God's Playground: A History of Poland: In Two Volumes; Volume II: 1795 to the Present
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- Create Date：2021-07-14 09:52:11
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Norman Davies
- ISBN：0199253404
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Summary
This edition of Norman Davies' study of the history of Poland has been revised and fully updated with two new chapters to bring the story to the end of the 20th century。 The writing of Polish history， like Poland itself， has frequently fallen prey to interested parties。 Professor Norman Davies adopts a sceptical stance towards all existing interpretations and attempts to bring a strong dose of common sense to his theme。 He consequently presents a comprehensive survey of this frequently maligned and usually misunderstood country。
Reviews
Emily
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Like Vol。 1， except that， given the time period， it was more heart-breaking。 The type-setting is atrocious， to the point where it becomes distracting。 Very obvious that the author is enamored of Poland， and I wonder if that swings his bias a bit。 Still， the only comprehensive story of Poland。 Well worth the time。
Nick
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Extremely comprehensive， but much less readable than Volume 1， and with many more editing and spelling errors。 The last several chapters were a bit heavy-handed in promoting the author's book。 Overall， it has a wide scope， and includes footnotes and bibliography covering the history of the divided regions of Poland， various risings， cultural history， the interwar period， World War II， the Soviet period， and the Solidarity movement。 Extremely comprehensive， but much less readable than Volume 1， and with many more editing and spelling errors。 The last several chapters were a bit heavy-handed in promoting the author's book。 Overall， it has a wide scope， and includes footnotes and bibliography covering the history of the divided regions of Poland， various risings， cultural history， the interwar period， World War II， the Soviet period， and the Solidarity movement。 。。。more
Karen
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Read up to 1905 since my ancestors had all emigrated by then。
Kaitlin
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Poetic cinema
Matt
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Davies doesn't strictly organize the book chronologically。 While that is how it is set up for good portions of the books， he also has chapters on specific themes （religion， nobility， peasantry， politics， etc）。 This works really well in helping to give context to events， and allows for a broader look at Poland。 He writes really well， and makes good use of primary sources throughout （including Polish originals， which is nice）。 This edition does feel rushed in his description of Solidarity and the Davies doesn't strictly organize the book chronologically。 While that is how it is set up for good portions of the books， he also has chapters on specific themes （religion， nobility， peasantry， politics， etc）。 This works really well in helping to give context to events， and allows for a broader look at Poland。 He writes really well， and makes good use of primary sources throughout （including Polish originals， which is nice）。 This edition does feel rushed in his description of Solidarity and the post-Communist era， but that can be forgiven being that it is all relatively new and hasn't been contextualized from a historic viewpoint （though he makes good observations about the future of Poland that fit in with what's going on now）。I also found it funny that Davies' referenced himself （without naming himself） and the book itself， in the updated section， noting that the book was clandestinely translated in the 1980s， and served as an updated history of Poland that came out right when Poland was in the world conscience。 This wasn't a full-out exaggeration either， as the books have been used in Polish schools as a textbook for the past several years。I will critique the publisher though， as the text was not that clear， and the maps and diagrams were all but useless as a result， but having seen the 1980 version I know that was an issue with this printing。 。。。more
Jeff DeRosa
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Five stars in terms of depth and research。 Two stars pertaining to readability。 Do not be fooled; this is a text book！ Yes， it's an essential read packed with knowledge about Poland。 However， be ready for the grind of reading a text book！ Five stars in terms of depth and research。 Two stars pertaining to readability。 Do not be fooled; this is a text book！ Yes， it's an essential read packed with knowledge about Poland。 However， be ready for the grind of reading a text book！ 。。。more
Tomek Gunia
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Ciekawa historia Polski trochę z innej perspektywy， są drobne niedomowienia i braki， ale mimo wszystko polecam。
Seth
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Informative but boring and a big mess of acronyms。 Reads more like a textbook than a book。 Not how I like to read my history
Jennifer
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Overall good but I skipped the contemporary sections， especially when the author started to talk about his own book being so great。。。。
Vanjr
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Long， info overload， iconic， maddening。 Welcome to Professor Davies。 On page 60 of 591 of God's Playground: Page 56， beginning of a paragraph regarding Polish nationalism， Norman Davies writes:"The proliferating profusion of possible political permutations among the pullulating peoples and parties of the Polish provinces in this period palpably prevented the propagation of permanent pacts between potential partners"？？？？Page 356 Has some of the most chilling and amazing episodes of WW2 and the Po Long， info overload， iconic， maddening。 Welcome to Professor Davies。 On page 60 of 591 of God's Playground: Page 56， beginning of a paragraph regarding Polish nationalism， Norman Davies writes:"The proliferating profusion of possible political permutations among the pullulating peoples and parties of the Polish provinces in this period palpably prevented the propagation of permanent pacts between potential partners"？？？？Page 356 Has some of the most chilling and amazing episodes of WW2 and the Polish Jewish and Polish Catholic resistance to the Germans。 。。。more
Jane Massy
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Davies is the great historian of Poland。 He is deeply knowledgeable and fearless in his theses。
Matthew Dambro
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An absolute masterwork of historical analysis。 Dr。 Davies has long been considered the Dean of Eastern European studies。 He proves it in this two volume work on Poland。 I must warn the reader that the sheer amount of suffering and bloodshed of the Polish people at the hands of the Nazis and the Communists from 1939 to 1990 makes for some is described in detail。 It will make you physically ill to read it。 But the truth is there。 It permeates the book。 It is a fitting tribute to the Polish Spirit。
Ewa
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I must say that bring completely different than previously expected I actually loved almost every bit of it。 The skilful combination of chronological description and various （economics/politics/religion/sociology） analyses makes it a must if you're thinking about learning about history of Poland。 I must say that bring completely different than previously expected I actually loved almost every bit of it。 The skilful combination of chronological description and various （economics/politics/religion/sociology） analyses makes it a must if you're thinking about learning about history of Poland。 。。。more
Muhammad Zain ul abidin
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Definitely a worth a read to understand recent Polish history （1795 onward）
Czarny Pies
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I greatly admire the first volume of Norman Davies' history of Poland。 I absolutely love the second。 I know a number of women who teach in the local Saturday Polish school that both my children attended。 Finally， an author gives the volunteer Polish school teachers some long overdue praise。 Davies writes:"The typical Polish Patriot of the turn of century was not the revolutionary with a revolver in his pocket， but the young lady of a good family with a textbook under her shawl。"Yes， it was the v I greatly admire the first volume of Norman Davies' history of Poland。 I absolutely love the second。 I know a number of women who teach in the local Saturday Polish school that both my children attended。 Finally， an author gives the volunteer Polish school teachers some long overdue praise。 Davies writes:"The typical Polish Patriot of the turn of century was not the revolutionary with a revolver in his pocket， but the young lady of a good family with a textbook under her shawl。"Yes， it was the volunteer school teachers that kept the Polish language and culture alive for 125 years when no Polish state existed。 Due to the efforts of similar women in North America， Poles retained pride in their culture through several generations。 When the Solidarity movement appeared Polish North Americans responded with generous and vital financial support while their governments rigorously avoided commitment。After describing how the Poles created a national culture in the nineteenth century at a time when their was no Polish state， Davies next tells the story of the remarkable General Pilsudski who opportunistically created a new Polish State in 1918 when the Austrian， German and Russian empires all crumbled at the same time。The Polish Renaissance proved to be short as Germany and Russia carved up Poland again in 1939。 The Poland that emerged at the end of the war bore little resemblance to the one that existed at the beginning。In 1939 Polish speaking Catholics accounted for just slightly more than half of the population。 There were large numbers of Orthodox Christians， Lutherans and Jews in the country。 Native speakers of Yiddish， German， Lithuanian and Ukrainian made up roughly 45% of the population。 The Nazis liquidated the Jews。 The Russians expelled the Germans to the West。 They cut the Eastern part of Poland off and gave it to the Ukraine。 Ukrainians resident in the area given to Poland were sent to the Ukraine while the Poles in the Ukrainian area had to go East。 Similar population movements occurred between Lithuania and Poland。 The result for Poland was a monolithic Polish-speaking Catholic population。 Poland thus became something it had never been before。Davies finishes off the century with the Poles free from Russian control and resolutely moving forward。 This is a great read。 。。。more
Jon
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Excellent read
Jan Hidders
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The second volume of "God's Playground" will tell you about how the Polish spirit survived during the time of partitions when there was no real Polish state to speak off， how the Polish Nation was briefly resurrected between the two World Wars， the dramatic events during WW2， how after 1945 the People's republic was forged into its modern form by brutal force， and finally how it managed to free itself from Communism and Soviet domination。The book is probably a bit daunting and too detailed for t The second volume of "God's Playground" will tell you about how the Polish spirit survived during the time of partitions when there was no real Polish state to speak off， how the Polish Nation was briefly resurrected between the two World Wars， the dramatic events during WW2， how after 1945 the People's republic was forged into its modern form by brutal force， and finally how it managed to free itself from Communism and Soviet domination。The book is probably a bit daunting and too detailed for the casual non-Polish reader who just wants an overview of Polish history， as was the case for me。 However， the incredible breadth and depth of Davies knowledge， his story-telling skills and his even-handedness hugely impressed me， and what I expected to become somewhat of a struggle turned out to be a really interesting and pleasant journey。 It certainly made me more appreciative of the fact that historical developments are almost never as simple and straightforward as they seem at first sight， especially in Poland。 :-）PS。 After reading this book I found out that there is apparently some controversy over the fact that Norman Davies， according to some， downplays the anti-semitism in Poland， specifically during WW2， and he is even accused of supporting Polish nationalism。 Without claiming any authority or expertise whatsoever， I'd like to say that after reading this book I find such accusations completely ridiculous。 。。。more
Mieczyslaw Kasprzyk
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I rate Norman Davies very highly but I have to say that I think that in his "God's Playground" he takes a lot for granted in his readers - it is almost as if he is expecting one to be coming to the books with a lot of knowledge already and so he jumps around a lot in his discussion of events and topics。 There is much to be savoured but one has to work at it。 I rate Norman Davies very highly but I have to say that I think that in his "God's Playground" he takes a lot for granted in his readers - it is almost as if he is expecting one to be coming to the books with a lot of knowledge already and so he jumps around a lot in his discussion of events and topics。 There is much to be savoured but one has to work at it。 。。。more
Maa
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One of the few civilizations that has remained intact regardless of boundaries drawn on a physical map。 How'd they do that？ This book answers a great deal of that question。 One of the few civilizations that has remained intact regardless of boundaries drawn on a physical map。 How'd they do that？ This book answers a great deal of that question。 。。。more
Moominboy
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This is a rarity: a book on history of Poland written by a non-Pole。 As with his other books it's a page-turner， and he brings a foreigner's refreshing perspective on Polish history。 This is a rarity: a book on history of Poland written by a non-Pole。 As with his other books it's a page-turner， and he brings a foreigner's refreshing perspective on Polish history。 。。。more
Krzysztof Grzywacz
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