Empires of the Sea

The Contest for the Center of the World

By: Roger Crowley

Narrated by: John Lee

Empires of the Sea tells the story of the 50-year world war between Islam and Christianity for the Mediterranean: one of the fiercest and most influential contests in European history. It traces events from the appearance on the world stage of Suleiman the Magnificent - the legendary ruler of the Ottoman Empire - through "the years of devastation" when it seemed possible that Islam might master the whole sea, to the final brief flourishing of a united Christendom in 1571.

The core of the story is the six years of bitter and bloody conflict between 1565 and 1571 that witnessed a fight to the finish. It was a tipping point in world civilization, a fast-paced struggle of spiraling intensity that led from the siege of Malta and the battle for Cyprus to the pope's last-gasp attempt to rekindle the spirit of the Crusades and the apocalypse at Lepanto.

It features a rich cast of characters: Suleiman the Magnificent, greatest of Ottoman sultans; Hayrettin Barbarossa, the pirate who terrified Europe; the Knights of St. John, last survivors of the medieval crusading spirit; the aged visionary Pope Pius V; and the meteoric, brilliant Christian general, Don John of Austria.

It is also a narrative about places: the shores of the Bosphorus, the palaces and shipyards of the Venetian lagoon, the barren rocks of Malta, the islands of Greece, the slave markets of Algiers - and the character of the sea itself, with its complex pattern of winds and weather, which provided the conditions and the field of battle. It involves all the peoples who border the Great Sea: Italians, Turks, Greeks, Spaniards, the French and the people of North Africa.

This story is one of extraordinary color and incident, rich in detail, full of surprises, and backed by a wealth of eyewitness accounts. Its denouement, the battle of Lepanto, is a single action of quite shocking impact - considered at the time in Christian Europe to be "a day to end all days".

©2008 Roger Crowley (P)2008 Tantor

Critic reviews

"A masterly narrative that captures the religious fervor, brutality, and mayhem of this intensive contest for the 'center of the world'." ( Kirkus)
"Masterfully synthesizing primary and secondary sources, [Crowley] vividly reconstructs the great battles...and introduces the larger-than-life personalities that dominated council chambers and fields of battle." ( Publishers Weekly)

Great history book

I strongly suggest you download this book and THEN (I unfortunately did the opposite) download "The Religion" by T. Willocks. Both of the books are outstanding. "Empires" gives one the historical background (though it reads like a novel) and "The Religion" adds the flavor of historical fiction (one cannot help but pull for the main character Tannhauser). Oh yes, I almost forgot, John Lee could read the phone book and make it interesting.

It was really good

Wonderful storytelling well performed a great insight in history you got the perspective of the Christians and the Muslims and what they were trying to achieve

Top 5 all time Favorite Books

A war book about the battles between the Ottomans and their offensive on the Mediterranean

History told with a narrative flair

This is a great piece of history told with a real sense of narrative flair and drama that is, nonetheless, informative.

excellent history

great, theatrical-feeling account of the war of the Mediterranean. It does lack in an analysis, providing more of a chronological account of events, but does not seek to derive from accounts beyond what was written. Would make for a compelling TV series, as it is written colorfully enough to be entertaining.