Customer Reviews
Thrice betrayed - By: Thomas Dunskus, 26 Oct 2008 
On the surface, this book is a very detailed & thorough description of the Warsaw uprising against the German occupationin the autumn of 1944. It deals not only with those extremely bloody events themselves, but also with the political situation that had brought them about & the even uglier aftermath of the fighting.
Norman Davies knows his material extremely well & brings life into all aspects of the question, be it the day-to-day conditions of the inhabitants of the Polish capital under German rule, the political activities of the Polish governmentin exilein London, the material preparation of the insurgency, the reaction of the German side or the difficulty of aiding the insurgents from far away.
The author also elaborates on the long-standing enmity of the Poles, especially those on the side of the Home Army, & the Soviets which had erupted a generation earlier into a bitter fight when the Bolsheviks tried to break through Poland into the centre of Europe, only to be repulsed on the very banks of the Vistula where they stood once againin 1944, but now with an extremely powerful & battle-hardened army the Poles could not hope to defeat a second time.
The snippets depicting the fighters & their helpers, which crop upin the text, not so much like photographs but rather like the artistical drawings we seein old newspapers, are extremely touching & allow the reader to feel his way into the tumultuous scenes & to establish an almost personal presence.
Aside from giving an extremely vivid & detailed account of the day-to-day fighting, the author describes the pitiful efforts of the Allies to help the Warsaw fighters by an air-lift from southern Italy, an extremely thin line of supply at best, with most of the provisions coming down on the wrong side of the front-lines.
The rising, as we all know, endedin tragedy, but if we listen attentively to what is being saidin this book beyond the mere description of battle scenes, we discover a deeper & quite disconcerting meaning: The state of Poland that was re-created at Versailles was never an aimin itself for Britain. It was set up as part of a network of states intended to keep Germany at bay & to ensure that the centre of Europe would remain an unstable area that could be manipulated from the outside, militarily or politically, as the situation might require.
The country was used as a pawnin 1939 to allow London to go to war against Hitler on the pretext of a guarantee pressed upon Warsaw, but this guarantee was never meant to be exercisedin any practical way, nor could it have been, & Poland was allowed to go downin the process. Five years later, when there was the hint of a chance to restore Polandin the face of the Soviet steam roller, it was betrayed twice over - first the Germans were allowed to crush the rebellion & then the Soviets could not be prevented from annihilating any form of Polish independence.
It is,in a way, quite ironical that - as we may gather from Norman Davies' account - the Germans were the only party to this foul game to treat the Poles squarely: not with kindness, far from it, but at least with some degree of honesty, as enemies intitially, & later even with due respect once the fighters of the Polish Home Army had agreed to identify themselves as such. The surrender of General Bor was a negotiated arrangement, the surviving fighters were treated as prisoners of war with many of them living to see the end of the warin German captivity, the non-combatants were let go.
The fate of those members of the Home Army who happened to fall into the hands of the Soviets was totally different: if they were not shot outright, they were made to stand trial & were sentenced very severely, especially the officers, most of whom never returned from the Gulag.
Perhaps the German actions were guided by a German film, "The Warsaw Citadel", producedin 1937. Its scenario is based on a Polish play, dramatising one of the many rebellions against Tsarist rule, the heroes are depicted as Polish patriots, many scenes were shot on locationin Warsaw, obviously with the blessings of the Polish government. For some obscure reason, this film is still blacklistedin Germany - possibly because some people want to keep history from becoming too complicated ...
"Rising `44" helps the reader to maintain a critical attitude with respect to the history of the Second World War.
A book worthy of attention - By: Mrs. TK Ellis, 28 Sep 2008 
This book is a rather lofty tome, but worth the read. It deals with the awful betrayal of the Polish Resistance, not only by the Soviet forces, but by the alliesin the West. As someone who has a passion for all things historical I was aware of the Warsaw uprising, but I learnt so much more from this book. I knew about the fact the Soviets had waited for the Poles to exhaust themselvesin the fight against the Wehrmacht, but I had no idea about the betrayal perpetratedin the the UK & US.
This book is rather weightyin places, & I found it hard going at times. However, I would recommend that you stick with it as the end result for the reader is not just a knowledge of eventsin Warsaw, but events that followed the war.
A Magnificent Account of the Battle for Warsaw 1944 - By: Dr. R. Brandon, 29 Jul 2008 This magnificent book must be the definitive workin English on the uprising of the Polesin Warsawin 1944 against their German oppressors. (Potential readers should not confuse this sixty-six day battle with the rather more limited & tragic ghetto rising of 1943.) The breadth & sweep of Davies' book & the staggering amount of research that must have been undertaken are truly impressive. Davies begins by examining the attitudes towards the occupation of Poland & the possibility of an uprisingin Warsaw that prevailedin the Allied capitals of London & Washington, alsoin Moscow whose armies were fast approaching the city &in Poland itself, a country with a long history of insurrection against occupiers. The actual uprising & its progress is dealt within considerable detail from all points of view including that of the Germans & the consistently hostile British press. 'Capsules' of personal experiences are insertedin the text that may be read or skipped to maintain the narrative thrust. The last part of the book deals with the Stalinist repression that followed the sweep West by the Soviet armies & the widespread operation of the NKVD (Secret Police) & brings us right up to the year 2000 with regard to the national treatment of the events of 1944. Davies goes to great lengths to describe fairly the actions of the Soviet forces but does not flinch at a clear description of the treatment of the Poles under the Soviet regime. In this respect the book is much more reliable than other histories provided by left-leaning academics. Equally the shabby treatment the Poles received from Roosevelt & also the British Foreign Office is explained plainly. Three sections of excellent contemporary photographs are provided together with copious appendices. Prospective buyers should know that Norman Davies is heldin high esteemin Poland & I have no hesitationin recommending this magnificent book to all those interestedin Polish history.
Raw Truth Hurts - By: Book Raven, 01 May 2007 Having recently returned from a business trip to Warsaw, but having the opportunity to visit the Warsaw Rising museum - a deeply moving & disturbing experience - I bought & found Norman Davies 'Rising' one of the best history books I have ever read. Not only is it passionate & well written, but it also leaves a nasty tastein the Western mouth as to our pathetic lack of support for the Warsaw polesin their desperate fight against the Nazis & then the Soviets. This is no light read, & no-one should approach it expecting an easy & simply factual recounting of the true Warsaw rising of 1944 so often confused with the earlier Warsaw Ghetto rising. It left me a sadder & hopefully more enlightened person. And I hope it is compulsory readingin German & Russian schools!
Poles don't give up.......ever - By: bobm, 30 Jan 2007 A soul stirring book. A nation with along tradition of rebellion, the Poles were always going to rise..it was just a matter of when. The Germans seem to have known this & therefore meted out special treatment during their occupation.
All the various aspects of politics, planning, communication & intelligence are covered without any great emphasis on military technicalities.
The only real issue I have with the narrative is the use of "The resistance" to cover the AK. They were the "home army", a fully military force with "proper" ranks & organisation & foughtin uniform. I feel "resistance" gives the general reader the impression of civilians with a gun.
When you read this & pick up on how Poles were fighting alongside their "allies"in Italy, Western Europe, with the Red Army (The polish paras were dropped into Arnhem whilst the rising was on...guess where they wanted to go! Read Poles Apart for their story) & yet so little positive help was extended towards Warsaw you feel humbled.
This book may just make you ask the next old chap you meet with a Polish surname "how did you get here?" & you may feel grateful to him for his sacrifice rather than maybe expect him to be grateful for being allowed to live here.
