This book is a pioneering synthesis of the history of Poland, 1914-1918, summing up 100 years of the work of historians on the period and outlining new research aims. It is an integrated approach to the story of the Russian, German, and Austro-Hungarian zones of partitioned Poland, culminating in the restoration of the country's independence and its accommodation to the new political configuration in Europe after 1918. It uses a combination of the research tools of social and cultural history, anthropology, and environmental history, showing the everyday life of ordinary people alongside military and diplomatic affairs. The policies pursued by the partitioning and occupying powers are juxtaposed with the activities of Polish pro-independence groups and Pilsudski's Legions.

Exploring republican ideas and concepts that developed in sixteenth-century Poland under the impact of humanism and the Renaissance, as well as political and constitutional changes, this is a landmark study of republican discourse in sixteenth-century Poland-Lithuania. It provides a conceptual and contextual analysis of the rich political literature and debate which animated intellectual life and political reasoning during the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, and effectively demonstrates its republican character. Using a comparative perspective, Dorota Pietrzyk-Reeves situates the Polish republican discourse within both the classical and early modern republican traditions, bringing together contexts and ideas that have traditionally been overlooked by scholars of early modern Europe. In addition, she also underlines the originality of Polish concepts such as the relationship between law, liberty and virtue as key elements of a well-ordered commonwealth and the vision of a mixed res publica that had a monarchical character. This book is an invaluable resource for anyone interested in European intellectual history and the early modern republican tradition.