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Michener, James - Poland
JAMESA.
MICIHIENER

POLAND
Though the Poles were doomed to live in the battle-
ground of Eastern Europe and to fight in many historic
conflicts, they were as robust and zestful in the pursuit
of pleasure and grandeur as they were valiant in war-
fare. And no invader has ever conquered the heart of
Poland, that spirit which is the inheritance of sons and
daughters, the private passion of families and the
ancient, unbreakable tie to all those who came before.
James Michener's spectacular novel, a masterly blend of
fact and fiction, reveals this spirit in all its drama and
tragedy. It also suggests why such an admirable and
talented people have seldom been able to achieve the
freedom for which they have so deeply yearned.

Also by James A. Michener
SPACE
CARAVANS
CENTENNIAL
CHESAPEAKE
THECOVENANT
SAYONARA
TALES OF THE SOUTH PACIFIC
RASCALS IN PARADISE (with A. Grove Day)
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Michener, James - Poland
THE DRIFTERS
HAWAII
THESOURCE
RETURN TO PARADISE
THE FIRES OF SPRING
THE BRIDGE AT ANDAU
THE BRIDGES AT TOKO-RI
MICHENER MISCELLANY
MICHENER ON SPORT
IBERIA (Volume 1)
IBERIA (Volume 2)
and published by Corgi Books
James A. Michener
FrA
CORGI BOOKS
0

Acknow~ ledgements
POLAND
A CORGI BOOK 0 552 12461 3
Originally published in Great Britain by
Martin Secker & Warburg Limited
PRINTING HISTORY
Secker & Warburg edition published 1983
Corgi edition published 1984
Copyright @ 1983 by James A. Michener
Conditions of sale
1. This book is sold subject to the condition
that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise,
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Michener, James - Poland
be lent, re-sold, hired out or otherwise circulated
without the publisher's prior consent
in any form of binding or cover
other than that in which it is published
and without a similar condition including this condition
being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.
2. This book is sold subject to the Standard Conditions
of Sale of Net Books and may not be re-sold in the UK
below the net price fixed by the publishers for the book.
4
This book is set in 10111 Palatino
Corgi Books are published by Transworld Publishers Ltd.,
Century House, 61-63 Uxbridge Road, Ealing, London W5 5SA
Made and printed in Great Britain by
Hunt Barnard Printing Ltd., Aylesbury, Bucks.
In 1977 a television company invited me to go to any
exotic place in the world to shoot a documentary, and I
astonished them by choosing without hesitation:'Poland.'
When they asked why, I replied: 'If you look at its
geographical and ideological position, you'll see that it
must become a focal point within the next decade.'
In succeeding years I visited Poland some eight times,
traveling to almost every part of the nation. Private
sources provided me with a helicopter for the better part
of a week. I used to fly at a very low altitude over all of
Poland. I was encouraged to visit schools, universities,
laboratories, artcenters, historical sites,andatone point
I said that what I needed most was to spend some time
with a devout Roman Catholic clergyman who spoke
English. By good luck I was taken to see the Bishop of
Krakow, Karol Wojtyla, with whom I had a series of
productive conversations. Later I spent time with
Cardinal Wyszynski and Primate Glemp, and through
them was allowed to see the workings of a church within
a Communist country.
By accident I spent a beautiful vacation at Lancut
Palace and by design an extended tour to some dozen of
Poland's magical castles. I also spent an equal amount of
time in the heavy inclustriesof Katowiceand in the Lenin
shipyards at Gdansk. By carl traveled many hundredsof
miles to all parts of Poland.
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Michener, James - Poland
In such work I had theguiclanceof EdwardJ. Piszek,an
American Pole who, because of his humanitarian
interest, had strong ties to Polish affairs, with an entree
to almost any facet of Polish life. The car in which I
traveled was often driven by his assistant, Stanley
Moszuk, a gifted citizen of Poland with a strong know-

ledge of its art and history.
When the timecamein 1979that I thoughtof writinga
novel about the critical developments in Poland, it was

obvious tome that since I did not speak Polish or read it, I
would need some kind of bibliographical assistance, and
Piszek and Moszuk came up with the idea of asking some
dozen top intellects in Poland to draft summaries of
recent scholarship in fifteen vital fields. They chose the
scholars; I set the topics; and a happy relationship
ensued. The scholars received payment for summariz-
ing material they already knew well and I received an
unmatched overview of Polish history as local authori-
ties view it today.
They wrote in Polish, whichwas translated by experts
who sometimes knew the field under discussion as well
as the writer. From such sources and many others I
compiled an impressive body of research data, including
some excellent books written in Polish but now available
in English.
After I had digestedan enormous body of materialand
felt myself prepared towrite the novelwhich Ihadhadin
mind for some years, I returned to Poland in thesummer
of 1981 and revisited every spot I proposed to write
about: Tannenberg, where the great battle took place;
Malbork, of the Teutonic Knights; Zamosc, which must
be one of the most evocative small cities in Europe;
Krzyztopor, a castle of unbelievable dimension; Dukla,
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Michener, James - Poland
of the captivating Mniszechs; Krakow, with its trum-
peter; and of course, thatsection of the Vistula shoreline
which would house my story. I mention no Polish place
in this novel which I have not visited, and that includes
Kiev, which was once Polish.
I followed each mile of Jan Sobieski's military expedi-
tion to Vienna,and there tracedout his brilliant defense
of thatcity. I went to all borders, followed all the military
trails my characters would follow, and lived once more in
Lancut Palace, imagining myself a guest of the great
Princess Lubomirska, friend of Goethe, Ben Franklin
and Thomas Jefferson, all of whom considered her one
of the most brilliant women in Europe.
One of my best excursions was with a pair of notable
Polish scholars, who spent two weeks with me finding
specific and out-of-the-way sites I wished to write
about, including remote and towering Niedzica, which
vi
used to guard the far Hungarian border.
I had the remarkable experience of being arrested
twice within ninety minutes for speeding in Czecho-
slovakia, once at forty miles an hour, once at forty-five.
'Polish license plates will trap you every time,' my
companion explained. One had to pay the fine in
Czechoslovakian currency, of course. But it could be
purchased only miles distant from the point of arrest. I
left Czechoslovakia just aheadof the police, who wanted
to make a third arrest. I left Poland one week before
martial law was declared.
The point of these comments is that I was constantly
befriended and advised by a sterling groupof Polish men
and women who discussed with me hour after hour
every aspect of Polish history that I proposed touching.
Normally, as I have done in my other novels, I would list
their names, their impressive occupations, their achieve-
ments in research and scholarship,but I cannot ascertain
whether in the present climate this would hurt or help
them
I know this: they were loyal Poles; they loved their
land; they spoke of it with unbounded affection and
never a hintof disaffection. Theywere patriotsof ahigh
order; two of them who had spent time in Auschwitzand
Majdanek brought tears to my eyes as we retraced in
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