Full circle

Full Circle is a moving personal and political account of a country and its people emerging from under the rubble of Communism. For Sikorski, rebuilding a dworek (manor house) known as Chobielin was not just a real-estate investment - it was a literal and symbolic contribution to the task of rebuilding his country. With a novelist's eye for revealing detail and a politician's instinct for the deeper currents running through society, Sikorski tells the dramatic story of his family - his childhood under Communism, his parents resistance to authoritarianism, his relatives on all sides of the political spectrum (including a great-uncle who survived Buchenwald and Dachau). At the same time, literally unearthing Polish history on the grounds of his home - one of his discoveries was a silver half grosz piece dating from the sixteenth century - Sikorski also brings to life for American readers the dramatic history of Poland, where national identity has always been problematic. Occupied by Warsaw Pact troops under Communism, carved up by the German and Soviet Armies during World War II, invaded by Prussians, Russians, and Teutons throughout the centuries, Poland has constantly struggled under the burden of foreign conquerors. An engrossing personal memoir, Full Circle is also a fascinating insider's account of the political transformation of a country that has come full circle many times over the years in its quest for a national identity.