An incredible book, even if I can't remember ever taking so long to finish one. Extremely dense with information; there's more than a person could ever hope to retain to memory here--fact after fact. What really makes this book stand out in my mind though is that Davies makes it all come together. I may not remember many of the dates and details, but I feel like I have a general understanding of Polish history that I never obtained from any other text on the subject. Davies also doesn't shy away from argument, he takes conventional myths on head on with historical fact. Zbit dobra. ( )

A comprehensive treatment of (what was then) an unfashionable subject. Notable for the mark it made not only on academia but through its distribution in Cold War Poland. ( )