Bookworm Friday: Five Books Recommendations from Marcin Kozłowski

In this series, we ask our William Hill colleagues to share their favourite book recommendations and tell us what specifically they learned from them. Today we present 5 recommendations from Marcin Kozłowski. Enjoy a good read!

On a daily basis, Marcin is an Information Security Analyst in Information Security Operations team. He says: We work mostly behind the scenes – we protect company assets and ensure that security rules are being followed. You might have not heard about us, but we know about you. 

Apart from IT-related interests, I like learning about the world by travelling and all that goes with it. Since tourism is an unrecommended activity in current circumstances, I recently read more about travelling than do it myself. In terms of reading, I prefer fact over fiction so my books selection will mostly be travel literature and journalism.

Check out his five book recommendations!

1. Tim Marshall, “Prisoners of Geography: Ten Maps That Tell You Everything You Need to Know About Global Politics”

What makes a country powerful and why is it its geography? How big booster can be an access to warm water seas or control over tight straits? This book answers more than these questions by bringing political context over the lines and colours of the world map. If you’re into geography, cartography or geopolitics that book is a must-read.

2. Barbara Demick, „Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea”

North Korea is one of the most isolated and scariest countries in the world. Even there, however, live ordinary people with their everyday lives. Barbara Demick captured six of them in her book. Falling in love, raising families and making careers juxtaposed with struggle for survival and realizing the government’s gradual fall. Eye-opening book.

3. Ziemowit Szczerek, „Tatuaż z tryzubem” (Trident tattoo)

Depending on the study there are currently between 800k to 1.3mln Ukrainians in Poland, but what do we really know about each other? “Trident tattoo” is the author’s journey through Poland’s biggest neighbouring country. Recent events and old history mix here with stories of miscellaneous people. It altogether shows the reader that there is much more than just “pro-western” or “pro-eastern” Ukraine.

4. Mariusz Szczygieł, „Gottland: Mostly True Stories from Half of Czechoslovakia”

The “half of Czechoslovakia” the title is referring to is Czechia. According to the average Polish cliché - a land of beer lovers with funny language. Not really. “Gottland…”, my favourite Szczygieł’s book, depicts people and stories completely unique. Sculptor of Stalin’s biggest monument, Bata’s largest shoe factory in the world or Karel Gott (winner of the country’s Best Male Vocalist Award thirty-six years in a row) are just a few of them.

5. Olga Gitkiewicz, „Nie zdążę” (can’t make it)

90s were rough for public transport in Poland. About 3000km of railways had been liquidated and only partially replaced with long-distance buses. As a result, about one-third of Poland’s population live in a public transportation exclusion limbo. Why they don’t protest? Without a car, they can’t make it to the gathering… Siloed stories build a sad, big picture here. The picture which people from big cities are often unaware of.