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The Polish Way: A Thousand-Year History of the Poles and Their Culture
 
 
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The Polish Way: A Thousand-Year History of the Poles and Their Culture [Paperback]

Adam Zamoyski (Author)
4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)

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Book Description

0781802008 978-0781802000 October 1993
The Polish Way: A Thousand-Year History of the Poles and Their Culture
By Adam Zamoyski

This masterly and lavishly illustrated history of Poland from the tenth century to the present day tells of Poland's achievement as a European nation.

"Adam Zamoyski's The Polish Way is a stunner; a comprehensive history of Poland. . . Clear, calm, beautifully written, its scope is enormous, its story enthralling and its illustrations magnificent."
BERNARD LEVIN, The Times of London

"Mr. Zamoyski, although born in New York and educated at Oxford, writes as an insider. Is this because the Zamoyskis have for the last 400 years been playing a leading role in Poland, a role often characterized by a greater public spirit and sense of responsibility than those possessed by the other magnate families? Mr. Zamoyski believes there is a need for a new synthesis of Poland's past because of the heavily nationalist and political coloring of existing works. 'Foreign historians,' he writes, 'have patronised, while Poles have fought back with all the handicaps of the besieged.' He strives to place Polish history more squarely in its European context, and he pays special attention to developments that had repercussions beyond the boundaries of the country. For example, he emphasizes the phenomenon of the Polish parliamentary state in Central Europe, its spectacular 16th century success and its equally spectacular disintegration two centuries later. . . This is popular history at its best, neither shallow nor simplistic. . . lavish illustrations, good maps and intriguing charts and genealogical tables make this book particularly attractive."
New York Times Book Review

Publishing House: Hippocrene Books, New York 1993
Softcover book measuring 6" x 9.5"
422 pages
English Language Version

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Product Details

  • Paperback: 422 pages
  • Publisher: Hippocrene Books (October 1993)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0781802008
  • ISBN-13: 978-0781802000
  • Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 1.1 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #175,079 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

24 Reviews
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3 star:
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Average Customer Review
4.6 out of 5 stars (24 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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113 of 115 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Introductory History, February 5, 2002
By 
John E. Mennel (Skopje, Macedonia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: The Polish Way: A Thousand-Year History of the Poles and Their Culture (Paperback)
In the Polish Way, Zamoyski sets out to create a "reasonable synthesis" of Polish history from what he describes as the body of patronizing foreign works and defensively nationalistic Polish ones. He succeeds reasonably well in this goal. If he does lean at times toward nationalism in describing the "Polish Way" - religious tolerance, reliance on legal protections, respect for human rights - it can be excused because of his strictly factual approach and because of the important role the Zamoyski family played in much of the history he describes.

For me, though, there are two factors that make this such an excellent introductory history - one of the best one volume national histories I have read. First, the book skillfully weaves the history of ideas (primarily painting, music, architecture, literature and law) into the political and military narrative. I always found these sections both interesting and well integrated into the sweep of historical events. Second, the numerous maps, genealogies, photographs and other exhibits - including a Polish pronunciation guide - are invaluable to a reader, like me, with little or no prior knowledge of Polish history. I wish more authors and editors of so-called "popular histories" would pay as much attention to these important finishing touches.

True to his goal of producing a synthesis, Zamoyski describes the important themes in Polish history but stops short of providing analysis or conclusions. In describing changes in Poland's political system, he begs analysis of the eventual weakness of early Polish democracy in the absence of a "nation" based on ethnicity, religion, language or a common conception of a territorial homeland and of the strength of today's Poland partially, according to the author, because of its relative homogeneity.

This analysis would be important for a clear understanding of modern Poland and Europe (and other multi-ethnic, multi-lingual democracies). I plan to look for it in other books. The "Polish Way" does an excellent job at introducing the terrain.

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78 of 79 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, well written and informative history book., November 10, 1998
By A Customer
This review is from: The Polish Way: A Thousand-Year History of the Poles and Their Culture (Paperback)
This is one of the better history books I have read. The author clearly explains the history of Poland without too much clutter. The book is easy to read and flows well. This is an excellent book for those wishing to begin to study the history of Poland. The maps and photos inside the book shows the dynamic borders of Poland through the centuries and the author demostrates that Poland like the rest of Europe wasn't an island nation but part of a bigger Europe.
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59 of 63 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Superb and comprehensive history, January 23, 2002
By 
Blah (New York, New York) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Polish Way: A Thousand-Year History of the Poles and Their Culture (Paperback)
This is the best basic overview of Polish history for beginners that is available right now. If you are a more advanced student of Poland, you should check out the works by Norman Davies. Otherwise, for all you novices this is the place to start. The Polish Way covers all major aspects of the chosen subject and presents them in a clear intelligible fashion. Most importantly the writing is not incredibly boring so you can actually stand to read it straight through.
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Inside This Book (learn more)
First Sentence:
They reached the heights of the Kahlenberg just before nightfall. Read the first page
Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
minor szlachta, landless szlachta, jagiellon dynasty
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Soviet Union, Stanislaw Augustus, Teutonic Knights, Jan Kazimierz, United States, Red Army, Western Europe, Kingdom of Poland, Wladyslaw Jagiello, Eastern Europe, Polish Commonwealth, Teutonic Order, Zygmunt Augustus, Adam Czartoryski, Black Sea, King Zygmunt, Congress Kingdom, Ignacy Potocki, Karol Radziwill, Kazimierz the Great, Stephen Bathory, Acta Henriciana, Polish Church, Western Gubernias, Andrzej Zamoyski
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