God's Playground: A History of Poland, Vol. 2: 1795 to the Present

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. Preface to Original Edition of Volume II Contents Maps and Diagrams Illustrations Notes on the Illustrations Chronology I Poland Destroyed and Reconstructed, 1795-1945 1. Naród: The Growth of the Modern Nation ( 1772-1945) 2. Rossiya: The Russian Partition (1772-1918) 3. Preussen: The Prussian Partition (1772—1918) 4. Galicia: The Austrian Partition (1773-1918) 5. Fabryka: The Process of Industrialization 6. Lud: The Rise of the Common People 7. Kościół: The Roman Catholic Church in Poland 8. Kultura: Education and the Cultural Heritage 9. Żydzi: The Jewish Community 10. Wojsko: The Military Tradition 11. Emigracja: The Polish Emigration 12. Varsovie: The Duchy of Warsaw (1807-1815) 13. Kongresówka: The Congress Kingdom (1815-1864) 14 Cracovia: The Republic of Cracow (1815-1846) 15. Wiosna: The Springtime of Other Nations (1848) 16. Rêveries: The Thaw and the January Rising (1855-1864) 17. Rewolucja: Revolution and Reaction (1904-1914) 18. Feniks: The Rebirth of the Polish State (1914-1918) 19. Niepodleglość: Twenty Years of Independence (1918-1939) 20 Golgota: Poland in the Second World War (1939-1945) 21. Granice: The Modern Polish Frontiers (1919-1945) II Contemporary Poland since 1944 22. Partia: The Communist Movement 23. Polska Ludowa: The Polish ‘People’s Republic’ (since 1944) 24. Solidarność: The Solidarity Decade 25. Wolność: Freedom Regained 1990-2000 Postscript Notes Suggestions for Further Reading Index

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.

Columbia University Press

"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

In the western democracies, Nationalism has rarely commanded much respect or sympathy. v. 1. The origins to 1795 v. 2. 1795 to the present.