God's Playground

"God's Playground" is a book written in 1979 by Norman Davies, covering the history of Poland.

Davies was inspired to the title by Jan Kochanowski's 1580s "Boże igrzysko" (Mankind: Bauble of the Gods).

The book (or two, as many editions are split into two volumes) has received good reviews in international press [Editorial reviews:"Superbly readable, rich in detail.... Davies understands and exquisitely conveys the importance of historical consciousness in Polish life.... This is beyond doubt not only the best book on Poland in the English language; it is the book on Poland. Anyone writing on Polish affairs- past or present- will have to read it. It is a masterly work..Davies is the foremost historian of modern Poland. Of his previous books, God's Playground: A History of Poland is widely regarded as a landmark account" – Carlo D'Este, New York Times Book Review [http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/product-description/0231053517]
"...widely viewed as the best single-volume general history of Poland." – Richard Bernstein, The New York Times" [http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/product-description/0231053517]
"He offers one of the best histories of the country. It is a book that reads, not as non-fiction history, but as a popular novel of our times." – Polish American Journal [http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/product-description/0231053517]
"The magnificence of God's Playground is that Norman Davies has given ust the music as well as the libretto, the passion, poetry, myth, and ancedote as well as the facts...Davies writes with spirit, and his enjoyment is infectious." – "The Observer" [http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/product-description/0199253390]
"A yawning gap in Anglophone historical literature has now been filled...Dr Davies writes interestingly and well. His moods vary between cool detachment, passionate involvement, and ironic comment. His range of sources is wide and imaginative...a very substantial achievement." – Times Literary Supplement [http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/product-description/0199253390] ] and is considered by many historians [ "This is a remarkable book... this is a major work that is imaginative, thought-provoking and extremely well written".-- Piotr S. Wandycz, review in The American Historical Review, Vol. 88, No. 2 (Apr., 1983), pp. 436-437, [http://www.jstor.org/pss/1865504 JSTOR]
L. R. Lewitter, review in The Historical Journal, Vol. 26, No. 4 (Dec., 1983), pp. 1032-1034 [http://mc1litvip.jstor.org/pss/2639300 JSTOR]
Anna M. Cienciala, review in the Slavic Review, Vol. 42, No. 3 (Autumn, 1983), pp. 510-512, [http://www.jstor.org/pss/2496084 JSTOR] ] and other scholars ["This two-volume book is a truly magnificent work, and there is no doubt that it is the best introduction available to the incredible imboglio of Polish history. I am not thinking only of its scholarly merit and its depth of insight. Nor only of the fact that the book reads extremely well, thanks to the author's vivid style, his wide spectrum of sources... and his good sense of humor.... What is even more worthy of recognition is that Professor Davies had managed to maintain an equilibrium between understanding and objectivity, sympathy and criticism." – Stanisław Barańczak, Polish literature lecturer at Harvard University [http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/product-description/0231053517] ] to be one of the best English-language books on the subject of history of Poland. The author received several Polish honours.

Content

Volume I: The Origins to 1795

"God's Playground" is divided into the following chapters:

I. "Introduction: The Origins to 1572"

1. Millenium : A Thousand Years of History

2. Polska: The Polish Land

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. Michał: The Austrian Candidate (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)

For a chapter-by-chapter synopsis, go to

Volume II: A History of Poland: 1795 to the Present v. 2

I. "Poland Destroyed and Resurrected"

1. NARÓD: The Growth of the Modern Polish Nation (1772-1945)

2. ROSSIYA: The Russian Partition (1772-1918)

3. PREUSSEN: The Prussian Partition (1772-1918)

4. GALICIA: The Austrian Partition (1773-1918)

5. FABRYKA: The Process of Industrialization

6. LUD: The Rise of the Common People

7. KOŚCIÓŁ: The Catholic Church in Poland

8. KULTURA: Education and the National Heritage

9. ŻYDZI: The Jewish Community

10. WOJSKO: The Military Tradition

11. EMIGRACJA: The Polish Emigration

12. VARSOVIE: The Duchy of Warsaw (1807-1915)

13. KONGRESÓWKA: The Congress Kingdom (1815-1846)

14. CRACOVIA: The Republic of Cracow (1815-1846)

15. WIOSNA: The Springtime of Other Nations (1848)

16. REVERIES: The Thaw and the January Uprising (1855-1864)

17. REWOLUCJA: Revolution and Reaction (1904-1905)

18. FENIKS: The Rebirth of the Polish State (1914-1918)

19. NIEPODLEGŁOŚĆ: The Twenty Years of Independence (1918-1939)

20. GOLGOTA: Poland in the Second World War (1939-1945)

21. GRANICE: The Modern Polish Frontiers (1919-1945)

II. "Contemporary Poland since 1944"

22. PARTIA: The Communist Movement

23. POLSKA LUDOWA: The Polish People's Republic

Postscript

Note: "to the present" refers to early 1980s, when Davies have finished his work. Subsequent editions include chapters updating the book with review of the 1980s decades as well as a revised introduction. Davies also wrote a special introduction for the Polish edition.

Editions

:English:
* Columbia University Press, 1979
* Oxford University Press, 1981, ISBN 0198225555 (vol. 1), ISBN 019822592X (vol. 2)
* Columbia University Press, 1982, ISBN 0231053509 (vol. 1) and ISBN 0231053525 (vol. 2)
* Columbia University Press, 1983
* Oxford University Press, 1983, ISBN 019821944X (vol. 2)
* Columbia University Press, 1984, ISBN 0231053517 (vol.1), ISBN 0231053533 (vol. 2)
* Oxford University Press, 2005, ISBN 0199253390 (vol. 1) and ISBN 0199253404 (vol. 2)
* Columbia University Press, 2005, ISBN 0231128177 (vol. 1), ISBN 0231128193 (vol. 2):Polish:
* bibuła edition in the 1980s
* ZNAK 1989, ISBN 8370060528
* ZNAK 1994, ISBN 8370063314
* ZNAK 1999
* ZNAK 2006, ISBN 8324006540

Notes

External links

*John Bayley, [http://www.nybooks.com/articles/article-preview?article_id=3545 review of "In God's Playground"] , "The New York Review of Books", volume 37, number 12, July 19, 1990
* [http://www.nybooks.com/articles/3468 Davies' reply] , "'The New York Review of Books", volume 37, number 16, October 25, 1990
* [http://books.google.com/books?id=b912JnKpYTkC Google Books online preview]