Our list of some of the best Polish History books & series in recent years. Get inspired by one or more of the following books.
- Poland: A History (2012)
- No Greater Ally: The Untold Story of Poland’s Forces in World War II (General Military) (2011)
- Polish Immigration to America: When, Why, How and Where (Polish Genealogy) (2016)
- A Traveller’s History of Poland (2012)
- God’s Playground: A History of Poland, Vol. 1: The Origins to 1795 (2005)
- Poland: The First Thousand Years (2016)
- The Family Tree Polish, Czech And Slovak Genealogy Guide: How to Trace Your Family Tree in Eastern Europe (2016)
- The Essential Guide to Being Polish: 50 Facts & Facets of Nationhood (2013)
- A Concise History of Poland (Cambridge Concise Histories) (2019)
- Poland: A Novel (2015)
- God’s Playground: A History of Poland, Vol. 2: 1795 to the Present (2005)
- Related YouTube Video
Poland: A History (2012)
As Adam Zamoyski set out to update The Polish Way, his bestselling first history of Poland, he realized the task required not so much re-writing as re-thinking the known facts well as the assumptions of the past.
No Greater Ally: The Untold Story of Poland’s Forces in World War II (General Military) (2011)
There is a chapter of World War 2 history that remains largely untold: the story of the fourth largest Allied military of the war, and the only nation to have fought in the battles of Leningrad, Arnhem, Tobruk and Normandy. This is the story of the Polish forces during the Second World War, the story of millions of young men and women who gave everything for freedom and in the final victory lost all.
Polish Immigration to America: When, Why, How and Where (Polish Genealogy) (2016)
When did your Polish ancestors immigrate, where did they leave, why did they leave, how did they get here? These are questions we all hope to find the answers. This book discusses the history of Poland and gives some insights to possible answers to the questions about your ancestors’ immigration.
A Traveller’s History of Poland (2012)
Poland is a major European country with over 38 million inhabitants and a land area comparable to Spain. It has played a major role in European history but its subjugation by foreign powers in the nineteenth century and during the Cold War eclipsed Poland in the minds of many in Western Europe and the United States.
God’s Playground: A History of Poland, Vol. 1: The Origins to 1795 (2005)
The most comprehensive survey of Polish history available in English, God’s Playground demonstrates Poland’s importance in European history from medieval times to the present.
Poland: The First Thousand Years (2016)
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.
The Family Tree Polish, Czech And Slovak Genealogy Guide: How to Trace Your Family Tree in Eastern Europe (2016)
Trace your Eastern European ancestors from American shores back to the old country. This in-depth guide will walk you step-by-step through the exciting–and challenging–journey of finding your Polish, Czech, or Slovak roots.
The Essential Guide to Being Polish: 50 Facts & Facets of Nationhood (2013)
Being Polish is no joke. For ten million people of Polish ancestry in the United States, as well as many who have settled in the UK since the fall of communism, it is a heartfelt matter⎯and amid all the travel guides and guides to Polish language, folklore, and customs, there is no single, comprehensive, reader-friendly and yet ever-informative reference on what it means to be Polish.
A Concise History of Poland (Cambridge Concise Histories) (2019)
Poland is a tenacious survivor-state: it was wiped off the map in 1795, resurrected after the First World War, apparently annihilated again in the Second World War, and reduced to satellite status of the Soviet Union after 1945. Yet it emerged in the vanguard of resistance to the USSR in the 1980s, albeit as a much more homogeneous entity than it had been in its multi-ethnic past.
Poland: A Novel (2015)
In this sweeping novel, James A. Michener chronicles eight tumultuous centuries as three Polish families live out their destinies. The Counts Lubonski, the petty nobles Bukowksi, and the peasants Buk are at some times fiercely united, at others tragically divided.
God’s Playground: A History of Poland, Vol. 2: 1795 to the Present (2005)
The most comprehensive survey of Polish history available in English, God’s Playground demonstrates Poland’s importance in European history from medieval times to the present.
Best Polish History Books to Read
We highly recommend you to buy all paper or e-books in a legal way, for example, on Amazon. But sometimes it might be a need to dig deeper beyond the shiny book cover. Before making a purchase, you can visit resources like Library Genesis and download some polish history books mentioned below at your own risk. Once again, we do not host any illegal or copyrighted files, but simply give our visitors a choice and hope they will make a wise decision.
First Polish Armoured Division 1938-47: A History
Author(s): Evan McGilvray
ID: 3421350, Publisher: Pen and Sword Military, Year: 2022, Size: 152 Mb, Format: epub
Borderland Generation: Soviet and Polish Jews under Hitler
Author(s): Jeffrey Koerber
ID: 2792064, Publisher: Syracuse University Press, Year: 2020, Size: 7 Mb, Format: epub
Popular Polish Electronic Music, 1970–2020: A Cultural History
Author(s): Ewa Mazierska
ID: 3097844, Publisher: Routledge, Year: 2020, Size: 12 Mb, Format: pdf
Please note that this booklist is not absolute. Some books are really chart-busters according to Los Angeles Times, others are composed by unknown writers. On top of that, you can always find additional tutorials and courses on Coursera, Udemy or edX, for example. Are there any other relevant links you could recommend? Leave a comment if you have any feedback on the list.