Contents -- List of Illustrations -- Preface -- Note on Names -- Pronunciation Guide -- Part I-Poland in Europe -- 1-Connecting with the West: The Piast Dynasty -- 2-Embracing the East: The Lithuanian Connection -- 3-Spreading Southward: The Jagiellonian Moment in East-Central Europe -- 4-Crafting a Center: The Commonwealth of Both Nations -- Part II-The Europe of Poland -- 5-The Commonwealth, Part: ISarmatia Ascendant -- 6-The Commonwealth, Part II: Sarmatia Besieged -- 7-The Commonwealth, Part III: Sarmatia Transformed -- Part III-Europe without Poland -- 8-Sarmatia Dissolved: "Poland Has Not Yet Perished . . ."? -- 9-Poles in Arms: "For Our Freedom and for Yours" -- 10-Poles Are Not Iroquois: The Nation at Work -- Part IV-Poland in Europe and the World -- 11-Phoenix Reborn: The Second Republic -- 12-Phoenix Ablaze: Under Hitler and Stalin -- 13-People's Poland: From Stalinism to Solidarity -- Epilogue: Poland's "Return" to Europe -- Suggestions for Further Reading -- Index.