Now in audiobook format, a gripping exploration of the fall of Constantinople and its connection to the world we live in today The fall of Constantinople in 1453 signaled a shift in history, and the end of the Byzantium Empire. Roger Crowley's readable and comprehensive account of the battle between Mehmed II, sultan of the Ottoman Empire, and Constantine XI, the 57th emperor of Byzantium, illuminates the period in history that was a precursor to the current jihad between the West and the Middle East.
About the Author :
Roger Crowley was born in 1951 into a naval family and educated at Cambridge University. The author of numerous bestselling books, including 1453 and Empires of the Sea, Crowley lives near Stroud, UK. Simon Prebble, a British-born performer, is a stage and television actor and veteran narrator of some three hundred audiobooks. As one of AudioFile's Golden Voices, he has received thirty-seven Earphones Awards and won the prestigious Audie in 2010. He lives in New York.
Review :
"A carefully paced, compelling, and ultimately fair narrative, it is firmly grounded in the original Italian, Greek, and (in lesser number) Ottoman accounts."
-- "Times Literary Supplement (London)"
"A fluent history of the annus horribilis in which impregnable Constantinople finally fell to Islam, a key moment in a 1,500-year-long clash of civilizations...[A] swiftly paced, useful guide to understanding the long enmity between Islam and Christianity."
-- "Kirkus Reviews"
"A powerful telling of an extraordinary story, presented with a clarity and a confidence that most academic historians would envy."
-- "Sunday Telegraph (London)"
"Crowley manages to invest his retelling with almost nail-biting drama."
-- "San Francisco Chronicle"
"Gripping...Mixes intriguing details of military history with rich references to the religious imagery that influenced both parties."
-- "Economist (London)"
"The story of an ancient city and its attraction to members of two major religions...Perhaps the author's most instructive point, made by others as well, is that Mehmet turned the city into one where religious toleration and multiculturalism flourished."
-- "Publishers Weekly"
"Vivid and readable...An excellent traveler's guide to how and why Istanbul became a Muslim city."
-- "Guardian (London)"
"Written in crackling prose...we are treated to narrative history at its most enthralling."
-- "Daily Express (London)"
