A History of Poland

Name: A History of Poland
ISBN: 9787505747401

亚当·扎莫伊斯基 / 郭大成China Friendship Publishing Company · ChinaApr 2023

4.3

Word count: 271K words
Chapters: 28
ISBN: 9787505747401

Report an error Find this book

Summary

To most people, Poland seems forever shrouded in tragedy. Whether it is Chopin's "Poland Is Not Yet Lost" or Roman Polanski's film The Pianist, both leave a poignant and sorrowful impression. In Polish history, the three partitions and the brutal tyranny of the Nazi German invaders have also cast the country in the colors of a "loser." But in fact, Poland has both a great past and a present full of hope. This book begins with Mieszko I's founding of the Kingdom of Poland and recounts the magnificent history of this country over more than a thousand years.

Polish-British historian Adam Zamoyski unfolds this historical panorama in a vivid and passionate manner, analyzing and explaining many facts of Polish history and discussing them within a broader international context. The author then moves into the contemporary era, showing readers the challenges Poland faced as it sought its own path of development after its people had endured great hardships to regain independence and unity.

Editor's review

Adam Zamoyski's Poland: A History is a general history that combines scholarly depth with narrative charm. As a British historian of Polish descent, the author strikes a balance between objective fact and national sentiment, avoiding both the narrowness of nationalist narrative and the cold piling-up of sources. The book's most outstanding value lies in its broad temporal and spatial framework—a thousand-year course from early tribal confederations to European Union membership is woven into an organic whole, with particular emphasis on Poland's unique geopolitical fate at the crossroads of East and West: how it forged its identity in the crevices between Catholicism and Orthodoxy, Germany and Russia, liberal tradition and coercive domination. Zamoyski offers nuanced and insightful analyses of Poland's golden-age democratic experiment (noble democracy), national resilience during the era of partitions, the human tragedy of World War II, and the struggles of the postwar Cold War order. The English original has been highly praised in Western academia; the Chinese translation is fluent, with detailed notes, offering Chinese readers a three-dimensional perspective beyond stereotypes on this complex country so often reduced to a "nation of suffering." Reading this book is not only about understanding Poland but also an excellent window, through the prism of Central and Eastern Europe, onto the formation of modern nation-states, the construction of cultural identity, and geopolitical contestation.

Who it's for

A good fit for

History enthusiasts interested in Central and Eastern European history, international relations, or geopolitics
Readers who wish to go beyond fragmented knowledge and understand Poland's thousand-year trajectory systematically
Students of the humanities and social sciences concerned with national identity, cultural conflict, and state-building
Travelers and researchers planning to visit Poland or with a deep interest in Central and Eastern European culture

Not a good fit for

Casual readers seeking light entertainment or novel-like fast-paced narrative
Readers who want only a minimal overview and cannot accept a nearly 500-page length with considerable historical detail

Reading tips

Read with a map at hand, paying particular attention to the dynamic changes in Poland's territory and borders, which are crucial to understanding its historical fate
The book involves many European royal and noble surnames and place names; it is advisable to take notes or consult reference works on European history
Focus on the evolution of keywords such as "commonwealth," "national character," "freedom," and "resistance," which are core themes running through Polish history

About the publisher

China Friendship Publishing Company China · Founded in 1983

China Friendship Publishing Company is a comprehensive publisher known for its literary titles, covering classical Chinese literature, foreign literature, folk literature and cultural appreciation. According to the books in the database, its classical list includes celebrated dramas and novels such as The Peony Pavilion, The Romance of the Western Chamber and Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio, as well as note-style classics like Hong Mai's Rongzhai Suibi. In foreign literature it offers translations of Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment, Kawabata Yasunari's Snow Country and Anne Frank's The Diary of a Young Girl, involving translators such as Zeng Siyi. It also publishes The Complete Literary Works of Lu Xun and titles associated with the "Xue'er Shuguan" editorial group, balancing the collation and popularization of classic texts. Public information on its publishing features and plans is limited; the above is summarized only from the books in the database.

版权信息
中文版序言
作者序
1 民族、土地和王国
2 东西之间
3 雅盖隆王朝
4 宗教与政治
5 王国和联邦
6 伊拉斯谟的统治
7 民主对垒王朝
8 上帝的卫士
9 传说中的大洪水
10 国家的“癫痫”
11 混乱的统治
12 振兴之路
13 温和的革命
14 武装斗争
15 起义
16 波兰问题
17 困局之中
18 建国大业
19 波兰共和国
20 战争
21 胜利的代价
22 试与错
23 教宗的力量
24 第三共和国
出版后记

FAQ

How does this book compare with other histories of Poland?

The author combines Polish ancestry with Western academic training, giving him a balanced perspective; the narrative spans the full chronological range, with particular emphasis on the modern and contemporary periods; the prose is elegant, both scholarly and readable, and it is regarded as one of the classic general histories of Poland in the English-speaking world.

Do I need a lot of prior knowledge of European history?

A basic background in European history helps, but the author provides sufficient context when major European events arise, so introductory readers can follow the main thread.

Is the book's discussion of Poland's relations with its neighbors objective?

The author strives for objectivity, criticizing historical external oppression while not shying away from Poland's internal conflicts and mistakes; his analysis of relations with Germany, Russia, Ukraine, and others is multi-dimensional and avoids a single narrative.

Comments

Find this book

This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.

About the author

亚当·扎莫伊斯基 Author

Adam Zamoyski is an author whose writing falls within the field of world history. So far the only one of his works available to Chinese readers is A History of Poland, and the information held in our database is therefore quite limited: his nationality, dates of birth and death, educational background and full list of publications are not reliably documented. Judging from the Chinese edition that has appeared, his writing leans clearly toward broad narrative history: he follows a chronological thread through Poland's political transformations from the formation of the early state to modern times, while also attending to social structures and cultural developments. The narration is unhurried, the material clearly organized, and he seldom becomes mired in petty scholarly disputes, which suits general readers who want an overall grasp of Poland's historical trajectory. Writing a general history of this kind demands considerable powers of synthesis, and it also suggests that he is familiar with the historical literature of Central and Eastern Europe. Overall, public information is limited, and it is difficult at present to sketch his full life; readers may instead begin with the narrative approach and selection of material in A History of Poland, and from there appreciate the character of his historical writing and where his interests lie.

郭大成 Author

Guo Dacheng is an author about whom little public information is currently available; details such as nationality, dates of birth and death, and an English name have not been clearly recorded. Judging from the existing catalogue, he is associated with writing on world history, and the library holds one work by him, A History of Poland. Classified under world history, the book indicates that his writing interest centers on national and regional history, particularly the historical development of Poland, a country in Central and Eastern Europe. As a subject, A History of Poland belongs to the genre of national history writing, which generally requires the author to establish clear threads among political change, social structure, and cultural evolution, placing considerable demands on the selection of sources and narrative pacing. Because more background material is lacking, it is difficult to assess the full range of his writing style, but the work's classification and subject suggest that the author tends to present a country's historical development in a relatively complete form for general readers interested in world history. This is currently the only work by him in the library, and the scope of its influence and any subsequent writing await further material.