Fascinating Authors

Book Review
by
John H. Manhold

The Mermaid and the Messerschmitt, 2nd Edition, ISBN # 9781607720003, Hardcover, 467 pages, by Rulka Langer is a powerful recounting of  the Siege of Warsaw, Poland at the beginning of World War II. It provides an intimate look at the horrors experienced by a woman who participated in, and survived, the attack on Warsaw from beginning of hostilities, through the siege with its daily artillery and aerial bombardment, and many months of the city’s occupation by the Nazi invaders and the atrocities they inflicted.

Rulka Langer has brought striking word description and copious pictures to depict happenings about which we read only secondary accounts in the newspapers of the day. And she has provided this material in an almost nonchalant, or cavalier, manner that make every action more graphically real. The monumental struggles in the simple matter of obtaining food, or even drinkable water, are described as an everyday occurrence. The need to find ways to keep snow, and deadly cold out of living quarters in buildings that are mere shells, and the means of implementing these procedures are described in a most factual manner, as well.

The author perhaps sums up the entire experience best in her own words in the Afterword where she states: “For war is not only a chamber of horrors. It also is the greatest personal experience any human can go through. War means facing death (not in the usual manner where sickness dims the sensibilities or an accident that happens so quickly there is no realization, but rather) perfectly healthy, fully conscious people face death for hours on end.” And the occurrences just continue day after day until death becomes an all pervasive numbing entity with which you must live.

Mrs. Langer, born to a distinguished family of Polish intellectuals, Statesmen and writers, gradually established herself as a prominent journalist, as well. And, she has brought every bit of the knowledge of reporting and journalism she had gained to bear in this book. Her descriptions of a horrendous period of time are set forth in a manner so fresh and lively that the reader is as intrigued as if he/she were reading a novel, or other book of far less import.

This appearance of a new edition of The Mermaid and the Messerschmitt seems particularly appropriate at this time when there are so many warring factions loose in the world. I believe people should read this book for content. However, because of the manner of presentation, I am sure they will enjoy it as well.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Normandie-Niemen: When French Air Aces Fought on the Russian Front (blogs.forbes.com)
• Deadly skies: The bloody truth about the Battle of Britain 70 years on (independent.co.uk)
• Lieutenant-Colonel Stanley Edwards (telegraph.co.uk)