Unvanquished

Telling the epic story of Joseph Pilsudski, the father of Polish independence, this vivid biography reads like an adventure novel, including swashbuckling tales of both World Wars, a plot to kill the czar, Siberian exile, life in the underground, a dramatic prison escape, and one of the most successful train robberies in European history. Although he is largely either unknown or misunderstood in the West, Pilsudski was a consequential historical figure whose defeat of the Red Army in 1920 preserved Poland’s sovereignty and quite possibly spared Europe from Bolshevik revolution. This extensive and definitive account of Pilsudski's life places this and other achievements in the proper context by providing sufficient background in Polish history and illuminating his interconnectedness with more well known historical events.