Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #12299 in Books
• Published on: 1979-12-31
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 640 pages

Synopsis
Presents the complete account of one of the greatest imperial powers in history--the Ottoman Turks--from the beginnings of their sultanate in 1300 A.D. under Osman I through the height of their civilization under Suleiman the Magnificent.

Customer Reviews

Now that's what I call history!
If all history books were written in the same style as this one, I might never have flunked history myself! A long, complicated series of events are presented in a fast moving, logical, most interesting & unfussy way. It's just a pleasure to read Lord Kinross' exquisite English. It's also a pleasure to share his deep knowledge & love of the subject. I found the first three-quarters of the book slightly more enjoyable, quite simply because it dealt with larger than life central characters operating successfully & disastrously, but always with complete authority. Sultans from the magnificent, to all manner of absolute crackpots, are described in all their glory, or lack of same. Do your self a favour & read this book. It's arguably the easiest & most entertaining way I have found to improve one's history!

An entertaining and informative read
Lord Kinross takes on the huge task of detailing the Ottoman Empires history from its birth in the 14th century, until its dissolution in 1923. Yet Kinross manages to keep the reader constantly attached to unfolding events which at its zenith, under Sultan Suleyman the Magnificent, made the Ottoman Empire the most powerful civilisation in the world. He is equally adept at describing its downfall, spurred on by infighting, corruption and less capable Sultans. The book is an excellent prequel to his other huge work, Ataturk, the biographical account of the founder of the Republic of Turkey.

Excellent introduction to Ottoman history
For what it tries to achieve--a sweeping, compelling and entertaining recount of the entire history of the Ottoman empire--this book is flawless in its execution. Lord Kinross is a masterful writer well acquainted with his subject. He effortlessly weaves accounts of important and long-range social, economic and institutional changes into a story disguised as a pageant of colorful personalities. For me, the most eye-opening part of the story was the nineteenth-century: the decrepit Ottoman empire as a fierce source of entropy for the delicately balanced European great power systems. It was most enlightening to view European diplomatic struggles from the vantage point of Istanbul.