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Warsaw Boy

A Memoir of a Wartime Childhood

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Warsaw Boy

By: Andrew Borowiec
Narrated by: Tim Bruce
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About this listen

Poland suffered terribly under the Nazis. By the end of the war, six million had been killed.

On 1 August 1944, Andrew Borowiec, a 15-year-old volunteer in the Resistance, lobbed a grenade from a Warsaw apartment block onto some German soldiers below - he felt he had come of age.

Over that summer Andrew faced danger at every moment. Wounded the day after his 16th birthday, he was captured as he lay in a makeshift cellar hospital. Here he learned a lesson: there were decent Germans as well as bad. This is an extraordinary tale of survival and defiance.

©2015 Andrew Borowiec (P)2015 Oakhill Publishing Historical Military Military & War World World War II War Memoir Holocaust Survival

Critic reviews

"A subtle, well observered autobiography. Beautifully paced." ( The Times)
"A timely, angry, terribly moving and drily amusing account of an especially dark period in Poland's often tragic history." ( Telegraph)
"In this packed, wise memoir, Borowiec describes a journey that is nothing less than an odyssey through the most harrowing of circumstances. Given the fate of many of his fellow Poles, that there was a happy ending for Borowiec is remarkable." ( The National)
"A story of defiance, bravery and survival. Warsaw Boy is a real-life Boy's Adventure Story - Eat your heart out, Indiana Jones." (Shirley Conran)
"This account of the Warsaw Uprising is both harrowing and full of human and even humorous touches.... The result is an important addition to our understanding of what was happening in Poland during the war years." (Denis MacShane, The Tablet)
"The best-ever account of what is was like to be young and fighting in the Warsaw Rising." (Neal Ascherson Sunday Herald, 'Books of the Year')
All stars
Most relevant
This book shines a light on things most people wouldn't know about! Truly a great book! Worth a listen.

Brilliant!

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Great book about the tenacity of youth in the worst of situations and places, brilliantly read

Brilliant book telling a story you didn't know

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This is how a diary or account should be written. An excellent portrayal of life in Poland told with humour and forthrightness. Candid and to the point. A boy who survived sights that ought not to be witnessed by one so young proves the fact that the young aren't so fragile after all. There were some technical issues with the recording but that didn't spoil my overall enjoyment of this excellent book told through the eyes of a boy who grew up in war torn Warsaw.

the young aren't so fragile after all

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loved this harrowing true story as it shows the war in a much different light.

Absolutely Amazing book

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Story about boy growing up and joining resistance.
The story was told very well and had me transfixed on what would happen next.

Gripping story.

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