{"product_id":"poland-in-the-modern-world-isbn-9781444332193","title":"Poland in the Modern World","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003ci\u003ePoland in the Modern World\u003c\/i\u003e presents a history of the country from the late nineteenth century to the present, incorporating new perspectives from social and cultural history and positioning it in a broad global context\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cul\u003e \u003cli\u003eChallenges traditional accounts Poland that tend to focus on national, political history, emphasizing the country's 'exceptionalism'.\u003c\/li\u003e \u003cli\u003ePresents a lively, multi-dimensional story, balancing coverage of high politics with discussion of social, cultural and economic changes, and their effects on individuals’ daily lives.\u003c\/li\u003e \u003cli\u003eExplores both the regional diversity within Poland and the country’s place within Europe and the wider world.\u003c\/li\u003e \u003cli\u003eProvides a new interpretive framework for understanding key historical events in Poland’s modern history, including the experiences of World War II and the postwar communist era.\u003c\/li\u003e \u003c\/ul\u003e \u003cp\u003eList of Figures vi\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAcknowledgments ix\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003ePronunciation Guide x\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIntroduction 1\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e1 Poles without Poland, 1795–1918 6\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e2 The Political Landscape at the Start of the 20th Century 43\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e3 Nation and\/or Revolution, 1914–22 65\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e4 The Ambivalence of Democracy and Authority, 1922–39 90\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e5 Hyperinflation and Depression: The Interwar Period 105\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e6 Jews, Ukrainians, and Other Poles in the Interwar Period 126\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e7 World War II, 1939–45 144\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e8 Conquest or Revolution? 1945–56 186\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e9 The Year 1956 and the Rise of National Communism 231\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e10 Communism and Consumerism 258\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e11 The End of the PRL, 1976–89 285\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e12 Shock Therapy 328\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e13 Politics in the Third Republic 348\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIndex 367\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\"While the authors largely agree that the main motif of Polish history is the way in which leaders and communities pursued modernization and nationalization in the modern era, each writes about these topics in unique and fascinating ways.\" (\u003ci\u003ePol-int.org\u003c\/i\u003e, 1 October 2015)\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\"Brian Porter-Szucs's new book \u003ci\u003ePoland in the Modern World: Beyond Martyrdom\u003c\/i\u003e is like a breath of fresh air . . . In sum, this is a splendid book and an optimistic one. Porter-Szucs tries to find some good in everyone (well, maybe not in Stalin), for which he is to be commended. This reviewer believes that his book will become the standard general work on recent Polish history.\" (\u003ci\u003eThe Polish Review\u003c\/i\u003e, 1 October 2014)\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\"Moving in a new direction, Porter-Szûcs' work adds an important and distinct voice to the fray. It is a genuine attempt to look at Poland's history through that new prism of a transnational spirit. It forces us to look at history in different ways—from the outside in, from the bottom up—and to rethink it in significant ways. Ultimately, at times, it challenges us to reconsider the existing master narrative.\" (\u003ci\u003eCosmopolitan Review\u003c\/i\u003e, 1 October 2015)\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\"Poland in the Modern World is a valuable contribution to central and eastern European historiography and the study of Communist and post-Communist societies. In presenting sophisticated insights from a variety of disciplines and from a comparative perspective, the author characterizes Poland's history of the last two centuries as a history of neither winners nor losers. In doing so, he gets beyond stereotypes and clichés about the country, particularly the 'national martyrology' that informs much of Polish historiography.\" (\u003ci\u003eH-SAE\u003c\/i\u003e, February 2015)\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\"Well researched, engagingly written, and full of striking anecdotes, Brian Porter-Szûcs's \u003ci\u003ePoland in the Modern World\u003c\/i\u003e deserves a wide readership.\" (\u003ci\u003eSlavic Review\u003c\/i\u003e, 1 October 2014)\u003c\/p\u003e  \u003cb\u003eBrian Porter-Szücs\u003c\/b\u003e is Professor of History at the University of Michigan, where he has taught since 1994. He is the author of \u003ci\u003eFaith and Fatherland: Catholicism, Modernity, and Poland\u003c\/i\u003e (2011) and \u003ci\u003eWhen Nationalism Began to Hate: Imagining Modern Politics in Nineteenth-Century Poland\u003c\/i\u003e (2000). He is also the co-editor, with Bruce Berglund, of \u003ci\u003eChristianity and Modernity in Eastern Europe\u003c\/i\u003e (2010).  \u003cp\u003eThis timely account of Poland's modern history, from the end of the 19\u003csup\u003eth\u003c\/sup\u003e century to the present day, positions the country within the context of Europe, using the events of Poland's past to illustrate and illuminate the global forces that have transformed the world over the last century. \u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eChallenging traditional, nationalistic accounts of heroism and tragedy, the author sets the major political events in Polish history alongside broader developments within society. He provides particular insight into the regional, cultural and economic diversity of the country, and focusses on the experience of individuals' daily lives. For instance, readers learn of the day-to-day relations between people of differing religion and language between the two world wars, the realities of life in the Warsaw ghetto; what Stalin's industrial expansion meant for the peasants who took up factory jobs in the late 1940s and early 1950s, the effects of changing concepts of masculinity and femininity over time. The result is a lively and nuanced historical overview that recognizes both the particularities and the universality of modern Poland’s story.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\"A remarkable achievement, \u003ci\u003ePoland in the Modern World\u003c\/i\u003e offers the stuff of real history. Instead of heroes and villains so often featured in national narratives, Porter-Szûcs emphasizes the everyday lives of ordinary people in a global context, bringing the history of modern Poland down to earth in an easily accessible yet highly informative text.\"\u003cbr\u003e—\u003cb\u003eRobert Blobaum, West Virginia University\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\"By virtue of its avoidance of patriotic clichés, its comparative approach and the sophistication of its discussion of politics and economics, this comprehensive and well-written overview will be the first destination for all of us teaching the history of Poland in the modern era.\"\u003cbr\u003e—\u003cb\u003eAntony Polonsky, Brandeis University\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\"There's nothing remotely like this work out there. The approach is authoritative and enlightening yet in an interesting way \"democratic\". \u003ci\u003ePoland in the Modern World\u003c\/i\u003e reads very well and will serve as an excellent basis for classroom discussion.\"\u003cbr\u003e—\u003cb\u003eJohn Connelly, University of California at Berkeley\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Wiley-Blackwell","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47989803417829,"sku":"NP9781444332193","price":33.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9781444332193.jpg?v=1761785528","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/products\/poland-in-the-modern-world-isbn-9781444332193","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}