Product Description

This is the history of one of the great battles of the world, written by a private soldier who was an eye-witness. The siege of Malta was a crucial moment in the long struggle between Islam and Christendom for domination of the Mediterranean, fought out by unequal forces on the small island which commands the sea-routes at the centre of that sea. The Knights of St John were a survival from the medieval world, the largest of the surviving crusading orders, and they had been driven out of their base on Rhodes in the eastern Mediterranean after a great onslaught by the Turks in 1522. Now, forty-three years later, the Turkish ruler, Suleyman the Magnificent, who had been the victor at Rhodes, was determined to finish them off. He sent out a huge armada, carrying the pick of his army, under two commanders. Against this powerful force, the Knights could only raise a handful of men and mercenaries, and had to depend on the fortifications they had raised in the thirty-five years since they first came to Malta, which bore no comparison to the massive walls and ditches on Rhodes. Francisco Balbi di Correggio was a humble soldier of fortune who enlisted under the charismatic command of the Grand Master of the Order, Jean de la Valette. The extraordinary drama that unfolded after the first appearance of the Turkish fleet in the summer of 1565 is told in his own words, giving equal credit to the courage and leadership of the Knights and the grim determination of the ordinary people of Malta.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #185446 in Books
• Published on: 2009-05-19
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 224 pages

Review
Will serve as a useful primary source for undergraduates and as well as for scholars. SIXTEENTH CENTURY JOURNALAn extremely welcome reprint...of a seminal work on the subject and the prime reference source for all those who have written about the 1565 siege. An extremely readable account. CASEMATE

Customer Reviews

Compelling
This is a first hand account of the siege of Malta in 1565 , one of the most heroic battles ever fought and won facing overwhelming odds.

The author took part , albeit as a foot soldier , in the siege is this a very good translation from Spanish. The book was written a few years after the battle and contains mainly first hand impressions of the siege without too much political debate of the latter editions.

The paperback edition is not great and perhaps it will be better to invest a bit more for the hardback edition. The graphics from the forts help to understand the individual actions.

If one compares this book to Tim Pickles's ( published by osprey ) the latter as much better maps and is superbly illustrated but the former will help the reader to understand in great detail the dramatic actions that took place during the siege.

5 stars ( for Francisco Balbi )

Stunning
Unbelievable account; to read what these people went through, their mentality and attitude to the horrors around them is truly something. The account is very readable and in great detail, a true historical classic.

Great fun read
This is a first hand account of the seige of Malta by an ordinary knight who lived through it. As such, it tells the story in a clear, immediate, plain but lively manner. It was something of a publishing success at the time when it was written, and has always remained popular, both as a good read, and as a reliable historical account. The translator, Ernle Bradford, or an editor, has added just enough background comments to the text, to give a modern reader enough information to fill in what would have been common knowledge to readers at the time.

There might be better texts for a modern reader to get an overview of the political and diplomatic causes and consequences of the seige of Malta, but this will give you perhaps the best and most gripping account of how the seige progressed, and wonderfully immediate feel of how people there at the time felt and thought.

The seige itself is an incredible story of courage and fortitude, and of victory against seemingly overwhelming odds. Balbi's unsophisticated style brings out the astounding drama of the events, as well as being frequently intensely poignant when describing the suffering and loss of life he was a personal witness to. The translation flows well, and it is a gripping read, even after all these centuries.

On top of the human story, the technology plays an important part. Both sides used very innovative technology, and implemented extraordinary technical improvisations during the seige. Balbi is rightly very proud of the technical successes the Knights and the Maltese came up with. There is a very strong feeling of Renaissance progress and innovation in the tale.

This translation also comes with all the original illustrations, with the original key to them, showing several panoramic overviews of the progress of the seige. In addition, the modern editors have added a large number of more modern-style maps and diagrams that help make sense of the action and course of events. These are all useful, but it is interesting that as regards the layout of the crucial fortress of St. Elmo, the modern diagrams and the original pictures differ from each other, and both differ from Roger Crowley's description of the fortress in 'Empires of the Sea'.

This is the book to get for a dramatic account of the events of the seige itself, or if you want an immediate account of the battles and the tactics. For a broader, more complete account of the event in context, you might prefer a more general history-book account of it, but even then, this would be a very useful addition.