Dziki Wschód: Transformacja po polsku, 1986–1993 The wild east: Transformation the Polish way, 1986–1993

Contrary to appearances, writing about the most recent history is the most difficult. This is not necessarily due to the relatively large amount of material, which takes a long time to analyze and critique, but also because there are still many people alive who remember this history. They remember their past selectively and often find it difficult to understand that the experiences of the individual do not always correspond to those of the public. It is also expected to judge the past from the perspective of knowledge of what happened later, and one can get the mistaken impression that contemporaries made decisions in the past knowing their consequences.Michał Przeperski's Dziki Wschód: Transformacja po polsku, 1986–1993 The wild east: Transformation the Polish way, 1986–1993 differs from most publications that deal with the late 1980s and early 1990s. It focuses on that period's society, showing people's everyday life, dilemmas, and fears. The author tries to look at social changes through the eyes of ordinary people, observing to what extent the transformation “surprised” Poles and to what extent they co-created it. This is not to say that political history does not at all appear in the book; the entire first chapter, entitled “It Could Have Been Different,” is devoted to Mikhail Gorbachev's policies and the dynamics of the Polish political system. At this point, questions can be asked about the extent to which this chapter has to do with the Polish experience and about whether the Poles paid any attention to the transformations in the Soviet Union at the time. Such an objection, however, would be misplaced. After all, one can only understand Polish everyday life by understanding the context described in the book. Changes in Poland would not have been possible without the consent of the USSR, and it should be remembered that this may not be obvious to younger readers.The Wild East is an academic book for the popular audience with a copious bibliography, ranging from archival material to press. The timeframe covered by the author could be better explained: he motivates his choice by writing in the introduction that 1986 brought the beginning of Gorbachev's perestroika, the collapse of public sentiment, and the Chernobyl disaster. The narrative ends in 1993, when the last Soviet troops left Poland and VAT was introduced. This choice is convincing, as is the departure from the usually accepted caesura of 1989. However, Przeperski could have explained more fully why he considers these dates the cut-off points for the themes explored in the book.It is also worth noting that the book describes the lives of “ordinary” Poles and gives them a voice. We can read about illegal, small-scale entrepreneurship in the story of a student who, to make some money, travelled to the brotherly socialist countries to trade. We learn how he borrowed dollars from his uncle, bought goods in Poland, and travelled with them, for example, to Hungary, where he later sold them. The “business” only sometimes paid off; after all, the goods could be lost, or the sale could not pay off. There was also always the fear of being caught at the border or cheated. For some, it was the story of their youth; for others, these are family stories at hearing which one's eyes can open wide in disbelief. Other stories narrated in the book look at the Polish transition period through the eyes of a high school girl or a local newspaper journalist.The elements missing in the book include the voices of those for whom the transformation proved to be the most challenging experience, i.e., workers, miners, or farmers. Of course, their situation and experiences are described (pp. 338–348), but it would be of great benefit to complete the picture of Poland at the turn of the 1980s and 1990s by depicting, in their own words, what they then thought. How did they deal with privatizing or liquidating factories or the State Agricultural Farms? Did they not regret the changes and already appreciate communism? These are difficult experiences to speak or write about but are an integral part of Poland's social history. Furthermore, missing, too, is the perspective of the Catholic Church, for which the changes of the late twentieth century were, after all, also painful. The Church needed to adapt to the changed reality and new social needs. At the same time, perhaps by making all these voices speak, the book would be too extensive or would only signal a polyphony of changes.Despite a few minor shortcomings, The Wild East is a book that undoubtedly deserves a recommendation. It offers a captivating insight into the situation of Poles during the transformation period. The book is not just engaging, but also highly accessible, making it a compelling read for readers of all generations. Older readers can revisit their memories and compare their experiences, while younger readers can gain a deeper understanding of the hardships and challenges of living in a transition period. The author refrains from passing judgment on different attitudes and opinions, instead showcasing a multitude of perspectives, attitudes, and fears to the reader. The situation of Poles at the dawn of the 1990s will undoubtedly continue to be the subject of in-depth studies by historians or sociologists. While more studies on political history emerge the social history of this period still requires much in-depth research.