Heart of Europe: The Past in Poland's Present by Norman Davies Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Heart of Europe: The Past in Poland's Present
Book Review: An excellent and highly readable history of Poland
Summary: 4 Stars
Norman Davies's great skill is writing detailed history that keeps general readers interested, while not skimping on academic detail. In this book, he has condensed his two-volume masterpiece "God's Playground" into a form more suitable for generalists. The result is a triumph - a brief but highly enjoyable history, enlivened by Davies's dry wit and a treasury of pertinent anecdotes. Poland's magnificent and tragic history is portrayed here in its full range and scope, neither glorifying the Poles as eternal martyrs for freedom, nor slandering them as backward xenophobes.
Given the widespread public ignorance of Polish history, and the sensitivity of Poles to external comment on it, the greatest accolade for Davies must surely be that the Polish translation of God's Playground has been selected as the official history textbook for use in Polish schools.
This new edition of Heart of Europe includes new material on the changes in Poland since 1989.
Book Review: Very good book
Summary: 5 Stars
Apart from Davies's magisterial two volumes on Polish history ("God's Playground") and his amazing "city-biography" of Wroclaw / Breslau ("Microcosm"), this is the book you might start with if interested in the history of Poland. The peculiar quirk to this book is that it tells things "backwards", i.e. beginning in our times and then working its way down the centuries to the shrouded origins of the Polish nation. I found it highly illuminating and pleasant to read as well. It certainly gave me a insider's account of Polish history and a clear rendering of what their history means to the Poles today. A very good book. I wouldn't like to miss it.Book Review: The Beating Heart Of Europe
Summary: 4 Stars
If you have neither the time to read nor wish to go the expense of purchasing Norman Davies' two volume epic of Polish history `God's Playground' but wish to better understand Poland and it's people then this book is a `must buy'.
The author has since written many books that have the Polish people at their heart - `Rising '44' and arguably `Europe At War' and `Europe: East & West' and his love of the Polish is as evident as his anger at their treatment during the greater part of the last 200 years.
On reading this book it is clear to see why.
Davies has an immense understanding of Polish politics, literature and culture and his arguments are convincing and fully reinforced by evidence and presented in a fluent and engaging fashion.
Don't be put off by the Polish language because there is a section in the preface that comprehensively explains pronunciation, and all the names are easy to remember so one won't get `lost' trying to remember who was who.
Europe is getting smaller, and for the last 50 years or so Poland has largely been a `black hole' to those of us outside, but it truly is the `Heart of Europe' and knowing and understanding it's history - as this book is an excellent aid - is essential for a wider comprehension of Europe's development over the last eight hundred years and more specifically the last three centuries.
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