Beata Halicka's masterly narrated biography is the story of an extraordinary man and leading
intellectual in the Polish-American community. Z. Anthony Kruszewski was first a Polish scout
fighting in World War II against the Nazi occupiers then a Prisoner of War Displaced Person in
Western Europe. He was stranded as a penniless immigrant in post-war America and eventually
became a world-renowned academic. Kruszewski's almost incredible life stands out from his
entire generation. His story is a microcosm of 20th-century history covering various theatres
and incorporating key events and individuals. Kruszewski walks a stage very few people have
even stood on both as an eye-witness at the centre of the Second World War and later as
vice-president of the Polish American Congress and a professor and political scientist at
world-class universities in the USA. Not only did he become a pioneer and a leading figure in
Borderland Studies but he is a borderlander in every sense of the word.
