Description of a book titled "The Collapse of Communist Power in Poland":

"The collapse of communist power in Poland in 1989 was unforeseen and unexpectedly sudden. Based on extensive original research, including interviews with key participants, this book examines the process whereby the Communist Party lost power. It sets out the sequence of events and examines the strategies of various Communist Party players both before and during the Round Table negotiations with Solidarity in the spring of 1989.

This volume argues that the specific negotiating strategies and institutional arrangements agreed by the communist party representatives in the Round Table discussions before the partially free elections in June were key factors in communism’s collapse. In tracing the gap between what the PZPR (Communist Party) expected in each bargaining scenario and the actual outcome, Hayden assesses the evidence to determine whether the party members were far-sighted strategists attempting to control and shape the process of democratic transition in Poland, or whether they were caught up in a set of dynamic circumstances where strategic mistakes produced unexpected political results.

This book shows that on many occasions, PZPR decision-makers ignored expert advice, and many Round Table bargains went against the party’s best interests. Using indepth interviews with key party players, including General Jaruzelski, General Kiszczak and Mieczysław Rakowski, as well as Solidarity advisors such as Adam Michnik, The Collapse of Communist Power in Poland provides a unique source of first-hand accounts by key players in Poland’s revolutionary drama."

The Collapse of Communist Power in Poland