Pocket History of Poland, wyd. II

• Druk: Warszawa, 2020
• Autor: Dariusz Sirko
• Ilustrator: Małgorzata Starszak
• Wydawca: Rozpisani.pl

A POCKET HISTORY OF POLAND began as a course on Polish history and culture that Dariusz Sirko, then 25, gave in Madeira island, Portugal, while participating in the European Voluntary Service in 2017. The avid interest that the presentation kindled in the course’s international audience inspired Sirko to expand and deepen it into this book. The informal, youthful, conversational tone of the presentation has carried over into the book. It is one of the qualities that distinguishes it from other readily available histories of Poland, in printed form or online, from wikipedia to bulkier library tomes. Meant not only for history enthusiasts but also for tourists, A POCKET HISTORY OF POLAND would enhance and enrich any visit to this part of the globe – literary, virtual or in-person. Would you like to know why the Polish coat of arms features a white bird and a sunset-red background? Or why Poland has often been referred to as the beating heart of Europe? Or how the country has fared post-Communism or post-EU accession? The continuing relevance of these and many other themes and stories animate a multi-dimensional book filled with outsize-personalities, some of them globally redefining, like Copernicus, Chopin, Walesa, John Paul II, and Marie Curie. Even those already steeped in Polish history could find new perspectives in the book, in the way it revivifies or embellishes narratives of, say, the Piast or Jagiellonian medieval dynasties (with their fair share of heroes, libertines, and saints) with the occasional wry comment that could only come from someone who has grown in the internet age. Those who have little acquaintance with Polish history and culture will experience a stimulating and enriching dive not only into the book’s core focus but the history of Central/Eastern Europe as well. A POCKET HISTORY OF POLAND reaches deep into the past to illuminate the personal and the present, the white bird from the ruins.

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  4. Historia i archeologia
• Język wydania: polski
• ISBN: 978-83-951649-3-4
• ISBN druku: 978-83-951649-2-7
• Liczba stron: 154

Introduction by the author 
1. The Beginnings
On the legendary beginning; The Piast house;
the story of Wanda, who did not want to
marry a German - the fabled source of
Polish-German enmity

2. Baby Jadwiga 
On Poland under Casimir the Great, the last
of Piast; Polish-Jewish relations in Medieval
times; Queen Jadwiga and Władysław II Jagiełło;
The 1410 Battle of Grunwald

3. Poland and Jagiellonian dynasty 
On the Jagiellonian dynasty; The Winged
Hussars; Feudal division, Szlachta and
Sarmatism; On Polish Cities; discover
Warsaw - the capital and largest city of Poland;
An interesting finding on Jagiellonian blood;
The good and the bad of the Polish–Lithuanian
Commonwealth

4. The Heart of Europe 
Is Poland the heart of Europe?; The Commonwealth
and its elected rulers; Important changes at the turn
of the centuries; The battle of Klushino and other
confrontations - the weakening of the Commonwealth’s
power; The last king; Enlightened reformation;
The partitions of Poland; Constitutionalist vs.
Antiroyalists; The final blow, Poland ceases to exist

5. La la landless 
On the consequences of the Partitions; The Duchy of
Warsaw; Meet the great Poles of the Partition period;
Three major artistic and worldview movements

6. Sovereign again… Defeated again… 
On new socio-political awakenings; The Great
War; The free Second Republic of Poland and two
ideas of national guidance; Germany and changes
in gravity of international relations; The Second
World War and Poland’s role in it; On the consequences
of the deadliest war in human history

7. Poland betrayed 
On the brutal ending of the war in Poland;
The genocide of Poles during World War II; Sold
to Soviet bloc; Controversial questions that
demand answers

8. Poland under Communism 
On disappointment; Life under the Communist
authority; Solidarity; The implementation of
Martial law and the Soviet’s loosening grip on the
country

9. Free at last! And then hit by a bus…
On the Round Table conference; Lech Wałęsa,
the man of two faces; The Balcerowicz Plan; The
new establishment; The presidency of Aleksander
Kwasniewski

10. Current affairs, total opposition
and fake news 
On Polish political culture and the balance of
power; Post-Communist developments; Civic
Platform and the Law and Justice; The plane crash
in Smoleńsk; Voters go right, On current affairs;
News media and the political division

The bonus chapter – The inventor’s corner 
A look at scientists of Polish origin that proved
their genius

Afterword 
Summary

About the author 

Notes – Further reading