offered in New England. We learn that this lecture was prompted by certain inaccuracies published in an American daily.  It is a short review of Poland's participation in World War II, divided into a dozen concise chapters, starting with the September 1939 military campaign and terminating with the Warsaw Uprising. Exigencies of space limit the author's narrative to a bare minimum. For the reader with some knowledge of these events the presentations may seem to be inadequate and, on occasion, superficial. However, for a reader who actually has little information about Poland's participation in this cataclysmic event, the small book will be quite revealing. It may also be an invitation to learn more with the help of the handy basic bibliography of English language works.

 

As we are about to observe the 61st anniversary of WW II, this work will be found useful by many readers, particularly the younger generation interested in things Polish.