This is an enjoyable and basic collection of modern Polish literature. It is expansive, spanning the last seven decades of literature and also inclusive of the "canon" of Polish authors. The editors state that the volume was designed for the general English-speaking reader who is curious to learn more about Polish literature and history. A succinct, 20-page introduction to the history of Polish literature precedes the body of works as well as introductory info about each author like their specific areas of sympathy: pro-peasant; historical; denouncer of anti-Semitism. (Somtimes these author sketches don't tell us enough about their following literary selections, though). The stories range from 2-10 pages in length with a wide range of story types: historical, epistolary, experimental. There is one non-fiction work in the anthology--Zofia Nalkowska's "Medallions," her firsthand account of her participation in investigating Nazi war crimes,. This selection is not for the faint of heart with its' graphic, grisly descriptions of Nazi torture chambers and death camps. There are several other female writers in the anthology. Maria Konopnicka's "Still Life" is a sad look at the "plight of the poor man." Jerzy Zawiejski's "Cry in the void" is about one brave psychiatrist's resistance to the Nazi's abhorrent practice of exterminating patients in mental asylums. There is a nice selection of poetry including well known Polish writer Czeslaw Milosz and Nobel Prize winner Wislawa Szymborska.