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Hopefully this review will provide some balance as this is not really a 5 star book. By Devil's Luck had the potential to be an extremely compelling, exciting, and interesting read. Despite its flaws it was interesting because it concerned events and first person experiences that are not contained in other books of WW II and Poland. Hence it is a rarity in the under-recognized and under-appreciated history of heroic Polish resistance. This is the story of Stanis³aw Likiernik, a young Pole who was living in the vicinity of Warsaw at the outbreak of WW II. It is written in the first person in a memoir style and, mimicking memory, it is not strictly a linear telling, but digresses in a kind of stream of consciousness of reminiscence. This adds to the authenticity of voice in this story.
Likiernik discusses his father's arrest by the Nazis, his short tenure as a clandestine student in the Polish Underground State's schools, his becoming a soldier in the underground and his joining the sabotage and execution unit of the AK, known as the Kedyw. All of this has the makings of a very exciting story and the notion of reading about his exploits and the context of those exploits had me salivating, especially since my own father was a saboteur and had other dark duties as part of the AK and the Cichociemni.
My problems with the way that Likiernik wrote this book, was its marked self-consciousness. Although we learn something of the context during which his history unfolded, we learn more about him than perhaps we want to. What we have here is an unintended character study. The pages of this telling do not endear us to this gentleman. He comes off as spoiled, arrogant, and a "know it all." He knows more than his teachers, for whom he has no time at any time during his schooling, whether academic or military. While I might have agreed with his contention about the utility of parts of the military education to which he was subjected during the days of his AK underground training, rather than dismiss it out of hand, he could have told us the reason for some of it. According to Stefan Korbonski, the last chief of the underground state, the military training given the AK included such topics as guerilla warfare, resistance, and clandestine activities, but also military background, theory and historical traditions. Rather than to dismiss the latter with contempt, I would have hoped that Likiernik might have looked upon it as a way to preserve the Polish culture despite all of the German (and Soviet) efforts to stamp it out. These kinds of flashes of personality came through a number of times and it did not particularly render me sympathetic to the author, in spite of his laudable courage, intellect, tenacity, and patriotism, as well as the suffering that he endured.
I wanted less of Likiernik and more of the story of "how." For example, at the beginning of the chapter on "The underground as a way of life" he tells us that he is not sure exactly how he became a full-time member of the Underground. Although this is a reminiscence by an elderly gentleman, this is a rather extraordinary contention insofar as the events that he describes from this time in his life were transformational and unforgettable. But perhaps I will not remember events in detail when I am in my 80s, so maybe I am being overly harsh in my criticism. But, again, it underscored my sense that this memoir was more about him than the context and events. I wanted more context and detail about the process of how the insurgents operated - e.g. How did he get the orders from his superiors? What was the role of the liaisons and runners in his getting these orders? What exact training did he receive?
There is a curious lack of affect that is missing from these pages. I have read several memoirs of WW II times. Wesley Adamczyk's book "When God Turned the Other Way" is infused with suffering, anguish, and intense love of family. Stefan Wajdenfeld's "The Ice Road" is permeated with hope, sadness, suffering and intense love of family. Likiernik's telling of his story is about him and his family is simply there. We cannot tell what it is that his family means to him.
Another observation has to do with his curious asides about his agnosticism/atheism. If these were skillfully done, they would add to the story. There are so many memoirs that credit a deity as the source of strength for one's courage and resilience, that I (as a non believer) would have been gratified to see a sense that one can go within oneself and reach out to relationships, in lieu of the abstract of a god for meaning. Wajdenfeld pulled this off in "The Ice Road" without pounding us over the head, Likiernik's commentaries are simply gratuitous.
Finally I am adding a note about writing, which for the most part is fine. However, there were some translation hiccups. There were some grammatical stumbles and some awkward translations. For example, with respect to the latter, the term "mug shot" used several times is really a slang term and should more properly and simply been "photograph" especially for identification papers. My understanding of "mug shot" is that of a photo taken in a police station of a person who has been arrested. Also, some terms were not explained. For example, the term "proud flesh" is not a term that most lay persons understand. Actually, even the proper medical term, "keloid scarring" is not one that is widely known. Such terms should have been explained. There were others, but this review is already getting too long.
So, was I happy I read this book? Absolutely. Did I learn anything? Yes. Does it have flaws? Of course. Would I read it again, knowing this? Most assuredly.
It gave me some insight into what was happening during this chaotic time in Poland's history, and every block and brick is valuable building material in my ongoing journey of understanding.

An amazing tale of courage.

After so many books and movies about Poland in World War II, you may think that there is no more left to learn. By Devil's Luck will prove you wrong. This personalized tale of the Polish resistance, expecially of their sabotage units, will grab your attention from page one and you will not be able to put the book down until the last page. You get to know the characters, real people, and feel Mr. Likiernik's sadness when one by one they are killed. And you feel fury towards the Gestapo and SS for their brutality and inhumanity. The vivid description of the Warsaw Uprising puts you there, dodging bullets, suffering wounds, racing to keep from being captured and killed. This book is a must read for young and old alike.