2012 News, Reviews & Events
December 20, 2012 – The New Republic reviews The Auschwitz Volunteer – “Extraordinary memoir…extraordinarily powerful prose,” says Pulitzer Prize-winning author Anne Applebaum in her review of The Auschwitz Volunteer. “Pilecki’s depiction of life in Auschwitz and his description of opposition in Auschwitz deserves to be read alongside the accounts of Primo Levi and Elie Wiesel.” Also appears in the December 31, 2012 print issue of The New Republic, under the headline “Evil After Evil.” Read the review – online link OR pdf of online review OR pdf of print review…
December 10, 2012 – Wildmoo Books reviews The Auschwitz Volunteer – “The Auschwitz Volunteer is the best book I read in 2012,” say blogger Chris Wolak on her Wildmoo Books blog. “If you’re a reader of history, WWII, Poland, the Holocaust, or spy novels go & buy this book or buy it for someone you know who is into these subjects. You won’t regret it. Pilecki’s story is astonishing.” Read the review — online OR pdf…
December 5, 2012 – The Jewish Journal – “I can’t think of a better gift to give yourself for Chanukah” says Rob Eshman, Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of The Jewish Journal, Los Angeles, the largest Jewish weekly outside New York City. “Pilecki was a Polish army captain who volunteered at age 39 for one of the singular missions of World War II: to get into Auschwitz…Perhaps because he wrote in factual, unemotional language, perhaps because he wasn’t a Jew, his observations continue to carry an irrefutable weight.” Read the review — online OR pdf…
November 21, 2012 – Jewish News reviews The Auschwitz Volunteer – “Truly unique, at once a transcendent example of heroism and a historical document of singular importance…certain to become a standard reference work in every major Holocaust library collection.” Read the review — online link OR pdf…
November 15–18, 2012 – Association for Slavic, East European and Eurasian Studies Annual Convention, New Orleans – Aquila Polonica exhibited at the 2012 ASEEES annual convention, marking our third year at ASEEES. All of our titles released through that time were on display and available for sale. More…
November 16–18, 2012 – Seattle, WA – Polish Perspectives at National Council for Social Studies – Aquila Polonica books were exhibited in the Polish Perspectives booth at the 2012 Annual Conference of the National Council for Social Studies, held November 16-18, 2012 in Seattle, WA.
November 10, 2012 – Knight’s Cross of the Order of Merit Awarded – Terry Tegnazian, president and cofounder of Aquila Polonica Publishing, was awarded the Knight’s Cross of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland by decision of the President of Poland, Bronislaw Komorowski, in recognition of her outstanding services to the Polish community and promotion of Polish culture abroad. More…
November 7-19, 2012 – Polish Film, Art & Book Festival, Buffalo, NY – Aquila Polonica author Krysia Jopek, Maps and Shadows, was one of the featured speakers at the first-ever Polish Film, Art & Book Festival held in Buffalo, NY. More…
November 2012 – IBPA Independent – Feature article on Aquila Polonica in the magazine of the Independent Book Publishers Association, entitled “Carving Out a History Niche: Aquila Polonica’s Passion Fuels Publishing.” In an extensive article, the IBPA profiles Aquila Polonica— “If you didn’t speak Polish, had no military experience, and didn’t know a thing about the Warsaw ghetto or World War II, would you try to write fiction about Polish WWII flying aces?…” Read the article here…
October 2012 – The Atlantic – “A fascinating first-hand account of virtually all aspects of life inside the camp,” says The Atlantic about The Auschwitz Volunteer, in an extensive article about Captain Witold Pilecki. Read the article — online link OR pdf…
September 30, 2012 – “What’s Up” news show, Polskie Radio – “What’s Up” host Slawek Szefs interviews book reviewer Michal Kubicki about The Auschwitz Volunteer, at thenews.pl. Listen to the interview (English-language, interview audio is approx. 13 minutes)
September 17, 2012 – Sunnyside Retirement Community, Harrisonburg, VA – Alice Waydenfeld Faintich gave a presentation on the little-known World War II Soviet deportations of Polish civilians, which is described in her father’s book The Ice Road.
September 2012 – “In every generation heroes and heroines walk among us…Among them walked a man named Captain Witold Pilecki” – says the Jewish Book Council review of The Auschwitz Volunteer, written by Marcia Weiss Posner. Read the review — online link OR pdf…
Summer/Fall 2012 – The Intelligencer – “The Auschwitz Volunteer is the most extraordinary intelligence report you will ever read,” says The Intelligencer: Journal of U.S. Intelligence Studies in its review of The Auschwitz Volunteer: Beyond Bravery.
August 30, 2012 – “Poles search for the bones of the only volunteer Auschwitz inmate,” reported by Associated Press in The Times of Israel and elsewhere throughout the world– “It could hardly have been a riskier mission: infiltrate Auschwitz to chronicle Nazi atrocities. Witold Pilecki survived nearly three years as an inmate in the death camp, managing to smuggle out word of executions before making a daring escape. But the Polish resistance hero was crushed by the post-war communist regime — tried on trumped-up charges and executed.
“Six decades on, Poland hopes Pilecki’s remains will be identified among the entangled skeletons and shattered skulls of resistance fighters being excavated from a mass grave on the edge of Warsaw’s Powazki Military Cemetery.” Read more…
August 20, 2012 – Aquila Polonica lands two mentions in Publishers Weekly – Aquila Polonica president Terry Tegnazian is quoted twice in Publishers Weekly‘s War & Military issue: “For a reader there is no greater joy than to discover something new and fresh about a topic you love…” Read the PW excerpts OR the entire PW print article…
August 14, 2012 – Waynesboro Public Library, Waynesboro, VA – As part of the Waynesboro Public Library Book Talk series, Alice Waydenfeld Faintich gave a presentation about the World War II Soviet deportations of Polish civilians, and discussed her father’s book The Ice Road.
July 19, 2012 – Shelf Awareness “Book Trailer of the Day” – Shelf Awareness, one of the leading daily e-newsletters for book lovers, named our video trailer for The Auschwitz Volunteer (watch on YouTube) as its “Book Trailer of the Day.”
July 1, 2012 – The New York Times “EDITORS’ CHOICE” – In its Sunday Book Review on July 1, 2012, the New York Times further honored The Auschwitz Volunteer by naming it an “EDITORS’ CHOICE.” We’re thrilled that Witold Pilecki is finally getting the recognition he deserves!The NYT Editors’ Choice page online OR pdf.
June 29, 2012 – Newstalk 106-108 FM, Ireland – Popular Irish radio host Sean Moncrieff talks with translator Jarek Garlinski about Witold Pilecki and his Auschwitz mission (approx. 10 minutes):
June 24, 2012 – The New York Times Sunday Book Review – In an extensive, erudite book review entitled “Were We All People?”, Yale Professor Timothy Snyder (Bloodlands) calls The Auschwitz Volunteer “a historical document of the greatest importance” and says Pilecki’s volunteering for Auschwitz was “perhaps one of the most courageous things anyone has ever done.” Read the review—online link, print edition pdf OR online edition pdf (highlighting added).
June 22, 2012 – Maclean’s Book Review – In his short but powerful book review, Brian Bethune of Maclean’s, Canada’s largest weekly news magazine, calls The Auschwitz Volunteer an “extraordinary memoir” and says it’s “made all the more affecting by its stark, just-the-facts tone.” Read the review—online link OR online edition pdf.
June 21–26, 2012 – American Library Association – The Auschwitz Volunteer was featured at two booths at the 2012 ALA Annual Conference in Anaheim, California—at the Independent Book Publishers Association booth, and at the booth of Rowman& Littlefield, sister company of Aquila Polonica’s distributor National Book Network. Aquila Polonica president Terry Tegnazian attended one of the days, and had a chance to catch up with friends from around the country who were in attendance (at the right, Terry and IBPA’s Patti Grasso).
June 17–19, 2012 – Association of Jewish Libraries – Aquila Polonica exhibited at the well-attended 2012 Annual Conference of the Association of Jewish Libraries, held in Pasadena, California, where The Auschwitz Volunteer was our featured title, on display and available for sale along with all our other titles released through that time.
June 6, 2012 – BEA Show Daily “Hooked by Heroism” – Publishers Weekly’s BEA Show Daily ran a feature article on Aquila Polonica and The Auschwitz Volunteer entitled “Hooked by Heroism.” Read the article—online link OR online edition pdf.
June 5–7, 2012 – Book Expo America, New York City – The Auschwitz Volunteer was on display in both hardcover and trade paperback at the booth of Aquila Polonica’s distributor, National Book Network.
May 24, 2012 – Hartford, CT – Author Krysia Jopek at Polish National Home – Author Krysia Jopek speaks at the Polish National Home, Hartford, CT about her book Maps and Shadows.
May 24, 2012 – Military Officers Association of America, Central Virginia Chapter – Alice Waydenfeld Faintich was the featured speaker at the May luncheon meeting of the Central Virginia Chapter of MOAA, which was held at the Glenmore Country Club, Charlottesville, VA. Alice gave a multimedia presentation about the World War II Soviet deportations of Polish civilians, which is described in her father’s book The Ice Road. More…
May 13, 2012 – Hungry Heards Book Club, Afton, VA – Alice Waydenfeld Faintich was invited by the Hungry Heards Book Club to lead their discussion of her father’s book The Ice Road and its broader historical context.
March 8, 2012 – Krysia Jopek at Bard conference – Krysia Jopek, author of Maps and Shadows, attended a conference at Bard Bershires on the value (pro and con) of an MFA in Writing.
March 6, 2012 – Windsor, CT – AARP – Maps and Shadows author Krysia Jopek was invited to speak before an audience of fifty or more at a meeting of the Windsor, CT AARP chapter about her book. Her father Henry Jopeck and aunt Helen Zasada also attended and answered questions. Watch a video excerpt from the program…
March 4, 2012 – Author Krysia Jopek at Book Discussion Group – Krysia Jopek, author of Maps and Shadows, was the featured guest at a book discussion group hosted by Della and Roger Winans. Her father Henry Jopeck and aunt Helen Zasada, whose WWII experiences were the inspiration for the book, were also invited as guests.
February 20, 2012 – Publishers Weekly reviews The Auschwitz Volunteer – “Remarkable revelations” says PW about The Auschwitz Volunteer. Read the PW review—online link OR online edition pdf.
February 8, 2012 – WIN-TV Channel 5, Windsor, CT – Author Krysia Jopek is filmed for Gunter David’s series on writing memoirs, where she talks about her book Maps and Shadows. Re-aired in early September 2013 on WIN-TV’s Senior Voice program.
February 1, 2012 – Suffield, CT, Polish Heritage Club – Author Krysia Jopek talks about her book Maps and Shadows to the Polish Heritage Club of Suffield, CT. Her father Henry Jopeck (who with his sister Helen Zasada (nee Jopeck) was the inspiration for the novel) attended and was available to answer questions.
January 11, 2012 – The Auschwitz Volunteer Picked as Featured Selection of History Book Club – Aquila Polonica’s April release, The Auschwitz Volunteer: Beyond Bravery, an eyewitness report of one of the most audacious and dramatic undercover missions by an Ally in World War II, has been chosen to be a Featured Selection of the History Book Club® in May. The title has also been named a Selection of the Book-of-the-Month Club® and the Military Book Club®. It has an Introduction by renowned historian and author Norman Davies, and a Foreword by Rabbi Michael Schudrich, Chief Rabbi of Poland. Read the press release…
January 11–13, 2012 – performances of The Invisible Army, Cambridge, England – “Your father’s book [The Ice Road] helped to inspire the young people involved in the play and we have acknowledged that in the programme. We owe him a debt of gratitude.” Read more about this original play based on the World War II Soviet deportations of Polish civilians…
Check the News, Reviews & Events Archive in Media Room for other years.
