God's Playground: A History of Poland, Volume 1 (Revised Edition) » (2nd Edition)

Norman Davies is chair of the history department, School of Slavonic and East European Studies, at the University of London.

The most comprehensive survey of Polish history available in English, God's Playground demonstrates Poland's importance in European history from medieval times to the present.

New York Times Book Review

Superbly readable, rich in detail yet never boring or trivial . . . This is beyond doubt not only the best book on Poland in the English language, it is the best book on Poland.

Maps and Diagrams Illustrations Notes on the Illustrations Chronology

I. Introduction: The Origins to 1572

1. Millenium: A Thousand Years of History (Historiography)
2. Polska: The Polish Land (Historical Geography)
3. Piast: The Polonian Dynasty (to 1370)
4. Anjou: The Hungarian Connection (1370-1386)
5. Jogaila: The Lithuanian Union (1386-1572)

II. The Life and Death of the Polish-Lithuanian Republic (1569-1795)

6. Antemurale: The Bulwark of Christendom (Religion)
7. Szlachta: The Nobleman's Paradise (Society)
8. Handel: The Baltic Grain Trade (Economy)
9. Miasto: The Vicissitudes of Urban Life (The Cities)
10. Anarchia: The Noble Democracy (Constitution)
11. Serenissima: Diplomacy in Poland-Lithuania (Foreign Affairs)
12. Valois: The French Experiment (1572-1575)
13. Bathory: The Transylvanian Victor (1576-1586)
14. Vasa: The Swedish Connection (1587-1668)
15. Michal: The Austrian Connection (1669-1673)
16. Sobieski: Terror of the Turk (1674-1696)
17. Wettin: The Saxon Era (1697-1763)
18. Agonia: The End of the Russian Protectorate (1764-1795)

Notes on the Text

Index