Poland: A History

Poland: A History

As Adam Zamoyski set out to update The Polish Way, his bestselling first history of Poland, he realized the task required not so much re-writing as re-thinking the known facts well as the assumptions of the past. The events of the last twenty years and the growth of the independent Polish state allowed him to look at Poland's past with a fresh eye. Tracing Poland's complex development from the Middle Ages to present day, Zamoyski examines the country's political, economic, and military struggles, as well as its culture, art, and richly varied society through the ages, bringing the major events and characters in Poland's history to life. "A dramatic history of Poland that captures the spirit of its people Such an extraordinary national trajectory demands an accessible and scholarly accounting. Zamoyski succeeds admirably in providing both." -- Harry de Quetteville "Daily Telegraph" "Fresh, different and brilliantly readable It is the perfect introduction for those who know nothing about the country, yet will also provide some positive food for thought to those who imagined they knew it all too well." -- Anne Applebaum "The Spectator" Adam Zamoyski was born in New York and has spent much of his life in England, where he was educated at Oxford. His family originates from Poland, which his parents fled when it was invaded by Germany and Russia in 1939. A freelance historian with a singular command of languages, he has authored over a dozen books, including Warsaw 1920: Lenin's Failed Conquest of Europe and the bestselling Moscow 1812: Napoleon's Fatal March . He is married to the painter Emma Sargeant and resides in England.