1453: The Holy War for Constantinople and the Clash of Islam and the West
by Roger Crowley
|
|
Sign in to Goodreads to see your friends' reviews of 1453: The Holy War for Constantinople and the Clash of Islam and the West.
discuss this book
friend reviews (0)
To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.
lists with this book
This book is not in any lists. Go add it to a list.
other reviews (showing 1-20 of 80)
Read in November, 2007
NOV. 19th, 2007: Finished the book and am now reading through all the sources and such. Sorta like extras on a good DVD. I wish I had a real work ethic. I'd turn this into an epic graphic novel and then a few years later get it turned into the most gigantic epic battle movie. It'd be like LOTR without having to tolerate those stupid elves! For all the history lovers but I think this book is written in a friendly enough voice, that it can read almost as a piece of fiction. Almost.
It's fascinati...more
It's fascinati...more
Like this review?
yes
(1 person liked it)
2 comments
Read in October, 2007
recommends it for:
history buffs, those interested in the early confrontations between Islam and the West
This book was very enjoyable, narrative, and engaging effort to explain what is perhaps one of the most facinating and famous clashes of all time. The author took efforts to make the reader understand not only the personalities of the conflict, but the atmosphere and environs in which the events took place. The result is a clear and consise history, with every effort made to remain unbaised and retain historical details, without completely sacrificing the story itself. It is certainly not a b...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in April, 2007
The author is typically English: he tries to make excuses for Moslem atrocities. The author lived in Constantinople and apparently feels the need to justify its history.
While the narrative is ok, the author makes some ridiculous contentions. My favorite example is in trying to talk of the "stereotype" of the "savage Turk" he points out that Christians thought it barbaric how Moslems kidnapped Christian children and raised them to be warriors so Christian children would ...more
While the narrative is ok, the author makes some ridiculous contentions. My favorite example is in trying to talk of the "stereotype" of the "savage Turk" he points out that Christians thought it barbaric how Moslems kidnapped Christian children and raised them to be warriors so Christian children would ...more
Like this review?
yes
1 comments
Read in May, 2008
Reading this one now, very exciting, late medieval warfare eminiscent of Lord of the Rings but a true story. I don't give it 5 stars only because it's not what I expected - I am working through several books on the history of Islam and the West trying to put the contemporary era in perspective. This book is light on that level of analysis but is terribly gripping anyway as more of a military history of the last seige of Constantinople. What's interesting is that while historically this is fra...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in March, 2008
Apparently I'm reading this. Having just finished the background chapters and gotten to the practically week-by-week accounts of the battle, I hope Crowley calls it like a sportscaster when something's happening and not like those guys blathering on about nothing while someone calls time out. So far it's readable, but not terribly engaging.
Okay, upon finishing: This book did nothing to disabuse me of the notion that reading nonfiction is dull, until the last 60 pages. The final battle and...more
Okay, upon finishing: This book did nothing to disabuse me of the notion that reading nonfiction is dull, until the last 60 pages. The final battle and...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in October, 2007
This is an account of the fall of Constantinople. For those unfamiliar with the background, the author helpfully provides a very brief background of the history of the city and of its conquerors, the Ottomans.
The bulk of the book is an account of the siege and demonstrates how, despite being seriously outnumbered, abandoned by the Christian kingdoms and bombarded by supersized cannons, the defenders frustrated the Turks who were on the verge of giving up the siege.
Well written account...more
The bulk of the book is an account of the siege and demonstrates how, despite being seriously outnumbered, abandoned by the Christian kingdoms and bombarded by supersized cannons, the defenders frustrated the Turks who were on the verge of giving up the siege.
Well written account...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in August, 2007
recommends it for:
history and military buffs
Very detailed and paced well. For someone not steeped in military or Turkish history, however, it was daunting at times. Crowley (as the title suggests) focuses on this year, and does so through a military lens. As such, he weaves in cultural, geographic and other influential elements (divisions within the Christian church and Europe, differences about lineage between Christians and Muslims, etc.) but will spend pages on the canons built by Mehmet. If you're interested in the influence of gunpow...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in October, 2007
Very entertaining history of the Siege of Constantinople, almost day for day. Especially good were the background chapters. People generally do not know of the Fourth Crusade of 1204 and how Christian soldiers sacked Constantinople and how it never fully recovered. The book is based of a variety of primary sources in translation and secondary sources. It is not a "scholarly" work and the author makes to pretense to such. But as one who studied Near Eastern history in college and grad s...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in August, 2006
This is a non-stop action packed historical account of the two month siege of Constantinople. Complete with bizarre signs in the heavens which were most likely caused by the eruption of Kuwae, one of the most destructive and environment influencing events in the last millenium, this book gives you detail after detail of the land and sea battles outside the walls, the mining battles as well as sneak attacks.
This was also a very emotional book for me, but I highly recommend it to anyone intereste...more
This was also a very emotional book for me, but I highly recommend it to anyone intereste...more
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in July, 2008
This was a great and readable history of the consquest of Constantinople (and the start of Istanbul) by Sultan Mehmet II. It describes a time when the Byzantine empire had shrunk to just one heavily fortified city. It was also the first time gunpowder had been used in the siege of a city. Having been to Istanbul and seen the walls, gates, and areas described, it made it all the more enjoyable.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Has a copy to sell/swap
—
Read in September, 2006
A very interesting book that gives great insight into the war between Islam and Western civilization. It helped me understand more about current events today. It's kind of an action-packed history book that makes it fun to read. I stopped half way through and haven't finished it yet, but I'm going to!
I'd love to read more interesting books like this if you can recommend any.
I'd love to read more interesting books like this if you can recommend any.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in March, 2008
This is an engaging account of the fall of Constantinople to the Turks. It's a well-paced narrative history of a conquest that changed the shape of the world, in which few thousand Byzantine and Italian soldiers successfully defended the city against many tens of thousands of Turks for more than a month before falling before the onslaught.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Has a copy to sell/swap
—
Read in October, 2007
With the fall of Constantinople in 1453, the Roman Empire was finally gone. The story of how this happened is compelling and enlightening. Often, I get annoyed with history writers, but not so much with Crowley. Definitely worth a read, but certainly not one of my desert island books.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in December, 2007
A wonderful, quick read about a brutal little bit of history. Conquest has alwasy been and will always be about land, money and resources. People try to disguise it in all sorts of moral garb and religious gibberish; but it's all about avarice, plain and simple.
Like this review?
yes
1 comments
Read in January, 2008
I have lived in a hole, and have no perspective on world history. 1453 gives a great view into the end of the byzantine era, and the long standing conflicts between Islam and Christianity. For all that, frankly a slog to get through.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in February, 2007
recommends it for:
Everyone
I never knew history could be so riveting, like a good potboiler noevel that you can't put down. Told from multiple viewpoints including the Byzantine Emperor and the Ottoman Sumtan.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
I had never read a history book before and this was the book that got me into them. This book reads like a movie.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in January, 2007
Great read; humanizes all the players; Byzantines, Turks and Europeans. Captures the sweep of historical change.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in April, 2008
Great book! Much more interesting than I though it would be. Very important time in Western history.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment
Read in September, 2007
The author does not overwhelm me with names. Byzantine History can me difficult. More later.
Like this review?
yes
add a comment