A detailed, scholarly study of the dissident intellectuals who did much to prepare the way for the Solidarity revolution of 1980. Zuzowski traces the antecedents of the Workers' Defense Committee back to 1956, but features the years of activity from the Committee's formation in 1976 through 1981. The author uses this historical case to reflect on the different forms of dissent engendered in a society such as socialist Poland's and on the payoffs of different strategies pursued by dissenting intellectuals.