The Białowieża Forest Saga   by Simona Kossak.

Summer 2006     A gift for my Sweet Pamela.

I'll just clarify the book's origin first: When having a vacation in Poland, I found myself in a bookstore in Crackow. And I saw a nice thick book at a reasonable price... in English! It was about the only sizable old growth forest remaining in Europe. This is not such an intriguing thing for me, except for the fact that Pamela had told me about the forest before, and that she has some interest in it. So I decided to get the book, and learn something about the subject.

I had read about half of it by the next time that I met Pamela, which was shortly before her Birthday. We were discussing what she might like to receive as a gift, (I have slightly less idea what would be good for her than she does her self,) when I told her that perhaps I should have looked for something in this Polish Book store. I then showed her the book I got, and she said, "That's Perfect! You had me completely fooled with your story about not knowing what to get me!"

"Oh," I said. And then, because I'm the absolute worst liar in the world, I had to admit that I didn't ever think of giving the book to her. But if she'd like it for her birthday... then she'd better forget quickly that she'd just seen it.

The couple days later, she got this nice thick book for her Birthday! (Plus a little piece of paper stuck in it, marking the page I'd gotten to.) I was glad when she unwrapped it, and I could continue reading. And is it just that I have a sick sense of humor, or is this a funny situation.

SO... it's a book that I got for myself, which became a gift for Pamela, which I then borrowed and finished. But what have I got to say about it?

It's broken into around twenty chapters, each dealing with one aspect of the forest, and arranged basicly into chronological order, (Starting with mamoths and the ice age, going on to descriptions of Aurochs, and on to which prices lived there... and hunted Moose, and about when Napoleon came through, and the effect his army had... and up to the present, which is more about the Scientists in the forest.) But each Chapter is then split into two parts: first a little story, (telling about one of resistance fighters hiding in the deepest part of the forests when the Napoleonic army was spotted.) And then it moves on to the real facts, and describes the general history of the time, and the documents about it that still exist, and the over all effect on the forest it had.

At first this style was a touch confusing, but I came to like it, and enjoy the variety it gave to the reading. If the whole book had been only short stories, I would have read it, and then forgotten the whole thing. If it had only been the scientific and historical data, I don't think I would have finished the book at all. The mixture is what made it work.

This book filled me with wonder; It described the awesome nature, and the great work people put into saving this forest. But it was depressing too, because for every person who was trying to protect the forest, there were five or more who were looking for ways to exploit it. The whole book has a form of steady decline: more and more parts of the forest being cut down and destroyed. Species after species being killed off to extremes, or completely wiped out, for sport, meat, trade, or misunderstanding. (Kill ALL of the Lynx; they're vicious animals, that kill anything they meet, and are certainly the cause of the decrease in small deer... which we want to hunt ourselves! Only WE are allowed to kill that species off.) Worst of all, the last chapter is devoted to the struggle at the end of the twentieth century to make the whole place a strictly protected national park. -only to have a note stuck on the last page, saying that in January, 2000, it was decided by the national government... Not to make a park, but to continue logging it for all it was worth.

If that's not depressing, I don't know what is.

There were a number of nice photographs in the book, and I liked the author's style of writing. I truly got a feel for the wilderness which the forest has always been. I don't think the anyone could have made that connection with me without first hand experience with the forest. (Which the author has: She's a researcher who's been living in a forestry station there for years.)

So, rather good book. And interesting region. I only feel a bit guilty now, because I know more details about the forest at the Eastern border of Poland, than I know about the forests 100 km from where I grew up.