God's Playground, Volume 1

Rating:
Summary: The (Earlier) Land of the Free
Review: One of the central theses in Davies' history of Poland up to 1795 is that it, rather than France, Britain or the Holy Roman Empire could lay claim to the true predecessor of American democracy. This may seem a stretch, but the institutions of the great Polish Commonwealth - an elective monarchy, decentralization, a powerful civic assembly - were closer to the Athenian ideal of democracy than any other medieval or rennaisance kingdoms. Poland also produced some of the great intellectuals of those eras - Copernicus standing out as the prime example. Though the Polish constitution had its eccentricities: for instance, the kingdom imported its sovereigns from all corners of Europe (the Valois of France, the Vasas of Sweden and later the dukes of Saxony), the Polish-Lithuanian state became the most powerful military and political force in Eastern Europe for the better part of the fifteenth to seventeenth centuries, only to be dismembered in the eighteenth. This is an academic book, volume 1 of 2, and readers who find the 500+ page length daunting might be better off with the one-volume abridgement. This longer volume, however, is rewarding, because it has a wonderful narrative arc: origins, rise, and downfall, with the tragic eighteenth century partitions in the final chapters suggestive of worse twentieth century partitions to come. There are also personal anecdotes, such as the story of King Sigismund, who died of an overdose of gherkins, or poor Queen Jadwiga, forced to abandon her teenage sweetheart in order to marry pagan King Jagiellon of Lithania, a man twice her age who went to the altar only moments after his baptism.

Rating:
Summary: The (Earlier) Land of the Free
Review: One of the central theses in Davies' history of Poland up to 1795 is that it, rather than France, Britain or the Holy Roman Empire could lay claim to the true predecessor of American democracy. This may seem a stretch, but the institutions of the great Polish Commonwealth - an elective monarchy, decentralization, a powerful civic assembly - were closer to the Athenian ideal of democracy than any other medieval or rennaisance kingdoms. Poland also produced some of the great intellectuals of those eras - Copernicus standing out as the prime example. Though the Polish constitution had its eccentricities: for instance, the kingdom imported its sovereigns from all corners of Europe (the Valois of France, the Vasas of Sweden and later the dukes of Saxony), the Polish-Lithuanian state became the most powerful military and political force in Eastern Europe for the better part of the fifteenth to seventeenth centuries, only to be dismembered in the eighteenth. This is an academic book, volume 1 of 2, and readers who find the 500+ page length daunting might be better off with the one-volume abridgement. This longer volume, however, is rewarding, because it has a wonderful narrative arc: origins, rise, and downfall, with the tragic eighteenth century partitions in the final chapters suggestive of worse twentieth century partitions to come. There are also personal anecdotes, such as the story of King Sigismund, who died of an overdose of gherkins, or poor Queen Jadwiga, forced to abandon her teenage sweetheart in order to marry pagan King Jagiellon of Lithania, a man twice her age who went to the altar only moments after his baptism.

Rating:
Summary: Best on Poland--Where's the Update?
Review: Since its publication in 1984, these two heavy tomes have been the only survey course of Polish history worth reading, in Polish or English or any other language. The others, since the beginnings of Polish history books, have generally been badly outdated, marred by heavy ideological or religous bias, or were written by enthusiasts rather than by trained historians. I have read as many as I could fine since I started studying the field in 1971. Davies is controversial because he does indeed take stands not always popular with some readers, and he is a reasonable romantic enthusiast. Note the other reviews. After all, he received his doctorate in Krakow, the former capital of Poland, a true measure of devotion to the country. Unfortunately, the world of Polish, much less Eastern European, historigoraphy has been overturned with the end of the Cold War and opening of the archives and libraries formerly denied. There is a crying need for an updated version of Polish history, especially to cover the post-1945 period, which was off-limits under the rules in the former People's Republic. Until then, read Davies. Understandably, the market for this sort of work is limited, but it is good to know that a Polish translation is used in the restored Poland. Certain periods are well-coverd, as in the Piotr Wandycz book on 19th century Poland. We distributed copies of this work through the cultural section of the American Embassy in Warsaw in the 1980's.

Rating:
Summary: Best on Poland--Where's the Update?
Review: Since its publication in 1984, these two heavy tomes have been the only survey course of Polish history worth reading, in Polish or English or any other language. The others, since the beginnings of Polish history books, have generally been badly outdated, marred by heavy ideological or religous bias, or were written by enthusiasts rather than by trained historians. I have read as many as I could fine since I started studying the field in 1971. Davies is controversial because he does indeed take stands not always popular with some readers, and he is a reasonable romantic enthusiast. Note the other reviews. After all, he received his doctorate in Krakow, the former capital of Poland, a true measure of devotion to the country. Unfortunately, the world of Polish, much less Eastern European, historigoraphy has been overturned with the end of the Cold War and opening of the archives and libraries formerly denied. There is a crying need for an updated version of Polish history, especially to cover the post-1945 period, which was off-limits under the rules in the former People's Republic. Until then, read Davies. Understandably, the market for this sort of work is limited, but it is good to know that a Polish translation is used in the restored Poland. Certain periods are well-coverd, as in the Piotr Wandycz book on 19th century Poland. We distributed copies of this work through the cultural section of the American Embassy in Warsaw in the 1980's.

Rating:
Summary: Great scholarship
Review: With bracing clarity Norman Davies tells the story of non-Germanic Central Europe located between two voracious empires, Germany and Russia. The narrative is rich in detail and entertaining, yet it is impeccably scholarly. Few history books measure up to it.

Rating:
Summary: Shining example of what historical writing should be
Review: With God's Playground Davies has proven himself to be one of the greatest historians, historical writers, and historical theorists that the English language has known. Davies combines the narrative and thematic approaches to achieve a historical study that provides a chronology of events as well as an understanding of deeper changes and cultural contexts. Since you are reading this in the hopes that it will help you decide to buy the book, let me explain how Davies does this. First, he provides a chapter that is written in the traditional narrative style from n-date to x-date. Then he follows that up with several chapters on each facet of Polish life and how that developed from n-date to x-date. Typically, he uses political, military, economic, religious, and cultural (the arts, etc.) as his primary themes. By using this technique Davies is able to impart much more knowledge and much deeper understanding to his readers. Finally, these two volumes also contain some of the best and most useful maps I have encountered in any history book. The maps alone are worth the price of the book, and anyone teaching a European history course will find them to be invaluable in helping students understand Eastern Europe.

Rating:
Summary: Shining example of what historical writing should be
Review: With God's Playground Davies has proven himself to be one of the greatest historians, historical writers, and historical theorists that the English language has known. Davies combines the narrative and thematic approaches to achieve a historical study that provides a chronology of events as well as an understanding of deeper changes and cultural contexts. Since you are reading this in the hopes that it will help you decide to buy the book, let me explain how Davies does this. First, he provides a chapter that is written in the traditional narrative style from n-date to x-date. Then he follows that up with several chapters on each facet of Polish life and how that developed from n-date to x-date. Typically, he uses political, military, economic, religious, and cultural (the arts, etc.) as his primary themes. By using this technique Davies is able to impart much more knowledge and much deeper understanding to his readers. Finally, these two volumes also contain some of the best and most useful maps I have encountered in any history book. The maps alone are worth the price of the book, and anyone teaching a European history course will find them to be invaluable in helping students understand Eastern Europe.