Across the Atlantic: The Adamowicz Brothers, Polish Aviation Pioneersby Zofia Reklewska-Braun and Kazimierz Braun
Moonrise Press, September 2015 BUY IT NOW: ISBN 978-0-9963981-2-1, paperback, 240 pages, with 56 illustrations, a selected bibliography, and an index, $20.00 BUY IT NOW: ISBN 978-0-9963981-3-8, e-Book (ePub format), 4.97MB, $10.00 During the summer of 1934, two Polish amateur-pilots, Joe (Józef) and Ben (Bolesław) Adamowicz, who immigrated to the US more than twenty years earlier, flew over the Atlantic on a single-engine plane Bellanca. Their trip took them from New York to Warsaw; they were the first Poles to do so. They became instant celebrities, favorites of the journalists, photographers, and the public on both sides of the Atlantic. Alas, their triumph was short-lived, followed by a fall from grace, to imprisonment and bankruptcy. This richly illustrated book brings to life their forgotten story. Written by a historian, journalist and educator Zofia Reklewska-Braun and director, writer, scholar, and author of over 50 books, Dr. Kazimierz Braun, this book was originally published in Poland in 2011. Read more on Moonrise Press Blog. |
About the Authors |
Zofia Reklewska-Braun is literature and theatre historian, journalist, and educator. She studied Polish Literature at the Warsaw University, earning Master of Letters degree. She worked as editor at the State Scholarly Publishing House in Warsaw and as literary manager at the Osterwa Theatre in Lublin. After emigrating, she taught Polish language and literature in Polish and American high schools, at Buffalo State College, and SUNY University at Buffalo. She wrote a book, How It Really Was about the martial law in Poland and co-authored, with her husband Kazimierz Braun, a monograph, Director Teofil Trzciński and a historical book Good Priests. Her most recent book appeared in Poland in 2015, Jak to naprawde bylo (Prohibita, Warsaw). Kazimierz Braun is director, writer, and scholar. He received his Ph. D. in Letters and Ph. D. in Theatre at the Poznań University, Poland, as well as M.F.A. and Ph.D. in Directing at the National School of Drama in Warsaw. He holds the Professor’s title in both Poland and the USA. He was artistic director and general manager of pro- fessional theaters in Poland, including The Contemporary Theater in Wrocław. He directed more than 150 productions around the world. He published more than 50 books in Polish, English, and Czech languages, including scholarly works, novels, and plays, which were produced in Poland, Canada, the United States, Ireland, and Russia. He also published extensively in Polish and American literary and theatre journals, as well as in encyclopedias. His most recent novel is Dzwon na trwoge (Wyd. Volumen, Warszawa 2016) about Moslem invasion of Europe.
|
Prof. Jaroszynska-Kirchmann about this book
|
Intriguing and diligently researched, Across the Atlantic is a must-read for enthusiasts of aviation history, as well as those interested in Polish American history. The story of the Adamowicz brothers and their deft flight is a story of triumph and disappointment, victory and defeat, fame and oblivion. The authors are giving those aviation pioneers their second chance in history.
~ Anna D. Jaroszynska-Kirchmann, Professor of History |
Peter J. Obst about this book
|
In 1934, only seven years after Lindbergh's solo trans-Atlantic flight, two Polish immigrants, brothers Ben and Joe Adamowicz from Brooklyn, made a flight over the Atlantic Ocean with a landing in Warsaw at the end of their journey. What is remarkable about this story is that two men,ordinary guys quite unknown in the then-existing aviation community, managed to accomplish something that, at the time, was still regarded as a dangerous and daring feat. Even before their excursion into aviation, these two "everymen" were part of the immigrant success story. ~ Peter J. Obst, journalist and historian
The Adamowicz brothers flew over the Atlantic on a single-engine plane Bellanca. Their trip took them from New York to Warsaw; they were the first Poles to do so. They became instant celebrities, favorites of the journalists, photographers, and the public on both sides of the Atlantic. Alas, their triumph was short-lived, followed by a fall from grace, to imprisonment and bankruptcy. This richly illustrated book brings to life their forgotten story.
~ Maja Trochimczyk, Ph.D. |