The definitive work? - Rated 
There appears to be a dearth of accounts of the Warsaw uprising of 1944. Several previous reviewers have already explained how it is confused in the public mind with the ghetto uprising.
As a lay-person ( ie non-historian ) interested in Eastern European history, I must say that this is one of the best history books dealing with this area that I have ever read.
Any person reading accounts of Poland in the second world war will soon come to realise the enormous cynicism towards the plight of this nation by the western powers. I don't think that an account of the Warsaw rising can be accomplished without a thorough background of the political situation being explained, and Norman Davies does not shirk this task.
Initially I found the imbedding of personal accounts and anectodes into the main thrust of the narrative as something of a distraction, but soon became used to it.
I have visited Poland on numerous occasions, and when talking with Poles who were interested in History, it became apparent that they generally held Norman Davies in great esteem. There can be no finer endorsement.
However,one quibble ( which has cost one reviewer star )-
Please, if there is a new edition of this book under consideration, use the proper Polish place names, street names, personal names etc. If someone is interested enough to buy the book, they will not be put off by Polish spelling.
A glossary and pronounciation guide can always be added to the ( admirably comprehensive ) appendixes.
Thrice betrayed - Rated 
On the surface, this book is a very detailed and thorough description of the Warsaw uprising against the German occupation in the autumn of 1944. It deals not only with those extremely bloody events themselves, but also with the political situation that had brought them about and the even uglier aftermath of the fighting.
Norman Davies knows his material extremely well and brings life into all aspects of the question, be it the day-to-day conditions of the inhabitants of the Polish capital under German rule, the political activities of the Polish government in exile in London, the material preparation of the insurgency, the reaction of the German side or the difficulty of aiding the insurgents from far away.
The author also elaborates on the long-standing enmity of the Poles, especially those on the side of the Home Army, and the Soviets which had erupted a generation earlier into a bitter fight when the Bolsheviks tried to break through Poland into the centre of Europe, only to be repulsed on the very banks of the Vistula where they stood once again in 1944, but now with an extremely powerful and battle-hardened army the Poles could not hope to defeat a second time.
The snippets depicting the fighters and their helpers, which crop up in the text, not so much like photographs but rather like the artistical drawings we see in old newspapers, are extremely touching and allow the reader to feel his way into the tumultuous scenes and to establish an almost personal presence.
Aside from giving an extremely vivid and detailed account of the day-to-day fighting, the author describes the pitiful efforts of the Allies to help the Warsaw fighters by an air-lift from southern Italy, an extremely thin line of supply at best, with most of the provisions coming down on the wrong side of the front-lines.
The rising, as we all know, ended in tragedy, but if we listen attentively to what is being said in this book beyond the mere description of battle scenes, we discover a deeper and quite disconcerting meaning: The state of Poland that was re-created at Versailles was never an aim in itself for Britain. It was set up as part of a network of states intended to keep Germany at bay and to ensure that the centre of Europe would remain an unstable area that could be manipulated from the outside, militarily or politically, as the situation might require.
The country was used as a pawn in 1939 to allow London to go to war against Hitler on the pretext of a guarantee pressed upon Warsaw, but this guarantee was never meant to be exercised in any practical way, nor could it have been, and Poland was allowed to go down in the process. Five years later, when there was the hint of a chance to restore Poland in the face of the Soviet steam roller, it was betrayed twice over - first the Germans were allowed to crush the rebellion and then the Soviets could not be prevented from annihilating any form of Polish independence.
It is, in a way, quite ironical that - as we may gather from Norman Davies' account - the Germans were the only party to this foul game to treat the Poles squarely: not with kindness, far from it, but at least with some degree of honesty, as enemies intitially, and later even with due respect once the fighters of the Polish Home Army had agreed to identify themselves as such. The surrender of General Bor was a negotiated arrangement, the surviving fighters were treated as prisoners of war with many of them living to see the end of the war in German captivity, the non-combatants were let go.
The fate of those members of the Home Army who happened to fall into the hands of the Soviets was totally different: if they were not shot outright, they were made to stand trial and were sentenced very severely, especially the officers, most of whom never returned from the Gulag.
Perhaps the German actions were guided by a German film, "The Warsaw Citadel", produced in 1937. Its scenario is based on a Polish play, dramatising one of the many rebellions against Tsarist rule, the heroes are depicted as Polish patriots, many scenes were shot on location in Warsaw, obviously with the blessings of the Polish government. For some obscure reason, this film is still blacklisted in Germany - possibly because some people want to keep history from becoming too complicated ...
"Rising `44" helps the reader to maintain a critical attitude with respect to the history of the Second World War.
A book worthy of attention - Rated
This book is a rather lofty tome, but worth the read. It deals with the awful betrayal of the Polish Resistance, not only by the Soviet forces, but by the allies in the West. As someone who has a passion for all things historical I was aware of the Warsaw uprising, but I learnt so much more from this book. I knew about the fact the Soviets had waited for the Poles to exhaust themselves in the fight against the Wehrmacht, but I had no idea about the betrayal perpetrated in the the UK and US.
This book is rather weighty in places, and I found it hard going at times. However, I would recommend that you stick with it as the end result for the reader is not just a knowledge of events in Warsaw, but events that followed the war.
A Magnificent Account of the Battle for Warsaw 1944 - Rated
This magnificent book must be the definitive work in English on the uprising of the Poles in Warsaw in 1944 against their German oppressors. (Potential readers should not confuse this sixty-six day battle with the rather more limited and tragic ghetto rising of 1943.) The breadth and sweep of Davies' book and the staggering amount of research that must have been undertaken are truly impressive. Davies begins by examining the attitudes towards the occupation of Poland and the possibility of an uprising in Warsaw that prevailed in the Allied capitals of London and Washington, also in Moscow whose armies were fast approaching the city and in Poland itself, a country with a long history of insurrection against occupiers. The actual uprising and its progress is dealt with in considerable detail from all points of view including that of the Germans and the consistently hostile British press. 'Capsules' of personal experiences are inserted in the text that may be read or skipped to maintain the narrative thrust. The last part of the book deals with the Stalinist repression that followed the sweep West by the Soviet armies and the widespread operation of the NKVD (Secret Police) and brings us right up to the year 2000 with regard to the national treatment of the events of 1944. Davies goes to great lengths to describe fairly the actions of the Soviet forces but does not flinch at a clear description of the treatment of the Poles under the Soviet regime. In this respect the book is much more reliable than other histories provided by left-leaning academics. Equally the shabby treatment the Poles received from Roosevelt and also the British Foreign Office is explained plainly. Three sections of excellent contemporary photographs are provided together with copious appendices. Prospective buyers should know that Norman Davies is held in high esteem in Poland and I have no hesitation in recommending this magnificent book to all those interested in Polish history.
Raw Truth Hurts - Rated
Having recently returned from a business trip to Warsaw, but having the opportunity to visit the Warsaw Rising museum - a deeply moving and disturbing experience - I bought and found Norman Davies 'Rising' one of the best history books I have ever read. Not only is it passionate and well written, but it also leaves a nasty taste in the Western mouth as to our pathetic lack of support for the Warsaw poles in their desperate fight against the Nazis and then the Soviets. This is no light read, and no-one should approach it expecting an easy and simply factual recounting of the true Warsaw rising of 1944 so often confused with the earlier Warsaw Ghetto rising. It left me a sadder and hopefully more enlightened person. And I hope it is compulsory reading in German and Russian schools!
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