Jan Karski's Story of a Secret State stands as one of the most poignant and inspiring memoirs of World War II and the Holocaust. With elements of a spy thriller; documenting his experiences in the Polish Underground; and as one of the first accounts of the systematic slaughter of the Jews by the German Nazis; this volume is a remarkable testimony of one man's courage and a nation's struggle for resistance against overwhelming oppression. Karski was a brilliant young diplomat when war broke out in 1939 with Hitler's invasion of Poland. Taken prisoner by the Soviet Red Army; which had simultaneously invaded from the East; Karski narrowly escaped the subsequent Katyn Forest Massacre. He became a member of the Polish Underground; the most significant resistance movement in occupied Europe; acting as a liaison and courier between the Underground and the Polish government-in-exile. He was twice smuggled into the Warsaw Ghetto; and entered the Nazi's Izbica transit camp disguised as a guard; witnessing first-hand the horrors of the Holocaust.Karski's courage and testimony; conveyed in a breathtaking manner in Story of a Secret State; offer the narrative of one of the world's greatest eyewitnesses and an inspiration for all of humanity; emboldening each of us to rise to the challenge of standing up against evil and for human rights. This definitive edition―which includes a foreword by Madeleine Albright; a biographical essay by Yale historian Timothy Snyder; an afterword by Zbigniew Brzezinski; previously unpublished photos; notes; further reading; and a glossary―is an apt legacy for this hero of conscience during the most fraught and fragile moment in modern history.
#320428 in Books New Press 2016-11-01Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.30 x 1.20 x 6.30l; .0 #File Name: 1620972611320 pagesNew Press
Review
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. A useful but not comprehensive review of a very dangerous Cold-War Incident that is unreadible on newer Kindles.By F. W. Strong IIINate Jones has done a real service in compiling the background declassified US and UK Intelligence Analytical Products regarding the Soviet reaction to ABLE ARCHER 83. I had just returned to the US DoD Intel Community as a Specified Command Intelligence Watch Chief as AA-83 ran; and am genuinely interested in what had occurred and the US Indications and Warning Community had missed. Two factors detract from its utility. First; there is very little information provided from the Soviet viewpoint. This information is available at the Hoover Library at Stanford and would have added considerable credibility to the work. The second; and more serious limitation is a matter of presentation. I had this book downloaded to my newer Kindle and most of the essential declassified texts were simply unreadable. They were much too small to read even with a magnifying glass. When I downloaded the book to my old Kindle DX; I could decipher them. Hopefully the printed version does not suffer from this limitation.20 of 20 people found the following review helpful. Read the primary source documents on-line; don't buy this book.By T TylerThe author the National Security Archives are to be commended for their work which led to the variety of Able Archer documents being declassified; released; and published on the National Security Archives web page. However; after buying reading this book; I'm at a loss as to why in the world they bothered with it. Much of the book is simply poor reproductions of the material they obtained posted on their web page; and then Nate Jones basically repeating "The Soviets were really; really worried about Able Archer in particular; President Reagan in-general. The US government didn't know or believe that the Soviets actually thought that the USA could or would ever initiate a first-strike; so they had no idea that a strategic nuclear war exercise like Able Archer would greatly alarm them" over many pages.Usually when it comes to strategic command control; nuclear operations; etc. I'm excited to read the book then keep it for future reference in my library; but with this book; I'm trying to decide if it's even worth the postage to mail it off to a friend; since I have no desire to make room for it in my book case.19 of 19 people found the following review helpful. Book? What book?By Dr. Moses B. AltsechThis is a 59 page pamphlet (some of it is context; some of it commentary; and some actually about Able Archer); which is accompanied by 240 pages of [often redacted or barely legible] photocopied documents. In all fairness there is no author (this is EDITED BY Nate Jones); and the description says that the story is TOLD THROUGH declassified documents. You should take both very; very literally. Yet this looks like a book; and it's referred to as a book in the back cover reviews; when in reality it's no more a book than the most recent issue of Cosmo. You can learn just as much about Able Archer by googling it. You have $27 to spare? Order a pizza and a six pack of beer to celebrate not having bought this.
