A Concise History of Poland

by Jerzy Lukowski, Hubert Zawadzki

Overview

The second edition of this guide to Poland has been updated to take account of the years from 1989–2005. This period marked its liberation from the Soviet Union, the birth of Poland's 'Third Republic' and, recently, its accession to the European Union in 2004. Poland's history has been marked by its resilience. Once a dominant force in central and eastern Europe and home to a remarkable experiment in consensual politics, it was excised from the map by its neighbours in 1795. Resurrected in 1918, partitioned afresh during the Second World War, it survived to become a satellite of the Soviet Union. Yet in the 1980s, it was Poland which blazed the trail in casting off communism, and was finally able to reassert its Christian heritage. With its updated bibliography and new chronology, the book is the ideal companion for all looking for a comprehensive survey of this fascinating country.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781107779211
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	07/06/2006
Series:	Cambridge Concise Histories
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	16 MB
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About the Author

Jerzy Lukowski is Reader in Polish History at the University of Birmingham. His publications include The Partitions of Poland 1772, 1793, 1795 (1999) and The European Nobility in the Eighteenth Century (2003).
Hubert Zawadzki teaches history at Abingdon School. His publications include A Man of Honour: Adam Czartoryski as Statesman of Russia and Poland 1795–1831 (1993).

Table of Contents

Preface; Note on Polish pronunciation; List of illustrations; List of maps; Part I. Poland to 1795: 1. Piast Poland, ?–1385; 2. Jagiellonian Poland, 1385–1572; 3. The commonwealth of the two nations, 1572–1795; Part II. Poland after 1795: 4. Challenging the partitions, 1795–1864; 5. An era of transformation, 1864–1914; 6. Independence regained and lost, 1914–45; 7. Communism and the Cold War, 1945–89; 8. A new republic 1989–; Genealogical charts of Polish rulers; Lists of heads of state, presidents, communist party leaders, 1918–2000; Bibliography.

Editorial Reviews

'… lucid, insightful, and often witty and pithy … the authors are especially good in their dispassionate treatment of sensitive political and social issues and challenges, particularly those that have dominated recent decades. These matters include Poland’s place in Europe, the role of the Catholic Church, xenophobic and anti-Semitic traditions, and ‘the lack of confidence in many of the state’s institutions and in the rule of law, coupled with the low quality of much political debate’ (as the authors write in the final chapter). Illustrations (two new ones in this edition), maps, ruler lists, and a good English-language bibliography enhance the volume. Recommended.' P. W. Knoll, Choice

From the Publisher