A History of Poland.

by Oscar Halecki, Oskar Halecki, Antony Polonsky

This work covers the entire range of Polish history from the consolidation of the peaceful tribes of 'Polanie' into an organized Christian state in the tenth century to the failure of Communism and Lech Walesa's inauguration as President.

Genres: History, European History, Nonfiction

484 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1933

Reviews

[Kristyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This passionate account of the history of Poland spans a millenia, from the 900s to the 1940s, as Poland and the Polish people have kept their sense of self and culture throughout the centuries in spite of the near constant struggle against aggression to the east and west. The edition that I read was published in 1956, and ends with an exhortation to continue the struggle, this time against the Soviet Union's control:

"For that great majority which continues to life in the homeland, it is the responsibility of going through an unprecedented trial with a spirit unbroken and faithful to the principles on which Poland's greatness was founded in the past. For those in exile it is the responsibility of remaining united in dedication to the cause of Poland's independence and of raising the voice of free Poland in the free world. And both of them have to wait for human justice and Divine mercy."

[Buddy Don · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm abandoning this history for several reasons. It's poorly written, has no notes, few specifics to back up what this author contends, and no bibliography. What I find most annoying is the author's lack of objectivity, which would be nice if he provided good examples to prove his claims that a given historical figures should reconsidered and advanced in our esteem. But without specifc examples of what he means, that's to evaluate.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked up this book to learn more about the country of my ancestors and to hopefully answer the question of why they would leave.

It stretches aaaalllll the way back to the 900’s when Christianity came to Poland. The early days were much like I imagine Game of Thrones to be like. Poland enters the golden age in the 1700’s, but it’s lack of colonizing puts it at a big resource disadvantage (among other things) and is partitioned by the Prussians, Austrians, and Russians. Things were not great for the average Pole. Like many conquered countries, the Prussia and Russian conquered areas were actively forced to give up their religion, language, and government. Many resisted, many died, many left like my family did. It gave me better understanding why Poland has reacted the way it has to Russia invading Ukraine.

I considered finishing my read at the partitions since that’s what I came to read, but the more modern parts of Polish history up until the 1990’s and the fall of communism was interesting, so I kept going.

I’m satisfied with the information presented in the book, but it did go on at times and I would have loved to read more about everyday life rather than the focus of leadership.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great one-volume survey of Polish history, written by a patriot. I have the 1981 edition, which was used by Dr. Edward Chmielewski's Polish history course at the University of Tennessee. Excellent.

[Rick · Rating 2 out of 5]

1000 years of Polish history, packed into 350 pages. No maps included, and my knowledge of medieval Europe is a bit inadequate. That makes this a challenging read, but I have the Wikipedia at hand, and have consulted frequently.

This was a really dry read. It is really hard to comprehend so much history, but I have learned a little bit about my Polish history and medieval European history. The author takes a very sympathetic stance in his view of Poland. He is Polish and he wrote the book in the time right before, during, and right after WWII. I probably didn't need all the medieval history... I didn't know enough of medieval history to understand the broader context of what Halecki was talking about. If I had started reading it two-thirds through, I probably would have been happier, having at least some working knowledge of the 1800s and beyond. The final chapter on post-WWII Poland has me interested to read some more on this period of time as well as the entire time Poland was behind the Iron Curtain.

I was doing some family research while reading this, and some of the chapters did help me contextualize what I was reading in documents my family had on file.

A very thorough history, but so dry. It was a painful read, I wish I had just read a bunch of Wikipedia articles. For some reason, I stuck it out and read the whole thing.

[Frederick · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very enjoyable history. The author is very biased toward Poland's suffering. But, the story of Poland's history is fascinating.

[untogether · Rating 3 out of 5]

History of Poland by Random House (1981)