Poland (Illustrated Histories (Hippocrene)) [Hardcover]

Iwo Cyprian Pogonowski (Author)

Book Description

Series: Illustrated Histories (Hippocrene) | Publication Date: October 2008

Formed over a thousand years ago, the Polish state experienced a golden age in the period after 1385 when Poland and Lithuania voluntarily united, creating a huge commonwealth that extended from the Baltic to the Black Sea. After defeating Germany in 1410, Poland played a civilising role in Balto-Slavic Europe as Polish became known as the language of civility, elegance and diplomacy throughout the region, and Poland garnered a reputation as a country of legal innovations and for tolerance among its people. Poland was the first European state to adopt the concept of due process under law (nearly 300 years before England would do so), the principle of 'habeas corpus', and the idea of "no taxation" without representation long before the colonies were founded in North America.In addition, Poland provided a homeland for Jews facing extinction in medieval and early modern Europe; at one time, 80 per cent of all Jews world-wide lived in Poland. Twentieth century Poland boasts 19 Nobel Prize winners including the poet Czeskaw Milosz, writer Henryk Sienkiewicz and scientist Marie Curie, who patriotically named her discovery of a new radioactive element polonium. This revised edition includes over 50 photographs, illustrations, timelines and maps that chart Poland's shifting territorial boundary lines and depicts a country rich in historical, cultural, political, and social events. New colour photographs have also been added, and the historical narrative is complemented by fascinating asides on Polish art, literature, music, architecture and folklore.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"An important contribution to a better understanding of Polish history, which demonstrates in a vivid fashion the historical vicissitudes of that major European nation." --Dr. Zbigniew Brzezinski, National Security Adviser to President Carter

Review

"Pogonowski provides an engaging chronicle of events, amplified by the many pictures, charts, and maps. Polish art, literature, architecture, and folklore are integrated as well."

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 273 pages
• Publisher: Hippocrene Books; Revised edition (October 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0781812003
• ISBN-13: 978-0781812009
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 5 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,081,888 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A worthy effort but could have been great!, September 3, 2001

By 

Simplicissimus (Kentucky, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Poland: An Illustrated History (Illustrated Histories) (Hardcover)

The amount of scholarship and sheer number of facts included in this book are quite amazing. The effort put into assembling all this information must have been prodigious. Unfortunately the book does have several drawbacks. First it reads as if it was not edited before publication and in some areas looks like it was written on a home computer. Not only are there quite a few mispellings of easy words (almost certainly just typos that were never caught) but in my copy there are unexplained gaps in the sentences which then inexplicably begin again at the beginning of the next line. Also the illustrations although numerous are not of very high quality from a technical viewpoint. The closeup pictures of individual people are fine but some of the reproduced paintings are totally uninterpretable. In one of a supposed cavalry charge in my copy all you can make out are a few horses and a tower surrounded by smoke because of the poor reproduction (page 150). Also it should be noted that all of the pictures are black and white except for the beautiful picture of the winged horsemen on the front of the cover. The included maps also may have been quite useful in their original format but after being reduced to fit into this rather small page format leave much to be desired. Finally the book reads more like a chronicle or an outline for a history book in that many chapters are merely one sentence listings of various Polish accomplishments strung together page after page. In summary I would give 5 stars for effort and 3 stars for execution for a combined score of 4. People already familiar with Polish history and with Polish historical individuals may get more out of the book than people looking for an illustrated introductory history. A short explanation of the pronunciation of Polish names would have been very helpful to non-Polish readers like myself. Can anyone explain just what the author meant by Positivism which is used in many different locations but if it was explained in the book I must have missed it? Still glad I read this book and I did learn a lot from it but it had the potential to be really great with a few improvements.

5.0 out of 5 stars Different Angle, November 30, 2011

By 

piggybank - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Poland (Illustrated Histories (Hippocrene)) (Hardcover)

It's worth reading. It contains interesting facts not easily found in other books. It contains some maps, drawings and pictures...needless to say, it's a very condensed example of history book so be reasonable in your criticism of it...still worth reading...

6 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Profusely-Illustrated Atlas of Polish History, February 6, 2001

By 

Jan Peczkis (Chicago, IL USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Poland: An Illustrated History (Illustrated Histories) (Hardcover)

This one-of-a-kind atlas covers every major episode of history--from prehistoric times to the present. Must reading!