[In Poland, a] sweeping, ambitious but uneven historical epic, Michener follows the fortunes of three family lines in Poland from the Middle Ages down to the present day…. In the first half of the book Michener bites off more than many readers will want to chew: so many historical developments are covered that his three families (peasant, gentry, nobility) flit rather vaguely through all the ensuing events…. The book includes a generous amount of Michener mini-lectures: how the Polish language is pronounced, Chopin's special place in Polish culture, the relationship of the Catholic church and the Communist party, the significance of Solidarity and many others. The overall impression Poland will leave with the reader is that of a permanently beleaguered country … inhabited by a people whose spirit of nationalism is fierce and unquenchable.

A review of "Poland," in Publishers Weekly (reprinted from the July 15, 1983 issue of Publishers Weekly...