New Releases by Norman Davies

Written by one of the most brilliant and provocative historians at work today, The Isles is a revolutionary narrative history that presents a new perspective on the development of Britain and Ireland, looking at them not as self-contained islands, but as an inextricable part of Europe. This richly layered history begins with the Celtic Supremacy in the last centuries BC, which is presented in the light of a Celtic world stretching all the way from Iberia to Asia Minor. Roman Britain is seen not as a unique phenomenon but as similar to the other frontier regions of the Roman Empire. The Viking Age is viewed not only through the eyes of the invaded but from the standpoint of the invaders themselves--Norse, Danes, and Normans. In the later chapters, Davies follows the growth of the United Kingdom and charts the rise and fall of the main pillars of ''Britishness''--the Royal Navy, the Westminster Parliament, the Constitutional Monarchy, the Aristocracy, the British Empire, and the English Language. This holistic approach challenges the traditional nationalist picture of a thousand years of "eternal England"--a unique country formed at an early date by Anglo-Saxon kings which evolved in isolation and, except for the Norman Conquest, was only marginally affected by continental affairs. The result is a new picture of the Isles, one of four countries--England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales--constantly buffeted by continental storms and repeatedly transformed by them.

Analyzes misunderstandings related to the memory of wartime events in Poland due to lack of proper information about their complexity. Few people outside of Poland are aware that Auschwitz was composed of three camps, and that in Auschwitz I thousands of Polish prisoners died. Remarks that it is unfortunate that Auschwitz has been adopted as the international symbol of the Holocaust. Treblinka would be more proper as its symbol. States that those who accuse the non-Jewish population of not helping the condemned Jews are not aware of the terror which affected all the inhabitants of occupied Poland. Discusses, as well, racial segregation, collaboration, and resistance in Poland. Few people know that, after the war, Nazis and Polish non-communist fighters (e.g. members of the Home Army) were imprisoned together by the new communist regime. Soviet misinformation about recent history also led to false understanding of the tragedies which occurred on Polish soil.

From the Ice Age to the Cold War and beyond, from Reykjavik to Riga, from Archimedes to Einstein, Alexander to Yeltsin, here between the covers of a single volume Norman Davies tells the story of Europe, East and West, from prehistory to the present day. The book''s absorbing narrative lays down the chronological and geographical grid on which the dramas of European history have been played out. It zooms in from the distant focus of Chapter One, which explores the first five million years of the continent''s evolution, to the close focus of the lasttwo chapters, which cover the twentieth century at roughly one page per year. In between, Norman Davies presents a huge and sweeping canvas packed with fascinating detail, analysis, and anecdote. Alongside Europe''s better-known stories - human, national, and continental - he brings into focus areasoften ignored or misunderstood, remembering the stateless nation as well as the nation-state. Minority communities, from heretics and lepers to Jews, Romanies, and Muslims have not been forgotten. This masterly history reveals not only the rich variety of Europe''s past but also the many and rewarding prisms through which it can be viewed. Each chapter contains a selection of telephoto ''capsules'', illustrating narrower themes and topics that cut across the chronological flow. Davies thenconcludes with a wide-angle ''snapshot'' of the whole continent as seen from one particular vantage point. The overall effect is stunning: a kind of historical picture album, with panoramic tableaux interspersed by detailed insets and close-ups. Never before has such an ambitious history of Europe been attempted. In range and ambition, the originality of its structure and glittering style, Norman Davies''s Europe represents one of the most important and illuminating history books to be published by Oxford. Time Capsules 201 fascinating articles interspersed throughout the narrative focus on incidents or topics as various as The Iceman of the Alps, Erotic Graffiti at Pompeii, Stradivarius, and Psychoanalysing Hitler. Each capsule can be tasted as a separate self-contained morsel; or can be read in conjunction withthe narrative into which it is inserted. Snapshots 12 panoramic overviews across the changing map of Europe freeze the frames of the chronological narrative at moments of symbolic importance, such as Knossos 1628 BC, Constantinople AD 330, and Nuremberg 1945. A fully illustrated history Incorporates over 100 superbly detailed maps and diagrams, and 32 pages of black and white plates.

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.