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Editorial Reviews:

From Booklist:
Kniffel is the editor of American Libraries magazine, and his delightful, colorful, and poignant book is the result of a stay he enjoyed a few years ago in Poland, from where his grandparents emigrated just prior to the outbreak of World War I. Loaded, along with a computer and clothing, with all the stories he could remember hearing his grandmother tell, Kniffel established himself in temporary residence in the area in which she was born, his object being not only to absorb the old country that is his roots but also to establish contact with relatives who, chances were, were still living in the region.

Kniffel bought a used car, found a place to live in busy businessman Adam's house, and, speaking passable Polish, did an amazing job of becoming, in a short time, part of the community. In an easy, comfortable, and humorous narrative voice, which reflects his perceptiveness, Kniffel takes readers along with him on this sustaining voyage of self-discovery, a story brimming with vibrant characters who could have come right out of a good village-life novel. Brad Hooper Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Stuart Dybek, author of Coast of Chicago:
"Kniffel's keen observation is ultimately a measure of the depth of his feeling."