From Autarchy to Market: Polish Economics and Politics, 1945-1995

(Hardback)

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From the ashes of World War II to the impending obstacles of the new millennium, this multidisciplinary study examines Poland's recent economic and political development. It examines the creation and collapse of the system of central planning, the pre-Solidarity period, the rise of KOR and the Solidarity Movement, and the Polish August of 1980 leading to the imposition of Martial Law in December 1981. This comprehensive and integrated view of nearly a half-century of change is presented in a clear, non-technical manner, encompassing economic, financial, legal, and political issues.

Reviews

"For all of us who have lived through that period ... the correlation of the facts and figures permits us to look at the evolution of the society in Poland, from the economic and the political point of view, and arranges the sequence of these events in order, not only chronologically, but of importance....[H]aving worked in the industry in Poland after the war, from the very early days in the 1950s all the way to the present, I can well correlate what is written in the book to what I have observed with my own eyes and listened to in discussion."-Michael G. Sendzimir Chairman, President-CEO, T. Sendzimir, Inc.
"Hunter and Ryan focus in detailed fashion on the efforts to create a new social consciousness in Poland with economic change at its heart. They are clear and precise about the successes of the pioneers of this undertaking but also perceptive in pointing to the reasons for the emergence of social frustration in the process of social reform."-John T. Pawlikowski, O.S.M., Ph.D. Professor of Social Ethics Co-Chair, National Polish American-Jewish American Council
"The team of Richard J. Hunter and Leo V. Ryan has produced a superb, readable book that will be required reading for anyone trying to understand the unprecedented transformation taking place in Poland since the fall of communism in 1989. Based on the latest available research on both sides of the Atlantic, this synthetic study traces and analyzes the painful process by which Polish society organically rejects communism and accepts capitalism and pluralist democracy. The authors masterfully examine the complex political and economic factors, the ups and downs, in this transition. At the same time they pay appropriate attention to the leading actors (Walesa, Mazowiecki, Pope John Paul II, Balcerowicz, Kuron, etc.) in this historical drama. The book does not minimize the social costs involved in this process for which there is no economic model, but it points to the benefits derived by 1995 that have prompted some observers to describe Poland as "the Tiger of Eastern Europe.""-Thaddeus V. Gromada, Executive Director The Polish Institute of Arts and Sciences of America, Inc.
Political and social shifts are well portrayed and offer enlightening information. Recommended for lower-division undergraduate through faculty collections.-Choice
The authors provide detailed information on Poland's difficulties and the challenges of economic and political change....Hunter and Ryan have completed an excellent study of the transformations that have taxed the Polish people for the past 50 years....A thoughful, informative and historical book.-Polish American Journal
"Political and social shifts are well portrayed and offer enlightening information. Recommended for lower-division undergraduate through faculty collections."-Choice
"The authors provide detailed information on Poland's difficulties and the challenges of economic and political change....Hunter and Ryan have completed an excellent study of the transformations that have taxed the Polish people for the past 50 years....A thoughful, informative and historical book."-Polish American Journal

Author Bio

RICHARD J. HUNTER, Jr. is Professor of Legal Studies at Seton Hall University. He has written extensively on Eastern and Central European business, politics, law, and economics and has served on the Board of Directors of the Polish Institute of Arts and Sciences of America. LEO V. RYAN, C.S.V. is Professor of Management in the Kellstadt Graduate School of Business at DePaul University. He has also taught at the Poznan Academy of Economics and at the Polish-American Management Center, University of Lodz. His most recent books include Human Action in Business (1996) and Etyka Biznesu (1997).