Examines the 1980 Solidarity revolution in Poland, the government's subsequent establishment of martial law in response, in 1981, and the eventual transition to democracy in 1989.

Andrzej Paczkowski, Christina Manetti

Preface
Abbreviations
Poland - "The Weakest Link"
The Solidarity Revolution: Act One, 1980-81
"Defend Socialism as If It Were Poland's Independence"
The Last Days Before
"Night of the General" and Day One
Breakthrough
Reprisals and the Public Mood
The World Looks On
Battle Over
Operation "Renaissance" and Lech Walesa
Underground
Civil Resistance
"The Anesthetic Has Worn Off"
The End of the Campaign and Walesa's Release
The Church between Eternity and Solidarity
Independent Society
The Party Returns to the Ring
The End of Martial Law
Solidarity's Revolution: The Finale, 1988-89
Escape from the Soviet Bloc and the Fall of the Empire
Conclusion: The Decade of Struggle and Its Legacy
Notes
Selected Bibliography
Index