One of the most unexpected outcomes of the Soviet bloc's transition out of communism has been the divergent but important paths followed by once ruling communist parties. In Poland, Hungary, and Lithuania those parties transformed themselves into pro-Western free market center leftists who have won elections and formed governing coalitions periodically since the early 1990s. The result has been former communists leading their countries into NATO and the EU even as their conservative opponents continue to condemn them for their communist past. No less surprising has been the ability of...

This is a history of Poland's post-World War II Communist era, that approaches the transition from Communism to democracy through an analysis of Poland's political crises, beginning with the 1956 uprising and culminating in the 1990 collapse of the former Communist regime.

Poland's Journalists: Professionalism and Politics examines the position of journalists and journalism in Poland from the beginning of the country's trauma and revolts in 1948 until the disappointments of Solidarity and its repression by martial law in the 1980s. The author explores journalists' responses--both professionally and politically--to their country's crises, and convincingly argues that they shared common interests and values; that they developed formal and informal organizations and that their self-identification as a professional group is comparable with their journalistic...