Books Are Weapons: The Polish Opposition Press and the Overthrow of Communism (Russian and East European Studies)

Doucette, Siobahn

ISBN 10: 082296502X / ISBN 13: 9780822965022

Published by University of Pittsburgh Press, 2017

Seller Inventory # ABLIING23Feb2416190244548

Synopsis:

Much attention has been given to the role of intellectual dissidents, labor, and religion in the historic overthrow of communism in Poland during the 1980s. Books Are Weapons presents the first English-language study of that which connected them - the press. Siobhan Doucette provides a comprehensive examination of the Polish opposition’s independent, often underground, press and its crucial role in the events leading to the historic Round Table and popular elections of 1989. While other studies have emphasized the role that the Solidarity movement played in bringing about civil society in 1980-1981, Doucette instead argues that the independent press was the essential binding element in the establishment of a true civil society during the mid- to late 1980s. Based on a thorough investigation of underground publications and interviews with important activists of the period from 1976 to 1989, Doucette shows how the independent press, rooted in the long Polish tradition of well-organized resistance to foreign occupation, reshaped this tradition to embrace nonviolent civil resistance while creating a network that evolved from a small group of dissidents into a broad opposition movement with cross-national ties and millions of sympathizers. It was the galvanizing force in the resistance to communism and the rebuilding of Poland’s democratic society.

About the Author: Siobhan Doucette is an independent scholar with a PhD in history from Georgetown University.

Bibliographic Details

Title: Books Are Weapons: The Polish Opposition ...
Publisher: University of Pittsburgh Press
Publication Date: 2017
Binding: Soft cover
Condition: New