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Heart of Europe: The Past in Poland's Present (Paperback)

by Norman Davies (Author) "There can be few countries in the world where the system of government was held in greater public disrepute than it was in Poland..." (more)
Key Phrases: political emigration, communist establishment, fraternal parties, Soviet Union, Soviet Bloc, Warsaw Pact (more...)

3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (10 customer reviews)

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Editorial Reviews

Review

"another masterpiece. Heart of Europe has sweep, a rare analytical depth and a courageous display of the author's personal convictions. The book begins and ends with Solidarity; the unique labour movement thus serves as a frame for the nation's history."--New York Times Book Review

Product Description
The image of Poland has once again been impressed on European consciousness. Norman Davies provides a key to understanding the modern Polish crisis in this lucid and authoritative description of the nation's history. Beginning with the period since 1945, he travels back in time to highlight the long-term themes and traditions which have influenced present attitudes.
His evocative account reveals Poland as the heart of Europe in more than the geographical sense. It is a country where Europe's ideological conflicts are played out in their most acute form: as recent events have emphasized, Poland's fate is of vital concern to European civilization as a whole.
This revised and updated edition tackles and analyses the issues arising from the fall of the Eastern Bloc, and looks at Poland's future within a political climate of democracy and free market.

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Product Details

Paperback: 520 pages
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (August 23, 2001)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0192801260
ISBN-13: 978-0192801265
Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5 x 1.4 inches
Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)

Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (10 customer reviews)

Amazon.com Sales Rank: #105,707 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)
Popular in this category: (What's this?)
#46 in Books > History > Europe > Poland

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Inside This Book (learn more)

First Sentence:
There can be few countries in the world where the system of government was held in greater public disrepute than it was in Poland. Read the first page

Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
political emigration, communist establishment, fraternal parties, partitioning powers, polish issue, spiritual mastery, polish communists, external front, polish youth

Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Soviet Union, Soviet Bloc, Warsaw Pact, Soviet Army, November Rising, Second World War, January Rising, Home Army, Prime Minister, Duchy of Warsaw, Second Republic, General Staff, Grand Duchy, Red Army, Roman Catholic Church, Russian Empire, Warsaw Rising, East European, Eastern Front, Casimir the Great, First Secretary, Polish Church, Polish Republic, Great War, May Coup

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Citations (learn more)

This book cites 41 books:

The Great War: A Novel by Larry W. Poland on 8 pages
The Second World War, Volume 3: The Grand Alliance by Winston S. Churchill on page 64, page 77, and page 89
Heart of Europe:A Short History of Poland by Andrew Davies in Front Matter (1), Front Matter (2), and Front Matter (3)
The Teutonic Knights by Henryk Sienkiewicz on page 181, and page 187
The Polish Revolution: Solidarity (Third Edition) by Mr. Timothy Garton Ash on page 417, and Back Matter

See all 41 books this book cites

56 books cite this book:

The Soviet-East German Military Alliance by Douglas A. Macgregor in Back Matter (1), Back Matter (2), and Back Matter (3)
Eastern Europe in the Twentieth Century--and After by R.j. Crampton in Back Matter (1), Back Matter (2), and Back Matter (3)
Forced Out: The Fate of Polish Jewry in Communist Poland by Arthur J. Wolak on page 127, Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
Double Lives, Second Chances: The Cinema of Krzystzof Kieslowski by Annette Insdorf on page 9, and Back Matter
Trade and Urban Development in Poland: An Economic Geography of Cracow, from its Origins to 1795 (Cambridge Studies in Historical Geography) by F. W. Carter in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)

See all 56 books citing this book

Books on Related Topics (learn more)

The Sword and the Shield by Christopher Andrew

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The Polish Revolution by Mr. Timothy Garton Ash

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What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

	58% buy the item featured on this page: Heart of Europe: The Past in Poland's Present 3.8 out of 5 stars (10) $17.15
	14% buy God's Playground: A History of Poland, Vol. 2: 1795 to the Present 4.8 out of 5 stars (5) $27.00
	12% buy The Polish Way: A Thousand-Year History of the Poles and Their Culture 4.6 out of 5 stars (19)
	9% buy God's Playground: A History of Poland, Vol. 1: The Origins to 1795 4.4 out of 5 stars (9) $27.00

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Customer Reviews

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3.8 out of 5 stars (10 customer reviews)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

46 of 50 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Sometimes a fresh look at some old controversies, December 13, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Heart of Europe: A Short History of Poland (Oxford Paperbacks) (Paperback)

Davies ruffled feathers of academics especially with his perspective on the fate of Jews in Poland during WW II. Poles often are presumed guilty of "not doing enough" to help Jews escape the Nazis. Davies argues that Poles were also in need of help and not in any position to offer others much help. His argument conflicted with views generally held by Jewish intellectuals and others and he had claimed that their influence had him removed from a proposed teaching position at a university. In any case, the book should be read as a serious contribution to understanding Polish history, and not as a polemical threat to anybody's "ironclad" notions.

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34 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Historical framework for communist breakdown in Poland, November 8, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Heart of Europe: A Short History of Poland (Oxford Paperbacks) (Paperback)

This a very well researched, comprehensive piece of work that discusses the salient features of Polish history. It's worth reading just as a fairly short and very readable version of the Polish history that is written by a non-Pole. In addition, the author takes on the difficult task of trying to provide a historical perspective on the frustration of Poles put under the Soviet-imposed communist rule and, more specifically, on the historical roots of the Solidarity freedom movement. The original, inverted structure of the book (the most recent events first) serves these goals well but it may be frustrating for readers accustomed to the traditional chronological approach to history. Nevertheless, I liked this structure. I would recommend this book to any Pole and people interested in the history of Poland and Central Europe. In addition, this is a great reading for people of any nationality interested in the Soviet imperialism and in the historical reasons for its ultimate failure.

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18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fine Historical Argument, May 20, 2006

By	Martin P. McCarthy (North Chili, New York) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

In the preface to the first edition published in 1984, Norman Davies writes, "No history book which sets out to relate the past to the present is written at the right time." Davies For Davies, the time he chose was 1983 - a few years into Jaruzelski's military coup and what appeared to be a definite lull in the historical action. 1983, as it turns out was also on the cusp of the great changes that the fall of communism had in store for the world by the end of the 1980's.

This is also where the book begins and then proceeds in a reverse chronological fashion to cover 5 separate periods of history including first, the period of the People's Republic (1944-1983), second, the period encompassing World War II (1939-1947), third, World War I and the interwar period (1914-1939), fourth, history during the Partitions (1795-1918) and fifth, historic Poland (history prior to 1795).

Davies then returns to 1983 to demonstrate the "past in Poland's present" or as Davies more eloquently puts it, "Such is the burden of History in Polish consciousness, that any full appreciation of the Polish crisis requires a full examination of the way in which the chief actors on the political scene perceived their roles in relation to the nations traditions." The next chapter is (now) a misnomer entitled "Beyond History" in which Davies reflects on the state of affairs in 1983 and is looking forward to the not-to-distant future. This chapter was the last chapter of the First and Second Editions and, as it turned out, Davies did not have to wait long before the not-to-distant future arrived in 1989 in which the People's Republic melted away. This inspired a new chapter for the 3rd edition entitled "Liberation" and covers the period from 1983 to roughly 2000.

Davies' work has a two-fold purpose. The first purpose is to demonstrate that one who has recourse to history can more fully understand and appreciate the significance of present day events. That is not to say that the past predetermines the present, but it is to say the present loses its meaning and significance without its relation to the past.

The second purpose was to show that although much of Poland's past lies at the intersection of East and West (or to use Samuel Huntington's formulation, between the Western Civilization and the Orthodox Civilization), Poland's proper place is in the West and it was Davies' hope when he first published that Poland would move out of the Soviet orbit and back into the Western world. Those hopes were realized when Poland joined NATO and the EU.

Davies' work is not so much history as it is historical argument and, as such, is a fine historical argument. If one is looking for a more traditional history, I would recommend M.B. Biskupski's "The History of Poland" (short), or Adam Zamoyski's "The Polish Way" (medium) or Norman Davies' "God's Playground" (long).

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

2.0 out of 5 stars A typical prise for Poland's history
It is always unbelievable to read books on Polish history. Those authors always try to monopolise all the history of the various nations which lived in the Lithuanian & Polish... Read more

Published 8 months ago by G. Baranauskas

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent
Well written book, takes a very comprehensive look at the history of not just Poland, but the entire region, and the forces that shaped it. Read more

Published on January 27, 2005 by rob

3.0 out of 5 stars Typical brutal reply of the barbarian
(...)
Apparently for (...) history of Central Europe there is a huge black hole beginning XV century till the end of XVII century. Read more

Published on November 16, 2004 by shoevarek

3.0 out of 5 stars Not Just History
But sociology and psychology as well. I have been trying to educate myself in the area of European History over the course of the last year or so. Read more

Published on December 3, 1999 by Dave Swinford

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent look from outside for history of Poland
I learned more about history of Poland then from any history lessons. Especially I apreciate history of Polish Jews and origins of Polish Nation.

Published on November 13, 1998

5.0 out of 5 stars the only true Polish history book you can find in USA
The words of recommendation are not necessary if you know the history, not only one part of it. "Winners write history", which comes as nothing new under the sun, to... Read more

Published on October 13, 1997

1.0 out of 5 stars This is not history
I am not sure how to describe this book, but clearly its claim to be "history" is really misleading. Whatever it is it is badly organized. Read more

Published on May 9, 1997

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