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| Empires of the Sea: The Siege of Malta, the Battle of Lepanto, and the Contest for the Center of the World | 
 enlarge | Author: Roger Crowley
Publisher: Random House
Category: Book
List Price: $30.00
Buy New: $12.99
You Save: $17.01 (57%)
New (38) Used (10) from $12.99
Avg. Customer Rating:  29 reviews
Sales Rank: 5291
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 368
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.5
Dimensions (in): 9.5 x 6 x 2
ISBN: 1400066247
Dewey Decimal Number: 940.21
EAN: 9781400066247
ASIN: 1400066247
Publication Date: July 1, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
 Riveting....who said history was boring? August 7, 2008
7 out of 7 found this review helpful
Empires of the Sea: The Siege of Malta, the Battle of Lepanto, and the Contest for the Center of the World by Roger Crowley provides the reader with a clear picture into the world of the 16th century Mediterranean and more importantly into warfare for the time.
Crowley wastes no time with preliminaries but gets quickly to work in the first chapter with Suleiman's attack on Rhodes. There's no beating around the bush here. Crowley does a terrific job looking at the art of war and how the two sides differed in their respective approaches to battle. On the one hand, the Knights of Saint John, who, like the Templar's, was an international organization with members pulled from the major European countries and provinces of the time. On the other was the Turkish army of Suleiman, large, mobile, well equipped and quick to mount an offensive; apparently lacking nothing needed for conquest. That the Christians were out-numbered is made clear. To the defenders of Malta the loss of any knight was a loss that was difficult if not impossible to replace. Suleiman had numbers on his side and spent freely suffering huge casualties for the time of both his soldiers and slaves. It was all out warfare. Rhodes was strategically important, in part, due to the loss of Constantinople in 1453. However, the loss of Rhodes could not compare to the loss of Malta fifty years later. Without Malta, Italy would become the "front lines" in the battle between Christendom and the door to Europe would be open.
Crowley also does a masterful job by incorporating primary sources where possible. Descriptions by eyewitnesses are scattered throughout the text and add an important element to the book. Also the Turkish side of things is presented pretty clearly as illustrated with the following:
"Selim, Ottoman Sultan, Emperor of the Turks, Lord of Lords, King of
Kings , Shadow of God, Lord of the Earthly Paradise and of Jerusalem, to the
Signory of Venice: We demand of you Cyprus, which you shall give Us
willingly or perforce; and do you not irritate our horrible sword, for We shall
wage most cruel war against you everywhere; nor let you trust in your
treasure, for We shall cause it suddenly to run away from you like a torrent;
beware to irritate Us." (page 207)
Empires also does a great job in examining the growing Turkish presence in the Med as a naval power. Sulieman's reach and projection of power was made possible in part by the wonderful naval commanders that were available to the Sultan and by the absolute naval incompetence of the Europeans. In the end Sulieman's navy couldn't help him however.
Crowley writes for the layman and explains himself clearly. The information that is presented is done so in context and though I'm not an expert on the subject feel that I've read a complete treatment of the topic. The maps that are included in the book make sense and are easy to read and the inclusion of the illustrations and woodcuts add to the information in the text.
I recommend Empires of the Sea.
Peace
A page-turner book August 7, 2008
5 out of 6 found this review helpful
I only wished that this book was longer. Crowley's writing flows smoothly and keeps your attention. Next you know it, you've already read a hundred pages in a short few hours. Crowley chronicles one of the least appreciated events in the history of the conflict between Europe and the Ottoman empire. The battle at Lepanto served to arrest the ambition of the Ottoman empire to reach Rome and all of Europe. For all of its vivid and, sometime, gory descriptions of the land/naval battles, the sharp contrast between the highly-efficient Ottoman war machine and the disunity among the European countries, and the high stakes that were involved, Crowley, I thought, puts all of this in a nice and surprising perspective at the end of the book. After reading this book, I went out and purchased the book that preceded this one.
Outstanding telling of the great conflict in the Mediterranean August 12, 2008
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
Mr Crowley has captured the brutal and grim conflict that spanned from 1521 to the fateful fight at Lapanto in 1571. The clash between the forces of Islam and the combined units of Italy, Spain and others is detailed in a most readable fashion, touching on key events like the battle of Cyprus, Famajusta and Malta. The incredible siege at Malta in 1565 is without a doubt one of the greatest stories of a 'last stand'. I would recommend Ernie Bradford's terrific book 'The Great Siege' for more insight into this important battle against enormous odds, but this book covers much about Malta in a handful of chapters. Some powerful characters and their lives are explained in this fine book and it is rich in detail, historical information and some rather gruesome tortures and scenes of combat. Excellent data that leds one to search out other books on this vast and often bloody period in history.
And you thought times are tough now August 6, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
Very interesting book on Europe vs the Ottoman Empire with broad and interesting insights into both societies and the forces that drove them. Also a good read!
Enthralling and Important Historical Work September 9, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
Concerning itself with the two greatest clashes between European powers and the Ottoman Empire in the 16th century, this work has great relevance to the political scene of today, helping to explain the gradual economic/political decline and isolation of the Muslim world as it faced the Mediterranean, and the ascendency of the Western European nations in the same arena.
For sheer scale and drama, one would be hard-pressed to find any battles of more epic scale than the Siege of Malta and the sea battle of Lepanto, yet these two pivotal events are largely forgotten by Western civilization at this point in time.
What with the death of 40,000 men in the Battle of Lepanto alone, I would hazard to venture that this was the largest and most casualty-ridden sea battle of all time, eclipsing anything that happened in World War II.
The author has done an admirable job in bringing these two dramatic confrontations to life, embellishing the tale with first person contemporary accounts, and detailing the character and motives of the principal players and how that shaped the outcome of these "do or die" ordeals of close quarters combat. One of the factors that made this era of warfare so interesting is the revolution in mechanized warfare (entailing the use of siege engineers, matchlock firearms,artillery, mortars, flamethrowers, and hand grenades), although hand-to-hand combat between armored knights and their antagonists was by no means an anachronism.
You don't have to be a student of history to get a true thrill from reading this work, and it leaves one with a better understanding of the geopolitical landscape at the current time and the state of Western-Islamic relationships today. Highly recommended.
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