Reviewed by Richard W. Hallett, Northeastern Illinois University

Noting the ‘significant paucity of research into the discourses of and within postcommunism’ (4), the editors state that the chapters in this volume focus on various levels of discourse within post-communist Poland. In their first chapter, ‘Living between history and the present: The Polish post-communist condition’ (1–20), they present a short overview of Polish history and of the chapters that follow. The remainder of the book is divided into three main sections.

Part 1 contains four chapters. The Polish in the title ‘Nie rzucim ziemi skąd nasz ród: Polish contemporary discourses about soil and nation’ (23–45) translates into English as ‘We’ll not abandon the land of our kin’. In this chapter, Michał Buchowski provides a case study of ‘blood’ and ‘soil’ metaphors used in the discussion of the possible purchase of Polish land by foreigners after Poland’s accession to the European Union. In the following chapter, ‘Collective memory in transition: Commemorating the end of the Second World War in Poland’ (47–65), Anna Horolets provides a critical discourse analysis of the discourse of Victory Day in Europe before and after 1989. In the following chapter (67–87), Imke Hansen offers a historical discourse analysis of the public debate in the Polish press concerning the ‘Cross Conflict’ near Auschwitz primarily between 1997 and 1999. Noting the dearth of literature on International Workers’ Day (May 1) festivities in Poland, Dariusz Galasiński presents a study of the narrated experiences of three different generations in the remaining chapter (89–102).

Four chapters comprise Part 2, beginning with ‘Denying the right to speak in public: Sexist and homophobic discourses in post-1989 Poland’ (105–29), in which Natalia Krzyżanowska offers a discourse historical approach to her analysis of the coverage of a sex affair/scandal in Samoobrona in late 2006 by three different Polish newspapers. Katarzyna Skowronek provides a ‘functionally-oriented discourse analysis’ (132) of pastoral letters and sermons by Polish clergy in her chapter (131–50). In ‘Fashioning a post-communist political identity: The case of Poland’s Democratic Left Alliance’ (151–66), Robert Brier analyzes how Poland’s main post-communist political party legitimized its ‘pragmatic identity’ (159). In the remaining chapter (167–87), Marta Kurkowska-Budzan studies the publications of the Institute of National Remembrance to reconstruct its objectives, values, and historical themes, inter alia.

Part 3 contains four chapters, led by a chapter (191–209) from Aleksandra Galasińska.  Beginning with a definition of ‘work’, she shows ‘how work is constructed as a dominant subject in the discussion about the post-communist transformation’ (192) in her interviews in a neighborhood in a large city in southern Poland and a rural community in southeastern Poland.  In the following chapter, ‘Transition to nowhere: Homelessness in post-communist Poland as the hand of fate’ (211–27), Maria Mendel and Tomasz Szkudlarek present seven biographical narratives from homeless people in Gdańsk. Through interviews with Polish migrants to Britain and Ireland after Poland’s accession to the European Union, Małgorzata Fabiszak discovers two conceptual metaphors in their narratives in her chapter (229–45). Lastly, based on twenty-one interviews, Dariusz Galasiński investigates men’s constructions of their masculine identities in their post-communist narratives in the final chapter, ‘Post-communist masculinities’ (247–62).

This book is a welcome addition to courses on discourse analysis, identity studies, and post-communist studies.