Poland: A History

Reads more like a novel than a nonfiction summary history. Highly recommend if you are looking for a surface level thousand year history of Poland. Especially for travel or simply expanding general knowledge. Gives equal overview for historical periods without focusing too much on World War II and the communist era.

This book’s author, while born and raised in the West, is a descendent of a very prominent family of Polish nobility. His account of Poland’s history comes from an objective mind, but also from a heart filled with the love and concern for the land of his forefathers. The Western reader, even with good knowledge of Europe’s turbulent history, will be overwhelmed by that people’s suffering and misfortunes and surprised by its accomplishments. That is so, because like other eastern countries Poland has always lived in the shadow of Western Europe and few foreign people knew its language or its story. Did you know that the University of Krakow, founded in 1364, was the second one north of the Alps after that of Prague? Or that Krakow operated the first printing press in 1472, just two decades after Gutenberg’s invention? Or that the Golden Age of the Renaissance opened in Poland around 1500 and lasted a century and a half? Or that the first newspaper was printed in 1661? Or that the age of the Reformation resulted in religious freedom and tolerance certified by law? Considering geniuses such as Copernicus, Chopin and Marie Curie, you would think the Poles should have marched side-by-side with Western Europe in the upsweep of modernity, but alas, that was not in the cards. Rather you might say, the Poles’ trail of tears, their long path of anguish, began in 1648 and persisted with few interruptions for three and a half centuries, i. e. until a decade or two ago. The epitome of such suffering should have been WW I, when they were forced to fight on both sides in a war that wasn’t theirs. However, even that was outdone by the murderous hell sent down upon them by Hitler and Stalin in WW II, and the 44 years of Soviet tyranny to follow. History decreed torture and on many countries, as we all know, but Poland stands out. Why was that so? In my view, the chief reason was geography. If it had been the Poles who transferred to England instead of the Angles and Saxons 1600 years ago, they would have created a magnificent empire and the lingua franca of today’s world would now be Polish, not English. Instead, they lived in the land of the Vistula surrounded by powerful enemies, east, west, north and south. During endless ages when history was written by brutal passion and the sword, they never had a chance. Z amoyski is cautious in predicting the Poles’ ability to master their future challenges. I am more optimistic. It is a land just barely recovered from a grave illness. It is free now and protected. Given a little more time, it may at last open up like a gorgeous flower and be the pride of Europe.

Zamoyski writes well and his book is filled with good information. The reader should not have difficulty with this very understandable text. Over one thousand years of complex Polish history, however, is compressed into a volume of just over 400 pages. Therefore, it is my belief the reader of this text should have some background in Polish history before picking up this brief. His original publication, The Polish Way, will fill in the necessary gaps for the reader. This book is like a jolt to the mind that restores information that has slipped from the memory banks over past years. Topics, such as, the Fragmentation Period, the Partition Period, and World War I, are very complex, but given one chapter each in coverage. In fact, his discussion of political parties evolving from the January Rising to independence caught me off guard. I can't even remember WWI being mentioned, although the disclosure of Pilsudski and his reaction to political dysfunction in the new Polish government finally jogged me into reality. This is a concise history. I look forward to reading Warsaw 1920, which might be a bit clearer than the Commander's (Pilsudski's) version, a translation I read in the early 80s.

Zamoyski writes a history dating back to the earliest times, and includes factual details underlying the development of this beleaguered people to modern times. I loved the analytical elements proffered by the author, which helps define the significance of the complex relationships Poland has experienced - and suffered through - in its history. Zamoyski is a readable, entertaining author with a fine eye for detail. And that's where the devils live: in the details. It's those devils that shaped Poland's exemplary and painful course through the ages.

I found the book unbiased and as far as I can tell historically accurate. Zamoyski's style is really good in a way it makes it easy to understand a lot of topics. As a grandson of polish immigrants I found this book great to reconnect with my roots. Nonetheless it is more than polish history as the writer provides a context of the surrounding world which makes it an eye opening read.

An excellent work, written by a contemporary Polish noble who lived in England for decades as a noted historian before returning to Poland to rebuild the family castle. An insightful view of Polish history from a prospective that cannot be provided by any other author.

This is a rather concise and highly readable account of 1000+ years of Polish history. I read it immediately before a trip to Poland this summer and it helped me understand who was who and what was what while visiting historical sites there. If you're interested in learning Polish history, this is the place to start!

Gute Aufarbeitung der Geschichte

ミシェコ１世から始まる、非常に真っ当なポーランド史です。 Wikipediaで見ればたった１行しか無いような内容でも、どれだけの歴史がそこに含まれていたかって ことですね.... なかなか普段使わない単語が多いので、Kindleの辞書機能をふんだんに使いまくっています。 iPadAirのKindleではマーカーを４色使えますから、 固有名詞 ：赤 形容詞、名詞：青 動詞 ：黄 重要文章 ：橙 と使い分ける事で普段洋書を読んでいますが、この本の場合は兎に角も単語が難しいので、４色マーカー が入り乱れてしまいます...（通常の本では、殆ど黄色しか使わないで済むのですが...） 歴代の王様の家系図とかもあるのですが、文中では「◎１世」という正式な言い方をしてくれないので、 今のこの説明はミシェコ１世のことなのかミシェコ２世のことなのかどっちなんだ？と迷う事が多々あります。

Very insightful book. Thoroughly enjoyed reading it.

Esta es mas una critica a Amazon que al libro editado en papel. El texto es claro, bien expuesto y altamente informativo. Como suele ser la norma en toda la historiografía actual escrita por polacos, se presenta siempre al país como una esencia eterna, victima siempre de malvados enemigos, inocente absoluto y precursor de todos los progresos democráticos. Falta bastante crítica a todos los aspectos negros de dicha historia. Lo que hace al libro, en su versión Kindle, absolutamente inservible para entender los múltiples cambios en el territorio y las relaciones dinásticas es que, tanto los mapas como los cuadros genealógicos.son absolutamente ilegibles, tanto en el propio dispositivo Kindle como en el ordenador. Amazon, dadas las limitaciones de su sistema Kindle para presentar imágenes, debía tener la honradez de no editar en dicho formato libros en los que las imágenes son esenciales; o al menos advertir de ello.

Livro chegou bem embalado e antes do prazo final. Gostei que apresenta um panorama geral da história polonesa sendo uma leitural inicial e essencial para quem pretende estudar ou conhecer a história daquele país.