Poland: A history

Poland: A history
Adam Zamoyski

A substantially revised and updated edition of the author's classic 1987 book, 'The Polish Way: A Thousand-Year History of the Poles and their Culture', which has been out of print since 2001.No nation's history has been so distorted as that of Poland. In 1797 Russia, Prussia and Austria divided the country up among themselves, expunging Poland’s sovereignty from history, casting it as a backwater that needed civilising. But as Adam Zamoyski’s thrilling history shows, the country they had wiped off the map had been one of Europe’s largest and most varied in cultural and religious traditions, with one of the boldest constitutional experiments ever attempted. Its destruction initiated a series of struggles that culminated in the two world wars and the Cold War. Today, Poland has been restored to its rightful place as one of the most vigorous nations of Europe, and is perfectly captured in this full revision Adam Zamoyski's classic ‘The Polish Way’.

POLAND A HISTORY

ADAM ZAMOYSKI

Copyright (#ulink_02be54dc-f636-572b-9ae4-3c7691618288)

HarperPress

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Published by HarperPress 2009

Copyright © Adam Zamoyski Ltd 2009

The Polish Way published by John Murray in 1987

Adam Zamoyski asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work

Cover shows detail from a parchment scroll of 1605, showing a member of the Husaria, the Polish winged cavalry

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

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Source ISBN: 9780007282753

Ebook Edition © OCTOBER 2009 ISBN: 9780007322732

Version: 2017-04-25

Table of Contents

Cover (#ude79d91c-b4ba-532d-8c15-6e4fbaa6b068)

Title Page (#uaef1b316-2f44-5bea-9a35-03b155d3a644)

Copyright (#u398dc9a9-f530-5e0f-9b6b-0c3d7def3a4f)

MAPS (#ub1e8bd83-1b65-5f47-8675-5d2e6a3d8b4d)

TABLES (#ue11da63c-b705-53bb-ad84-53cda6ec2179)

NOTE ON POLISH PRONUNCIATION (#u608d6e56-70ee-564f-84da-396be2034666)

PREFACE (#u6a1945ca-c193-5ff9-9f7d-bd42abb4452b)

ONE: People, Land and Crown (#uf36d141e-5afe-5432-9b48-0c658d47c546)

TWO: Between East and West (#u536cd0ed-73ce-558b-b55a-15c6c94927cf)

THREE: The Jagiellon Experience (#u4c638513-9b47-5f1c-a007-d26752ac4ed1)

FOUR: Religion and Politics (#u925b2d89-3e88-5264-9ad3-1695582508f2)

FIVE: Kingdom and Commonwealth (#u2d0f815c-b591-502a-a28d-d032819e5ca4)

SIX: The Reign of Erasmus (#uf6624e3c-6f46-5223-b60c-b3c41c17aff0)

SEVEN: Democracy versus Dynasty (#u3d28323b-274c-5105-be0c-d1a77cae6883)

EIGHT: Champions of God (#litres_trial_promo)

NINE: A Biblical Flood (#litres_trial_promo)

TEN: Morbus Comitialis (#litres_trial_promo)

ELEVEN: The Reign of Anarchy (#litres_trial_promo)

TWELVE: Renewal (#litres_trial_promo)

THIRTEEN: Gentle Revolution (#litres_trial_promo)

FOURTEEN: Armed Struggle (#litres_trial_promo)

FIFTEEN: Insurgency (#litres_trial_promo)

SIXTEEN: The Polish Question (#litres_trial_promo)

SEVENTEEN: Captivity (#litres_trial_promo)

EIGHTEEN: Nation-Building (#litres_trial_promo)

NINETEEN: The Polish Republic (#litres_trial_promo)

TWENTY: War (#litres_trial_promo)

TWENTY-ONE: The Cost of Victory (#litres_trial_promo)

TWENTY-TWO: Trial and Error (#litres_trial_promo)

TWENTY-THREE: Papal Power (#litres_trial_promo)