Unvanquished is the epic story of Joseph Pilsudski (1867-1935), the father of Polish independence. Poland was once one of the most powerful, prosperous, and progressive states in the world. But at the time of Pilsudski’s birth, Poland did not officially exist, as the country had been partitioned by its German (Prussian, Austrian) and Russian neighbors in 1795. Through a combination of perseverance, singleness of purpose, and luck, Pilsudski was able to resurrect Poland as an independent republic, and through his inspirational leadership, to protect the state against its traditional enemies.
Pilsudski was an unlikely messiah. During much of his life, he was impoverished, imprisoned, or under constant threat of arrest. He was denied a university education, a traditional career, or a normal family life. Yet somehow he emerged as the leader of the restored Polish state, and although lacking formal military training, defeated the Red Army, which was intent on spreading the Bolshevik Revolution to Poland, and beyond. He was Poland’s preeminent patriot, the most charismatic politician of the era, and a quintessential modern hero.
Yet few outside of Eastern Europe are familiar with Pilsudski and Poland’s story, partially because this history has often been deliberately distorted. Poland has been the victim of two hundred years of negative publicity, in part orchestrated by her enemies, which has manifested itself in everything from revisionist history to bad jokes. This book is an attempt to set the record straight.
I am interested in where this book can be bought, and in what form -- paper, ebook, etc.
ReplyDeleteUnvanquished (hardcover) is still at the printer, but will be available at bookstores, websites (such as Amazon, etc) in October. Detailed ordering information will be posted at www.JosephPilsudski.com as soon as available. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteNote- Unvanquished's distributor is Small Press United, which works closely with Independent Book Publishers Association. Purchase information for the book can be found at www.ipgbook.com
ReplyDeletehttp://www.ipgbook.com/unvanquished-products-9780983656302.php?page_id=32&pid=PIN
This book is apologist hagiography and fundamentally dishonest, for example, Hetherington describes the treaty of Versailles favourably to the treaty of Brest-Litovsk,
ReplyDelete"In the March 1918 Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, the Germans obtained the Bolshevik’s agreement to relinquish 300,000 square miles of resource-rich territory inhabited by 50 million people"
What Hetherington fails to mention is that this territory was mainly composed of nation states that did not belong to Russia. It may be true that Germany intended to govern the Baltic states as quasi-autonomous principalities, but this was not the theft of Russian territory and did not put the Baltic nations in a more disadvantageous position to their previous Russian dominance. The bulk of this territory, however, comprised The Ukraine, which was granted full independence from Russia, an objective incidentally that Obama and Nuyland are fighting for right now. Very little Russian territory was, in fact, appropriated.
Pilsudski was a braggart, a blowhard and an incompetent who whose reputation was based on a victory scored against the totally useless Russian Marshal Tukhachevski, later purged and executed by Stalin.
Actually, General Tukhachevski was a very competent commander and able one at that. He was very successful during the First World War. I do not know what your bias is against Pilsudski, but he is hero for the reason being that everyone just about gave up on a Polish state except him. Sure Dmowski wanted to secure a Polish state but with the aid of Russia. We both know that would not have worked because of the Bolshevik Revolution that occurred in 1917. Pilsudski was also a very successful military commander. How do you explain his victories over the Russians in World War I? Sure, he was not the most economically competent leader, but he left the economy in the hands of those in the government. He strictly focused on securing diplomatic relations with their neighbors. I would argue that he did better than anyone else would have. Whatever your qualms against this man, I feel like you should take a step back and look at the bigger picture. He gave Poland that feeling of hope once again.
DeleteThis book is apologist hagiography and fundamentally dishonest, for example, Hetherington describes the treaty of Versailles favourably to the treaty of Brest-Litovsk,
ReplyDelete"In the March 1918 Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, the Germans obtained the Bolshevik’s agreement to relinquish 300,000 square miles of resource-rich territory inhabited by 50 million people"
What Hetherington fails to mention is that this territory was mainly composed of nation states that did not belong to Russia. It may be true that Germany intended to govern the Baltic states as quasi-autonomous principalities, but this was not the theft of Russian territory and did not put the Baltic nations in a more disadvantageous position to their previous Russian dominance. The bulk of this territory, however, comprised The Ukraine, which was granted full independence from Russia, an objective incidentally that Obama and Nuyland are fighting for right now. Very little Russian territory was, in fact, appropriated.
Pilsudski was a braggart, a blowhard and an incompetent who whose reputation was based on a victory scored against the totally useless Russian Marshal Tukhachevski, later purged and executed by Stalin.
I loved your book, but I had to check it out from the library because I could not find a copy that was less than $75.00. Could you explain why this is? Or could you tell me where I could find a your book as its current listing at $25.00?
ReplyDeleteI recommended your book in my blog at historyandhealing.blogspot.com. Do you know a place where I can find your book listed at $25.00? For some reason I can only find it on amazon for $75.00. I had to check out the book from a local library, but I want to buy it.
ReplyDelete