Quarks, Elephants and Pierogi: Poland in 100 Words

Can you distil the essence of a country into just 100 words?

This book will make you fall in love with a country with one of the most unusual histories out there. It'll also show you how languages intersect and whole cultures arise, and make you realise just how interwoven our world is.

Along the way, you'll find out why quarks are made from curd cheese, learn what elephants have to do with a Central European country, and discover how pierogi saved an entire town.

Reviews

“A stunning combination of content and design... I enjoyed every bit of it, and wish there were more like this, on other languages.”
- David Crystal, award-winning author and world-leading authority on the English language

“A must read for the well-heeled and down-to-earth types, urbanites and artists, bureaucrats and politicians, travelers and vagabonds, as well as historians and curiosity-seekers. This version of Poland is not found in papers or other planet guides, or dispensed by private tour gurus and discovered on the internet or dark web sites. It comes in print only (for now) and will certainly come in handy, even if you only plan to couch-surf Poland.”
- Marek Żebrowski, Director of the Polish Music Centre at USC Thornton in Los Angeles

“For people merely interested in Poland or completely in love with it, this is from the ‘must have and read’ shelf. The descriptions of the words, the fun had with them (in both languages — English and Polish), as well as the wonderful illustrations really do what was intended — they promote us Poles with thought.”
- Michał Nogaś, literary critic

About the authors

Mikołaj Gliński, Matthew Davies and Adam Żuławski are on the editorial team of Culture.pl, the world’s premiere online source for Polish culture.

Magdalena Burdzyńska is a painter, graphic designer and illustrator. She has designed several highly-lauded books for Polish art house publishers.