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by: Roger Crowley  List Price: $30.00 Amazon.com's Price: $19.80 You Save: $10.20 (34%)Prices subject to change. Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
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Binding: HardcoverDewey Decimal Number: 940.21 EAN: 9781400066247 ISBN: 1400066247 Label: Random House Manufacturer: Random House Number Of Items: 1 Number Of Pages: 368 Publication Date: July 01, 2008 Publisher: Random House Release Date: July 01, 2008 Studio: Random House Related Items:
Browse for similar items by category: Click to Display Editorial Review: Product Description: In 1521, Suleiman the Magnificent, Muslim ruler of the Ottoman Empire at the height of its power, dispatched an invasion fleet to the Christian island of Rhodes. This would prove to be the opening shot in an epic struggle between rival empires and faiths for control of the Mediterranean and the center of the world. In Empires of the Sea, acclaimed historian Roger Crowley has written his most mesmerizing work to date–a thrilling account of this brutal decades-long battle between Christendom and Islam for the soul of Europe, a fast-paced tale of spiraling intensity that ranges from Istanbul to the Gates of Gibraltar and features a cast of extraordinary characters: Barbarossa, “The King of Evil,” the pirate who terrified Europe; the risk-taking Emperor Charles V; the Knights of St. John, the last crusading order after the passing of the Templars; the messianic Pope Pius V; and the brilliant Christian admiral Don Juan of Austria. This struggle’s brutal climax came between 1565 and 1571, seven years that witnessed a fight to the finish decided in a series of bloody set pieces: the epic siege of Malta, in which a tiny band of Christian defenders defied the might of the Ottoman army; the savage battle for Cyprus; and the apocalyptic last-ditch defense of southern Europe at Lepanto–one of the single most shocking days in world history. At the close of this cataclysmic naval encounter, the carnage was so great that the victors could barely sail away “because of the countless corpses floating in the sea.” Lepanto fixed the frontiers of the Mediterranean world that we know today. Roger Crowley conjures up a wild cast of pirates, crusaders, and religious warriors struggling for supremacy and survival in a tale of slavery and galley warfare, desperate bravery and utter brutality, technology and Inca gold. Empires of the Sea is page-turning narrative history at its best–a story of extraordinary color and incident, rich in detail, full of surprises, and backed by a wealth of eyewitness accounts. It provides a crucial context for our own clash of civilizations. Average Rating:
 Rating: - Outstanding telling of the great conflict in the Mediterranean 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 ... Read More Rating: - A page-turner bookI 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 ... Read More Rating: - Riveting....who said history was boring?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 ... Read More Rating: - And you thought times are tough nowVery 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! Rating: - Compelling, page-turning historyMy cultural blinders have long confined my view of 16th century history mainly to northern Europe and the Atlantic. Roger Crowley's "Empires of the Sea: The Siege of Malta, the Battle of Lepanto, and the Contest for the Center of the World" is a powerful corrective for that too-narrow point of view. The story of the struggle between the Islamic Ottoman Empire and Catholic Hapsburg Spain for control of the Mediterranean (with important consequences for the lands bordering the Mediterranean) ... Read More 
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