The White Lake: Fighting for a Free Press, Justice and a Place to Call Home in the New Poland by John Borrell
Published by Charles Glass Books, an imprint of Quartet Books, The White Lake is the compelling saga of a journalist coming to grips with his new life as an entrepreneur in post-Communist Poland. It is that rare thing: 'A Year in Provence', but written by an outsider who chose the frozen wilds of northern Poland over an easy life in the vineyards of southern France. Borrell was one of the first foreigners to settle in Poland after the collapse of Communism, quitting his job as a travelling war correspondent with TIME to start a business and a family on the shores of a pristine lake in Poland. In building a house for himself and a lodge for paying guests in a poor region sorely in need of investment and jobs, he came up against a cabal of Communist-era local officials at a time when corruption was rampant in Poland and bribes were expected for many permits and approvals. He fought back in the only way he knew how: he exposed them by starting a Polish newspaper, Express Kaszubski, and training young journalists in old-fashioned investigating that eventually helped a newly informed electorate to vote the local mayor out of office. His worries did not end there; the mayor prosecuted him for criminal libel in a case that threatened to destroy all he had built and put Borrell himself behind bars. The White Lake is an unforgettable read by a determined man who refused to compromise. Review 'An intriguing tale by a former foreign correspondent who followed his dream and built a hotel on a lake in a remote part of Poland. In the post-Communist era John Borrell found himself battling old style corruption and intimidation. As this elegantly written book shows, he eventually triumphed and continues to live the dream' --James MacManus, author of On the Broken Shore and Language of the Sea 'This is not simply another foreigner-makes-home-abroad story. Borrell was for many years a foreign correspondent for TIME and he writes with a reporter's keen eye for detail on his battle against corruption while building a lodge, and a new life, on a beautiful lake in northern Poland' --Alan Cowell, author of The Terminal Spy and New York Times Paris correspondent 'A deft weave of reporting, history and personal anecdotes, John Borrell's account of the travails, drama and misadventures of creating a luxury lodge in post-Communist Poland reads like a novel - one that could only have been lived, and written, by a consummate foreign correspondent' --Allen Pizzey, CBS News foreign correspondent About the Author British-born John Borrell grew up in New Zealand where he became a journalist, aged eighteen. He worked as a foreign correspondent for nearly three decades, covering wars in Africa, the Middle East and Central America for TIME and other newspapers and broadcasters. After reporting on the collapse of Communism in Eastern Europe and the Balkans, he gave up journalism in 1992 to build a new life on a lake in northern Poland. He and his Polish wife have run their award-winning lodge ever since. Borrell has also established three other businesses, including a local newspaper. He speaks Polish.
Publication Details
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Binding: Paperback
Published by: Quartet Books: , 2014
Edition:
ISBN: 9780704373327 | 0704373327
256 pages.
Book Condition: Good
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