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Lech Walesa: The Road to Democracy (Great Lives. 20th Century Politics and Government)
 
 
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Lech Walesa: The Road to Democracy (Great Lives. 20th Century Politics and Government) [Paperback]

Rebecca Stefoff (Author)
5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)

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Book Description

9 and up4 and upGreat Lives. 20th Century Politics and Government
Profiles the remarkable man who began as a shipyard electrician and who became the leader of Poland's Solidarity trade union movement, and who eventually was elected leader of the country.

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Customers buy this book with The Polish Revolution: Solidarity (Third Edition) $22.19

Lech Walesa: The Road to Democracy (Great Lives. 20th Century Politics and Government) + The Polish Revolution: Solidarity (Third Edition)
  • This item: Lech Walesa: The Road to Democracy (Great Lives. 20th Century Politics and Government)

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  • The Polish Revolution: Solidarity (Third Edition)

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Product Details

  • Reading level: Ages 9 and up
  • Paperback: 140 pages
  • Publisher: Ballantine Books; 1st edition (March 17, 1992)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0449906256
  • ISBN-13: 978-0449906255
  • Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 0.2 x 8.5 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 3.7 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,274,473 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Rebecca Stefoff published her first books when she was in college and has been writing ever since. She is the author of more than 150 books, with more on the way. Her writing motto: "Ideas are easy. Pages are hard."

Rebecca has written many nonfiction books for children and young adults, with an emphasis on science and history. Through her books teenage readers can explore topics as varied as ghosts, robots, bacteria, evolution, women pioneers, the ruins of Great Zimbabwe, and forensic crime solving.

Over the course of her freelance writing career Rebecca has also published romance novels, celebrity biographies, reference works, and even a self-help book. In addition, she has adapted the works of historian Howard Zinn, science writer Charles C. Mann, and ethnic studies pioneer Ronald Takaki for young audiences.

After growing up in Indiana, Rebecca moved to Philadelphia for graduate school. Later she moved to the Pacific Northwest and now lives in Portland, Oregon.

When Rebecca was in the fifth grade she picked up a copy of Robert A. Heinlein's novel Space Cadet in her school library. That got her hooked on speculative fiction: science fiction at first, then fantasy and later horror. As a grad student in English at the University of Pennsylvania, she developed and taught the school's first undergraduate classes in science fiction and fantasy. She still loves speculative fiction and reads a lot of nonfiction as well. Her interests include evolutionary biology, Himalayan travel and polar exploration, and archaeology.

 

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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars One Voice, June 5, 2008
This review is from: Lech Walesa: The Road to Democracy (Great Lives. 20th Century Politics and Government) (Paperback)
This is an excellent biography of Lech Walesa, a truly good man who literally reset the world on a whole new axis. The Beatles' 1968 classic "Revolution" could easily be the soundtrack to this book. "We all want to change the world..." very a propos indeed!

A humble shipyard worker, Walesa organized unions on the shipyards and in the mills and factories. He took those reforms steps farther by banging on the drum for social and political reforms in Poland.

Throughout the 1980s, Walesa and a group of people known as the Solidarity Workers were gaining momentum in Poland as the Voices of Change. They met privately in church basements and in people's homes, all the time discussing plans for revamping the communist regime in Poland.

Their efforts paid off. People in Western countries such as England, France, Germany and even the United States smuggled computers into Poland so that the Solidarity Party would have greater access to their intended, global public. Their efforts were not without major challenges and Lech Walesa served a year in jail for his outspoken plea for sociopolitical reforms.

Fortunately for all, his voice carried far and wide. His efforts with the Solidarty Party paid dividends and on June 4, 1989 Poland had its first free election for the first time since WWII. Lech Walesa had literally helped change the face of the world and to tear holes in the Iron Curtain.

June 4, 1989 was Triple Shot Sunday. Ayahtollah Khomeini died; the massacre in China took place and on a happy note the Solidary Candidates won. Tom Brokaw of NBC News was on hand to cover the events in Poland!

Lech Walesa said that his late father Boleslaw Walesa had hoped his children would be able to cast free votes in Poland. Thanks to the hard work of the Solidarity Party, his dream has been realized by Lech Walesa, whose 4 sons and 4 daughters will see that dream of being able to vote in free elections.

Througout 1989, other Eastern European countries broke with the 1955 Warsaw Pact. Ironically, Poland was the first country to make that break. Social changes swept the world and Lech Walesa's voice was heard in the Western World when he came to New York the fall of 1989. He was given a Key to the City and then Mayor Dinkins had him chauffered in the Mayor's car throughout Manhattan. Walesa spoke before the Senate and the House. He was a man who not only helped tear down the Iron Curtain, but to build solid(arity) bridges to the Eastern World.

I think we should raise our glasses to Lech Walesa and the Soldiarity Reformers who made this all possible.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A TRUE HERO and Role MODEL for RIGHTS, August 3, 2007
This review is from: Lech Walesa: The Road to Democracy (Great Lives. 20th Century Politics and Government) (Paperback)
One of the greatest heroes of all time, who deserves more attention. What he accomplished is incredible, and against all odds; taking down communism/playing a major role in its takedown(along with Pope John Paul II). Every school should have this book. It is well written, and truly demonstrates how dreams can become reality, with determination and lots of "courage." Lech Walesa is a true hero.
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Inside This Book (learn more)
First Sentence:
AS DARKNESS BEGAN to fall on July 31, 1980, bringing the long summer evening to an end, a 36-year-old man named Lech Walesa returned to his home in the city of Gdansk, Poland. Read the first page
Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
shipyard strike, strike committee
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Soviet Union, Lech Walesa, Lenin Shipyard, United States, World War, Gate Number, Gdansk Agreement, Jan Walesa, Home Army, National Assembly, Roman Catholic, Andrzej Gwiazda, Coastal Worker, Great Britain, Lublin Committee, Soviet Communist, Vistula River, Baltic Sea, Free Trades Unions, Marshal Pilsudski
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