Before television and the Internet, there was newsreel. Polish Film Chronicle. Peeking into the PRL is an exceptional book which lets us enter the world of that once near-cult cinematic phenomenon of communist Poland. It started in 1944 and continued until 1994, bringing news from home and the whole wide world “to a cinema near you”, before the main feature came on the big screen. It was from the newsreel that Polish women found out the newest Parisian fashions, while Polish men admired the ingenuity of the latest Soviet technological inventions; in communist , and especially Stalinist times, the newsreel was the only way one could ever visit America or a western-European country: the Iron Curtain made travelling to such destinations impossible. The Polish Film Chronicle was like a breath of fresh air, but it was also a very useful and skilfully used propaganda tool. Still, its upbeat, fast-paced style, professional editing, careful mix of proper news and fun fluff, and its famous, monumental opening theme – composed in 1949 by Władysław Szpilman – had made it easily one of the most favourite programmes of the PRL. In 35 short chapters author Marek Kosma Cieśliński tells the story of the Polish Film Chronicle, discloses the arcane secrets of documentary journalism and methods of selecting and shooting newsreel material. This book is more than just a sentimental journey into the past;  it is also an opportunity to recall events from decades ago, recognize objects and places no longer existing in their previous shape, and, for the younger generations, a unique source of information about everyday lives of their parents and grandparents.