Home - About The Book - Contents - Reviews - Author & Illustrator - How To Order - Links

What Reviewers Have Said

Photo by Arturo Mari for L'Osservatore Romano, Vatican City Photography Service

Father Andrew Grzela, pastor of Rochester's St. Stanislaus Kostka Parish, presents a copy of the first edition of Shoulder to Shoulder to Pope John Paul II at the Vatican in 1992.
"This well developed, oversized book of the Polish people in Rochester, New York, is a treasure. The black-and-white photos are sharp, the illustrations appealing, and the text interesting. It is one of the best local histories I have seen, a book that deserves to sit on your shelf."

Florence Waszkelewicz Clowes, MLIS
Polish American Journal

"This handsome volume makes a significant contribution to the history of New York State while preserving the history of the Polish American community of Rochester. . . . The book is well researched and will be of interest to scholars, but it does not smell of the lamp. It is replete with human portraits and individual experiences, and includes a large number of photographs."

Wendell Tripp
New York History

"This is a carefully constructed narrative history of an important Polish community . . . . The work derives much strength from its readability and fine use of photographs and other illustrations, making it an entertaining as well as useful source of information."

William Galush
Journal of American Ethnic History

Lech Walesa, surrounded by well-wishers, receives a copy of the book during his visit to Rochester Institute of Technology in 1998.
"Kathleen Urbanic's well written and carefully documented history describes the growth of [Rochester's Polish] community, including its homes, businesses, churches, schools, and social and political organizations. . . .
"For the genealogist, the author mentions many names and has written sketches of several of the community's more prominent members. . . . Would-be historians of other ethnic communities in New York State should be inspired to produce histories of the same high caliber."

New York Genealogical and Biographical Record

"Shoulder to Shoulder carries the reader on a colorful, century-long journey by an immigrant group that arrived in Rochester with little but faith, imagination, and memories of their oppressed homeland, but which eventually became one of the city's most vibrant, close-knit, and creative communities."

Rob Cullivan
Rochester Catholic Courier

"No one contemplating a study of an ethnic community in a city or town should neglect to inspect this Rochester monograph. It is a model whose style has much to offer."

Rev. William Wolkovich-Valkavicius
Polish American Studies