This is a fresh appraisal of the history of modern Poland, setting the country's experience through the twentieth-century within the wider context of Europe. It challenges previous overviews of Polish history, which have tended to over-emphasize traditional stereotypes and national myths to cast Poland and its people in a uniquely 'heroic' light. Now, as Poland gains entry to the expanded European Union and begins to play a fuller part in the global community of the twenty-first century, there is a different story to be told. The book opens with an extensive introduction setting the historical context for Poland at the start of the twentieth century. The author traces the fortunes of Poland through the First World War and its aftermath; the establishment of an independent Poland; its subsequent occupation by German and then Soviet forces; the rise of the 'Solidarity' movement and the country's emergence from behind the 'Iron Curtain'. It also examines the difficult transition in recent years from a Communist, state-controlled economy to one driven by market forces.
Throughout the book, political and economic concerns are balanced with a discussion of social, cultural and intellectual developments. This is the second volume of a New History of Europe. De Grand's volume on Italy was recently signed up and further volumes are under discussion.
- ISBN10 1405136707
- ISBN13 9781405136709
- Publish Date 6 August 2007
- Publish Status Cancelled
- Publish Country GB
- Publisher John Wiley and Sons Ltd
- Imprint Blackwell Publishing Ltd
- Format Hardcover
- Pages 352
- Language English