Student Politics in Communist Poland Generations of Consent and Dissent [Hardcover]

Tom Junes has written a thorough and compelling book on students, who have figured as an important and often underestimated collective actor in contemporary Polish history.... Although the narrative of the book focuses on political processes, Junes shows sensitivity to the broader social context, nuances, and mechanisms underpinning student politics as well. The latter is perhaps the most valuable dimension of the book. The monograph provides readers with what is probably the most in-depth and accurate portrait of the Stalinist generation, focusing on those who came of age and were socialized in the early 1950s, when terror and indoctrination reached their peak.... Junes does not hesitate to offer grand interpretations, which doubtlessly enhance not only the scope but also the value of the book.... Student Politics in Communist Poland remains a well-researched, readable, even snappy book.... The result is a detailed and in many ways brilliant panorama of Polish history, seen from a well-chosen angle: the lens of the experiences of different generations of students.This meticulous study delves into a wealth of Polish archives and is notable for extended interviews conducted by the author with key actors in Poland.... Junes is to be congratulated on his pioneering account of this previously understudied elite.Tom Junes in his book . . . looks at the important part of Polish history, taking particularly interesting and basically unprecedented perspective. . . .Noteworthy is the richness and diversity of source material that [was] used to prepare the book.In twelve brisk chapters, Junes provides an overview of Polish student activism between 1945 and 1989&. His account draws on documents from more than a dozen Polish archives, as well as interviews with some fifty former activists, many of whom are quoted at length. It is exhaustively researched, impressively thorough, and admirably concise&.This well-researched monograph by Tom Junes provides a historical overview of slCV