Poland: A Historical Atlas

by Iwo Cyprian Pogonowski

Provides maps showing Poland from 966 to 1986, in addition to a brief outline of Polish history and a chronology of Poland's constitutional and political development

Genres: History, Reference, Nonfiction

321 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 1987

Reviews

[Googoogjoob · Rating 4 out of 5]

On the one hand, the guy who wrote this book is sort of crazy, and clearly feels the need to prove (to somebody) that Poland stands among the first rank of nations in terms of culture, military achievements, philosophy, architecture, etc etc. Any time something adverse to Poland's interests happens, he is quick to blame other countries (eg, blaming the Austrians for stirring up Ukrainian nationalism in Galicia-Lodomeria to weaken both Polish and Ukrainian hopes for independence, blaming the USSR for stirring up antisemitism in Poland to decrease Western sympathy for Poland) and quick to resort to conspiratorial thinking (eg, claiming that the deaths of Sikorski and Bierut were secret assassinations). On the other hand, it contains a lot of stuff that's difficult to find elsewhere, at least in English- maps of defensive fortifications, battle plans, a timeline of Polish constitutional development (if you wanna know when the Sejm legislated a post office, well, you can find out here).

I can't really blame the guy for being defensive about his country, either: his father was murdered by the Nazis for speaking up against their persecution of the Jews, and the author himself spent time in the camps and on a death march. So I guess I'd say this is a very useful reference work, as long as you keep in mind the state of mind of the author.

(Other shortcomings of note: the maps are pretty crude: it looks like Pogonowski used professionally-made base maps of Poland and Europe and then drew on them with markers and pasted typewritten labels on them, and photocopied the result. They're still readable, just not pretty. Also, although the copyright notes this is a second edition from the late 80s, the timeline (and maps) stop at 1981, with the initial defeat of Solidarnosc and the institution of martial law.)

[Cheryl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Personal collection reference book

[Mieczyslaw Kasprzyk · Rating 5 out of 5]

A well-informed survey of Polish history with the maps that are so important in this troubled region.

[Fredrick Danysh · Rating 3 out of 5]

A history of poland written by a Polish author. It includes the 300 years period when Poland ceased to exist with its territory and people being conquered and controlled by Germany and Russia.