Product Description

"Empires of the Sea" shows the Mediterranean as a majestic and bloody theatre of war. Opening with the Ottoman victory in 1453, it is a breathtaking story of military crusading, Barbary pirates, white slavery and the Ottoman Empire - and the larger picture of the struggle between Islam and Christianity. Coupled with dramatic set piece battles, a wealth of riveting first-hand accounts, epic momentum and a terrific denouement at Lepanto, this is a work of history at its broadest and most compelling.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #4887 in Books
• Published on: 2008-05-01
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 368 pages

Jason Goodwin, Literary Review
`[This] confirms Crowley as master of the Mediterranean between 1521 and 1580... Empires of the Sea is an exciting book.'

James W. Wood, Scotsman
'Crowley succeeds in turning the events of 500 years ago into a thrilling spectacle.'

Noel Malcolm, Sunday Telegraph
'[It] is an account of human beings under extraordinary circumstances... This is narrative history at its most gripping.'

Customer Reviews

Superbly well written
This is the best history book I have read in a very long time.

It tells the story of a 60 years old battle fought in the Mediterraneum by the Ottoman Turks against the Christian nations in southern Europe.

It is very hard to put down and the narrative is very engaging. The maps , pictures and drawings are excellent , a rarity in this type of books. although there are some minor issues with some historical aspects ( the muslims lives pacefully in Spain for 800 years ) the book is a very compelling read.

More please

Gripping tales
An edge-of-the-seat gripping account of the long conflict between the Ottoman empire and the Christian Mediterranean powers in the fifteen hundreds. Crowley has also some original research, relying on not only the Christian writers of the time, but also Turkish sources that have usually been overlooked by previous historians. The characters are impressive, the acts of courage and desperation on both sides are astounding, and Crowley tells it masterfully, eking every last ounce of suspense out of what for any writer would be a stirring tale.

Crowley covers the standard military, diplomatic and political history in an even-handed way, and describes the brilliant Renaissance innovation each side progressively introduced to try to gain an advantage, including flamethrowers, spiral flues to protect walls from subterranean bomb blasts, frogmen fighting underwater with daggers, and top-secret new ship designs. He also sensitively brings out the human courage, cruelty, and sacrifice involved. History is rarely this well told.

Truth is stranger than fiction
If this was a work of fiction you would have a hard time suspending disbelief to enjoy the amazing cast of characters, the strange alliances,the actions and inactions that decorate the plot. You would also be dismayed at the contrived outcome of the Siege of Malta.
BUT
This is an amazing true story told using a page - turning cracking narrative. I regret that I have only read half of the book but am glad I have half left to read.
Read this book and get swept away on the raging tide of history.