An academic book on history as a bestseller – an analysis of selected examples

The paper presents the phenomenon of academic books on history that mass readers have deemed to be worth reading, thus making them a kind of history bestsellers, when it is rare for academic books written by historians to enjoy mass acclaim. In her analysis, the author emphasizes those features of bestsellers that follow from their publishers’ commercial expectations. The analysis concerns the following books, among others: Europa (Europe) and Bo¿e Igrzysko (God’s Playground) by Norman Davies, Historia Œwiata od 1917 roku (A History of the Modern World from 1917 to the 1980s) by Paul Johnson and Historia Polski 1918–1980 (History of Poland from 1918 to 1980) by Andrzej Alber