Poland. James A. Michener.

Poland
James A Michener
New York: Random House/Fawcett. 1983.

Why read it? It's a novel, of course, but most of Michener's "novels" are really loaded with information about his topics, almost an encyclopedia, but told in story form. Michener is Polish and he wrote this novel to help people in the rest of the world understand the peculiar circumstances that makes Poland what it is--a country beset by large powers that have torn it apart, brutalized it, yet produced the people of courage who never give up trying to live productive lives. Poland was surrounded by Prussia, Austria and Russia, dismantled by the Tatars, by the Turkish Muslims, by the Swedes, by the combination of Prussia, Austria and Russia, by the Nazis and by the Soviet Union under Stalin. But as often as Poland was destroyed, the Polish people rebuilt. They spent most of their history fighting to save their land, suffering destruction and terror from their conquerors, but they were always resilient. They always rebuilt.

Some sample ideas from the book: The golden legend of the trumpeter of Krakow who from the battlements blew his trumpet to warn the people of the town that the Tatars had arrived. Shot in the throat by an arrow before finishing his notes, he is commemorated today in the center square of Krakow.

Several times the Poles were called on militarily to save Christianity and they did so, the first time against the Turkish Muslims. A most unlikely leader in appearance, Sobieski used the speed of his hussars with the singing feathers and did not allow the Turks to assemble their full force in the same place. He saved Vienna as a step in saving Western Christianity. And for their heroism the Poles were given no thanks by King Leopold who had escaped the siege and returned only when victory had been assured. He allowed statues to be built of himself, but not of the Polish heroes who saved his city.

When one thinks of Poland after reading this novel of its history, one thinks only of the spirit of the Poles, the love of their land, the brutality they endured and the wonder that they still brought themselves back to civilization. Poland seems to reflect the spirit of Christ. They can destroy you, but you rise again. Maybe as the epitome of a Christian country, maybe that is why Poland exists. As a people they exemplify the ideas and ideals of Christ.

Quote: "Thus died Henryk Pabozny, a man of super piety who believed that dukes should not run away in moments of danger but should stand and fight for their castles, their people and their God."