Acknowledgements
I could not have completed this book without the support and critical guidance of many people. I would like to express my gratitude to Janusz S. GruchaÅa, but also Henryk BuÅhak, BartÅomiej Czarski, Kamila Follprecht, RadosÅaw GrzeÅkowiak, Stefano Gulizia, Magdalena Komorowska, Jakub Niedźwiedź, Bożena Sajna, Jörg Schulte, Grażyna Urban-Godziek. I am grateful to Andrew Pettegree, who encouraged me to think about this project at all, to Jessica Taylor-Kucia, who translated my Polish work, and to Jeffrey Castle, who edited the English text. I thank especially Mara R. Wade for her thoughtful reading of the manuscript.
I dedicate this book to my family: Wojciech, Marianna, Joachim and Jan.