God's Playground: A History of Poland: The Origins to 1795, Vol. 1

The most comprehensive survey of Polish history available in English, God´s Playground demonstrates Poland´s importance in European history from medieval times to the present. Abandoning the traditional nationalist approach to Polish history, Norman Davies instead stresses the country´s rich multinational heritage and places the development of the Jewish German, Ukrainian, and Lithuanian communities firmly within the Polish context. Davies emphasizes the cultural history of Poland through a presentation of extensive poetical, literary, and documentary texts in English translation. In each volume, chronological chapters of political narrative are interspersed with essays on religious, social, economic, constitutional, philosophical, and diplomatic themes. This new edition has been revised and fully updated with two new chapters to bring the story to the end of the twentieth century. "This is beyond doubt not only the best book on Poland in the English language; it is the book on Poland." -The New York Times Book Review The most comprehensive survey of Polish history available in English, God ́s Playground demonstrates Poland ́s importance in European history from medieval times to the present. Abandoning the traditional nationalist approach to Polish history, Norman Davies instead stresses the country ́s rich multinational heritage and places the development of the Jewish German, Ukrainian, and Lithuanian communities firmly within the Polish context.

Davies emphasizes the cultural history of Poland through a presentation of extensive poetical, literary, and documentary texts in English translation. In each volume, chronological chapters of political narrative are interspersed with essays on religious, social, economic, constitutional, philosophical, and diplomatic themes.

This new edition has been revised and fully updated with two new chapters to bring the story to the end of the twentieth century.

"This is beyond doubt not only the best book on Poland in the English language; it is the book on Poland." -The New York Times Book Review

Preface to Original Edition of Volume 1 Contents Maps and Diagrams List of Illustrations Notes on the Illustrations Chronology I Introduction. The Origins to 1572 1. Millenium: A Thousand Years of History (Historiography) 2. Polska: The Polish Land (Historical Geography) 3. Piast: The Polanian Dynasty (to 1370) 4. Anjou: The Hungarian Connection (1370-1386) 5. Jogaila: The Lithuanian Union (1386-1572) II The Life and Death of the Polish-Lithuanian Republic (1569-1795) 6. Antemurale: The Bulwark of Christendom 7 Szlachta: The Nobleman’s Paradise 8. Handel: The Polish Grain Trade 9. Miasto: The Vicissitudes of Urban Life 10. Anarchia: The Noble Democracy 11. Serenissima: Diplomacy in Poland-Lithuania 12. Valois: The French Experiment (1572-1575) 13. Bathory: The Transylvanian Victor (1576-1586) 14. Vasa: The Swedish Connection (1587-1668) 15. Michal: The Austrian Candidate (1669-1673) 16. Sobieski: Terror of the Turk (1674-1696) 17. Wettin: The Saxon Era (1697-1763) 18. Agonia: The End of the Russian Protectorate (1764-1795) Notes Index In the western democracies, Nationalism has rarely commanded much respect or sympathy. v. 1. The origins to 1795 v. 2. 1795 to the present.