Book picks similar to
Neither German Nor Pole: Catholicism and National Indifference in a Central European Borderland by James Bjork
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Out of China: How the Chinese Ended the Era of Western Domination
Robert Bickers - 2017
Invaded, humiliated and looted, China nonetheless kept its sovereignty. Robert Bickers' major new book is the first to describe fully what has proved to be one of the modern era's most important stories: the long, often agonising process by which the Chinese had by the end of the 20th century regained control of their own country.Out of China uses a brilliant array of unusual, strange and vivid sources to recreate a now fantastically remote world: the corrupt, lurid modernity of pre-War Shanghai, the often tiny patches of 'extra-territorial' land controlled by European powers (one of which, unnoticed, had mostly toppled into a river), the entrepôts of Hong Kong and Macao, and the myriad means, through armed threats, technology and legal chicanery, by which China was kept subservient. Today Chinese nationalism stays firmly rooted in memories of its degraded past - the quest for self-sufficiency, a determination both to assert China's standing in the world and its outstanding territorial claims, and never to be vulnerable to renewed attack. History matters deeply to Beijing's current rulers - and Out of China explains why.
Inventing Eastern Europe: The Map of Civilization on the Mind of the Enlightenment
Larry Wolff - 1994
The author argues that this conceptual reorientation from the previously accepted "Northern" and "Southern" was a work of cultural construction and intellectual artifice created by the philosophes of the Enlightenment. He shows how the philosophers viewed the continent from the perspective of Paris and deliberately cultivated an idea of the backwardness of "Eastern Europe" the more readily to affirm the importance of "Western Europe".
Henry: A Polish Swimmer's True Story of Friendship from Auschwitz to America
Katrina Shawver - 2017
Couched in the interview style of Tuesdays with Morrie, Henry relates in his own voice a life as a champion swimmer, interrupted by three years imprisoned in Auschwitz and Buchenwald as a Polish political prisoner. With a pragmatic gallows humor, and sense of hope, he showed the author how to truly live for today, preferably with a shot of good Polish vodka. Henry's path of resiliency and power of connection are as relevant today, as they were in World War II.Henry reminds us that no single class of people was safe from Hitler's reach or imprisonment, and no country suffered more under Hitler and Stalin than Poland. This bridge to history and view of the Holocaust through Polish eyes is supported by extensive research, and features more than 70 original photos and rare German documents. Ultimately, Henry is the story a strong young man, who survives by his wits, humor, friends, and a healthy dose of luck. This book is for the discerning adult looking for an intelligent read that examines World War II, the Holocaust, and the true meaning of friendship then and now.
Privatizing Poland: Baby Food, Big Business, and the Remaking of Labor
Elizabeth C. Dunn - 2004
Using a blend of ethnography and economic geography, Elizabeth C. Dunn shows how management technologies like niche marketing, accounting, audit, and standardization make up flexible capitalism's unique form of labor discipline. This new form of management constitutes some workers as self-auditing, self-regulating actors who are disembedded from a social context while defining others as too entwined in social relations and unable to self-manage.Privatizing Poland examines the effects privatization has on workers' self-concepts; how changes in personhood relate to economic and political transitions; and how globalization and foreign capital investment affect Eastern Europe's integration into the world economy. Dunn investigates these topics through a study of workers and changing management techniques at the Alima-Gerber factory in Rzesz�w, Poland, formerly a state-owned enterprise, which was privatized by the Gerber Products Company of Fremont, Michigan.Alima-Gerber instituted rigid quality control, job evaluation, and training methods, and developed sophisticated distribution techniques. The core principle underlying these goals and strategies, the author finds, is the belief that in order to produce goods for a capitalist market, workers for a capitalist enterprise must also be produced. Working side-by-side with Alima-Gerber employees, Dunn saw firsthand how the new techniques attempted to change not only the organization of production, but also the workers' identities. Her seamless, engaging narrative shows how the employees resisted, redefined, and negotiated work processes for themselves.
Irena Sendler and the Children of the Warsaw Ghetto
Susan Goldman Rubin - 1984
Using toolboxes, ambulances, and other ingenious measures, Irena Sendler defied the Nazis and risked her own life by saving and then hiding Jewish children. Her secret list of the children's real identities was kept safe, buried in two jars under a tree in war-torn Warsaw. An inspiring story of courage and compassion, this biography includes a list of resources, source notes, and an index.
The School for Good and Evil 2-Book Box Set
Soman Chainani - 2015
Sophie, with her glass slippers and pink dresses, thinks she'll earn top marks at the School for Good. Meanwhile, Agatha, with her shapeless black frocks and wicked black cat, seems a natural fit for the School for Evil.But when the two girls are swept into the Endless Woods, they find their fortunes are reversed…. The aftermath leads to unexpected paths, new alliances, and an exhilarating quest to find their true Ever After.Soman Chainani has created a spectacular world that Rick Riordan, author of the bestselling Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, says "reimagines the world of fairy tales and will make you question who is good and who is evil," and that Newbery Medal-winning author Ann M. Martin calls "a fairy tale like no other, complete with romance, magic, humor, and a riddle that will keep you turning pages until the end."
Mister Doctor
Irène Cohen-Janca - 2015
Korczak abandon the children of the Warsaw Ghetto.November 1940. A circus parade walks through the streets of Warsaw, waving a flag and singing. They are 160 Jewish children, forced by the Nazis to leave their beloved orphanage. It’s a sad occasion, but led by Doctor Korczak, their inspirational director, the children are defiantly joyful.Their new home is in the ghetto, a prison for Jews. Day by day, more people arrive. Some are forced to live on the street and freeze to death. Others die of disease and starvation, Though they lack food, warmth, and freedom, the children’s spirits are sustained by the steadfast respect and kindness of “Mister” Doctor.But the Jewish children will never grow up: in August 1942, they board the train that will carry them away to the death camps. Offered his freedom, Doctor Korczak refuses to abandon the children and proudly joins them on their last journey.This profoundly moving illustrated book is based on the true story of the celebrated Polish educator, writer, and doctor Janusz Korczak. His works inspired the Universal Declaration of the Rights of the Child, which was adopted by the UN in 1959.With mood-setting artwork and lyrical text, Mister Doctor allows young readers to meet the remarkable man whose humanity and bravery still stand as a glimmer of light in one of history’s darkest periods.
Prehistoric Investigations: From Denisovans to Neanderthals; DNA to stable isotopes; hunter-gathers to farmers; stone knapping to metallurgy; cave art to stone circles; wolves to dogs
Christopher Seddon - 2016
In addition to fieldwork and traditional methods, paleoanthropologists and archaeologists now draw upon genetics and other cutting-edge scientific techniques. In fifty chapters, Prehistoric Investigations tells the story of the many thought-provoking discoveries that have transformed our understanding of the distant past.
Fallen Eagle: The last days of the Third Reich
Robin Cross - 2020
The Allies were determined to end the war in Europe quickly and with as little bloodshed as possible. But the Germans were by no means prepared to yield - though they could see the war was lost. Thus began one of the most crucial years in the history of the world, and its climax, the desperate battle for Berlin, brought to a close one of the darkest chapters mankind has ever witnessed. The Allied effort pushed on from all fronts. In the east, Stalin's mighty war machine began its great offensive. From out of the swirling fog and snow, the Soviet steamroller crashed through the German lines on the Vistula, 125 miles south of Warsaw. Driving across the Polish plain towards the Oder, Germany's historic frontier with the east, Russia's advancing armored columns created panic in East Prussia. In the west, Eisenhower and Montgomery joined the race to destroy the heart of Nazi Germany - and defend Europe against Stalin's vaulting ambition. Through vivid, firsthand accounts from soldiers and civilians, privates, generals, and refugees, Fallen Eagle chronicles the triumphs and tragedies of the war's closing months - from the devastating, triple air raids on Dresden to "Spring's Awakening," Hitler's last offensive, with which he planned to retake Budapest and retain its oil fields; from the legendary summit in Yalta between Stalin, Roosevelt, and Churchill to an extraordinary account of Hitler's last days.
Dyatlov Pass Keeps Its Secret
Irina Lobatcheva - 2013
A month later their corpses were found, maimed and broken by eldritch forces. This incident has provoked wild speculation among even the most skeptical crowds, stimulated discussion among every conspiracy theorist in Russia, and haunted the imagination of many a hiker for half a century. Recently, the mystery of so-called "Dyatlov Pass" has undergone a renaissance of interest and has gained international publicity and coverage in the news, Hollywood, and literature. This book provides, in an easy-to-read format, comprehensive, bias-free coverage of the incident--complete with medical autopsy reports, excerpts from legal proceedings connected with the deaths of the hikers, and testimonies from the first responders who found the bodies. In short, this book contains everything one needs to join the ranks of thousands of people trying to uncover the secrets of the Dyatlov Pass.
The Real Silent Witnesses: Shocking cases from the World of Forensic Science
Wensley Clarkson - 2021
How do you identify a serial killer?What are the tell-tale signs of guilt?Can we now solve the unsolvable?Since even before the first season of Silent Witness in 1996, forensic science has played an increasingly important role in the investigation of violent crimes.With a boom in cold-blooded cases throughout the 1980s, police began to rely on DNA evidence to help them find perpetrators and since then forensic science has taken off as a powerful tool in solving murders. Bestselling true crime author Wensley Clarkson takes us beyond the headlines to examine the real-life stories where forensics have played a crucial role. He speaks to experts who have worked on the most gruesome, most chilling and most shocking crime scenes and explains how notorious criminal cases from across the world were solved.And he shows how the silent witness is often the one who screams the loudest.
Out on a Ledge: Enduring the Lodz Ghetto, Auschwitz, and Beyond
Eva Libitzky - 2010
Despite the deepest suffering and the most profound loss, Eva was able to rebuild her life, and with her husband, also a survivor, raise a family in America – in the city, suburbs, and on the farm. Lehrhaus is proud to publish the second edition, which includes Eva’s eventful return to Poland in 2013 with 16 of her closest relatives spanning three generations.
The Mammoth Book of New CSI
Nigel Cawthorne - 2012
Most of the cases are modern or have recently been reopened, often as a result of advances in forensic science.
Rose Petal Jam: Recipes and Stories from a Summer in Poland
Beata Zatorska - 2011
Included are more than 60 recipes for traditional Polish home cooked meals, from poppyseed cake and pierogi to fruit-flavored summer liqueurs. The photography—ranging across locales such as Warsaw, Poznan, the Tatra Mountains, and the Baltic Sea—showcases the Polish landscape and its influence on the country’s distinct cuisine.
Heads in the Sand: How the Republicans Screw Up Foreign Policy and Foreign Policy Screws Up the Democrats
Matthew Yglesias - 2008
He knows a lot about politics, a lot about foreign policy, and, crucially, is unusually shrewd in understanding how they interact. Here's hoping that his new book will introduce him to an even wider audience. Once you discover him, you'll be hooked.""--E. J. Dionne, author of Souled Out: Reclaiming Faith and Politics After the Religious Right and Why Americans Hate Politics""Matthew Yglesias is one of a handful of bloggers that I make a point of reading every day. Heads in the Sand is a smart, vital book that urges Democrats to stop evading the foreign-policy debate and to embrace the old principles of international liberalism--to be right and also to win.""--Fred Kaplan, author of Daydream Believers: How a Few Grand Ideas Wrecked American Power""Reading foreign policy tomes is seldom included among life's pleasures, but Yglesias has concocted a startling exception. Heads in the Sand is not just a razor-sharp analysis cum narrative of the politics of national security in general and the Iraq war in particular, it's also an enthralling and often very funny piece of writing. Though he administers strong antidotes to the haplessness of his fellow Democrats and liberals, there's more than a spoonful of sugar to help the medicine go down.""--Hendrik Hertzberg, Senior Editor, The New Yorker, and author of Politics: Observations and ArgumentsFast-rising political commentator Matthew Yglesias reveals the wrong-headed foreign policy stance of conservatives, neocons, and the Republican Party for what it is--aggressive nationalism. Writing with wit, passion, and keen insight, Yglesias reminds us of the rich tradition of liberal internationalism that, developed by Democrats, was used with great success by both Democratic and Republican administrations for more than fifty years. He provides a starting point for politicians, policymakers, pundits, and citizens alike to return America to its role as leader of a peace-loving and cooperative international community.