Joe's War: My Father Decoded

by Annette Kobak

Acclaimed biographer Annette Kobak turns her attention to her own family as she sets out to uncover her father's never-discussed past. A mysterious and conspicuously silent figure in Annette's life for some forty-five years, Joe Kobak at last shared with his daughter his harrowing experiences during World War II, which she has turned into a riveting work of history and memory.Born on the border of Poland and Czechoslovakia, Joe Kobak fled the Nazis, suffered imprisonment by the Russians, then joined Polish forces fighting in France. Later he escaped to London where he spent the duration of the war intercepting Soviet messages. In Joe's War, his daughter captures Joe Kobak's story in his own words, and interweaves it with her own search for a life story she can make sense of. Embarking upon a challenging and poignant journey of her own–retracing her father's footsteps across a barren and unfamiliar Ukraine–the author sheds light on the dark corners of her family history and on some of the darker aspects of the war, bringing history to life in unexpected ways.

Genres: War, Memoir, History, Nonfiction

466 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2004

Reviews

[Darla Ebert · Rating 3 out of 5]

The author's father certainly led a fascinating and frightening life during WW 2 in Poland and German, England and other parts of Europe. Approximately 16 years of age when the war was in its infancy, "Joe" grew up on the run, fighting, having near-death experiences, watching friends die...his life is a revealing testimony to the will to survive that God places within each of us. I DID get bogged down in the details after a couple of hundred pages but that was more due to my own short attention span.

[Elle Kay · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would have preferred (& likely enjoyed) an excerpt. Joe's story (as told to his daughter), her travels re-tracing his steps and her commentary on the impact his experiences had on their family were all interesting. Unfortunately they were all mired in pages and pages of verbatim speeches, war correspondence and other historical reports which were detailed, dry and (to me) de-railed the story. If I wanted to read a history textbook, I would go back to university. Also the vocabulary was at times cumbersome (potentially because as a Canadian the vernacular is not the same as the British author's) and she utilizes a fair amount of Polish, German and Czech terminology.

[Steven Minniear · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good start and good ending. Middle filled up with personal point of view on Eastern European Twentieth century history - the gist of it being everybody did something bad to the Poles and the Czechs. History is always much more messy and less guilt free. Nonetheless, a very good book to get an alternate look from an Eastern European point of view (except it was written by the daughter of a Czech/Polish immigre who grew up in England. The end does a nice bit about how things are never quite what you think they are.

[Sally Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Highly recommended. Not an easy or fast read, but I learned so so so much. I had no real idea of what happened in Eastern Europe before WWII, of the perfidy of the Allies (Neville Chamberlain, world-class asshat). Buy a copy and take your time with this. Parts of it drag a bit, but the history is well and clearly told, with just enough personal insight and relevance to make it that much more compelling.

[Tom]

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