Poland: An Illustrated History (Illustrated Histories) [Hardcover]

Iwo C. Pogonowski (Author)

Book Description

Series: Illustrated Histories | Publication Date: April 2001

Poland, strategically located in the geographical centre of Europe, became a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation in March 1999. Poland and the United Kingdom are expected to be the strongest supporters of the policies of the United States within the NATO Alliance. Poland's remarkable quest for representative government, one of the oldest in modern Eurpoe, is presented against the backdrop of a millennium of history rich in cultural, political, and social events, including centuries of Poland's civilizing role in the expansive area between the Baltic and the Black seas. These topics -- complemented with Polish art, literature, music, architecture, and tradition -- are described by the author in this concise volume, which also includes 50 photos, illustrations, and maps.

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 --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

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." --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 270 pages
• Publisher: Hippocrene Books (April 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0781807573
• ISBN-13: 978-0781807579
• Product Dimensions: 7.3 x 5.3 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,202,303 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

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!