Located between the former Soviet Union and Germany Poland has the potential to become a political and economic bridge between the East and the West. It is crucial to European security and stabilization. Yet, the list of reference books on recent Polish history is very short. This book, a companion to the Historical Dictionary of Poland, 966-1945 , provides information on Polish political, economic, and cultural history since 1945 Written for English-speaking readers, the book includes entries on the most important events and personalities in the past 51 years of Polish history. It covers the entire history of communist Poland, the great changes of 1989, and the main developments during the first seven years of the post-communist era. In this sequel to Jerzy J. Lerski and Richard J. Kozidki's Historical Dictionary of Poland, 966-1945 (Greenwood, 1996), University of Toronto professor Wr?bel helps fill a void in reference publishing by providing another substantive work on Poland. Here Wr?bel details the people, places, events, and beliefs of the Poles since World War II. The alphabetically arranged entries range in length from a few lines to several pages, each referenced with English-language sources to facilitate further research. However, since English sources are rare for this subject, the secondary literature is often in Polish. Although Wr?bel ranges widely to cover all facets of Polish history and culture, he tends to pay more attention to political and historical figures than to cultural ones. What makes this book highly useful, though, is not only the vast numbers of people, institutions, and events documented but also the explanation of Polish attitudes toward such things as abortion and the Roman Catholic Church. Wr?bel intends this book to be a companion to its predecessor, as some movements or individuals that existed after 1945 but were more influential before are featured in that work. Yet some entries appear in both volumes. An extensive chronology and a selected bibliography are also included. Essential for libraries that already own the first volume and highly recommended for public and academic libraries with Central/Eastern European collections.AJill Jaracz, Chicago Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. .,."helps fill a void in reference publishing by providing another substantive work on Poland....Essential for libraries that already own the first volume and highly recommended for public and academic libraries with Central/Eastern European collections."-Library Journal ?...helps fill a void in reference publishing by providing another substantive work on Poland....Essential for libraries that already own the first volume and highly recommended for public and academic libraries with Central/Eastern European collections.?-Library Journal ?Highly recommended for all reference collections.?-Choice ?Presented in a straighforward manner this book provides entries on the most important events and personalities in the past 51 years....It is an excellent reference book.?-Books in Brief ?Wrobel has compiled an extremely useful volume that will serve as a handy desk reference for anyone studying contemporary Polish politics, economics, and current affairs in general.?-American Reference Books Annual "Highly recommended for all reference collections."-Choice "Presented in a straighforward manner this book provides entries on the most important events and personalities in the past 51 years....It is an excellent reference book."-Books in Brief "Wrobel has compiled an extremely useful volume that will serve as a handy desk reference for anyone studying contemporary Polish politics, economics, and current affairs in general."-American Reference Books Annual ..."helps fill a void in reference publishing by providing another substantive work on Poland....Essential for libraries that already own the first volume and highly recommended for public and academic libraries with Central/Eastern European collections."-Library Journal PIOTR WRÓBEL is Associate Professor of History and a holder of the Konstanty Reynert Chair of Polish Studies at the University of Toronto. He is the author of seven books and numerous articles on Polish history, and he worked extensively on G. J. Lerski's Historical Dictionary of Poland, 966-1945 (Greenwood, 1996) after Lerski passed away.