Poland, Patrice M. Dabrowski
Poland, Patrice M. Dabrowski
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Poland
The First Thousand Years

Author: Patrice M. Dabrowski

Narrator: Elizabeth Wiley

Unabridged: 25 hr 29 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 07/12/2022


Synopsis

Since its beginnings, Poland has been a moving target, geographically as well as demographically, and the very definition of who is a Pole has been in flux. In the late medieval and early modern periods, the country grew to be the largest in continental Europe, only to be later wiped off the map for more than a century. Yet even under these constraints, Poles persisted in their desire to wrest from their oppressors a modicum of national dignity and, ultimately, managed to achieve much more than that.

Poland is a sweeping account designed to amplify major figures, moments, milestones, and turning points in Polish history. These include important battles and illustrious individuals, alliances forged by marriages and choices of religious denomination, and meditations on the likes of the Polish battle slogan "for our freedom and yours" that resounded during the Polish fight for independence.

The experience of oppression helped Poles to endure and surmount various challenges in the twentieth century, and Poland's demonstration of strength was a model for other peoples seeking to extract themselves from foreign yoke. Patrice Dabrowski's work situates Poland and the Poles within a broader European framework that locates this multiethnic and multidenominational region squarely between East and West.

About Patrice M. Dabrowski

Patrice M. Dabrowski has taught at Harvard University, Brown University, and the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, and currently works at the University of Vienna. She is the author of Commemorations and the Shaping of Modern Poland.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Harry on September 02, 2023

Poland: The First Thousand Years does what it promises--covering the history of Poland, from first pre-christian kings (around Gniezo) to the end of the Polish People's Republic in 1989. A few trends emerged in this book. 1. Cycles of fragmentation and unity. After the initial Piast state establishe......more

Goodreads review by Tom on March 04, 2022

This book is a patriotic history of Poland. Dabrowski's championing of Poland is both this book's most admirable quality and its worst quality. She provides a strong pro-polish history of Poland, in which the Poles are the good guys who have some flaws. The descriptions of Polish historical heroes il......more

Goodreads review by Ela on March 23, 2021

Dabrowski writes with eloquence and grace, doing justice to this often-benighted nation's history. A big-picture history with plenty of detail, readable chapters at every turn, and utter professionalism, this book is suitable for a course on Polish History, for context in any class on Europe, be in......more

Goodreads review by Jason on March 17, 2024

I mean, it's obvious that a book on this topic is going to feel very Home Teamish, but I feel like this one's objectivity was obscured by its desire to show that Poland is an important part of world history. Which anyone reading a book like this will already appreciate. So, I'm not sure. Decent surv......more

Goodreads review by Allisonperkel on November 21, 2023

This is an easy, though highly repetitive, listen. The author presents Poland in the best light, which is expected. I do feel proud of my polish heritage but I also feel saddened by how my Jewish side of the family was treated. The nationalism as antisemitism is still happening today.......more