Scan barcode
izzywoo's review
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood, Cannibalism, Death, Genocide, Islamophobia, Murder, Police brutality, Racism, Rape, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Trafficking, Violence, and Xenophobia
frannyarose's review
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
A very good in depth history of Istanbul from the Neolithic era and somewhat to the present, however more attention is paid to the Hellenistic and Byzantine era than any other timeline. I think to fully enjoy this book you’d need some basic understanding of Istanbul, Turkish, and Greek history as well. Sometimes the not fully chronological order was confusing and often cities or regions were referred to by their ancient names without explanation of current names or even their region. But I loved the main idea, that Istanbul has always been a city of new ideas, of newcomers, of refuge. We can not forget this and instead must welcome those who come whether they are fleeing violence or simply hoping for a better life.
Content Warnings
Minor: Rape, Trafficking, Violence, Suicide, Slavery, Sexual violence, Murder, Incest, Hate crime, Genocide, and Child death
wmilam's review against another edition
Fascinating historical overview of Byzantium a.k.a. Constantinople a.k.a. Istanbul – skillfully and accessibly ties vastly different historical eras together into a single cohesive story spanning thousands of years.
8little_paws's review against another edition
4.0
Well I managed to get through this book today! A history of istanbul from the first human habitation through after WWI, there was some fascinating stuff here (Justinian rule in particular) yet some things felt glossed over while others took longer. Don't skip the timeline in the back, there's some really wild stuff on there about the various rulers. All in all though, a pick if this city interests you.
schenior's review
4.0
Most of the book was excellent and certainly 5-star worthy. However, after the Ottomans took over I felt it became a bit.. Euro-centric? Like, it kept giving accounts of "this British person came to Istanbul and thought X"; not sure if I didn't notice it as much when the city was under Christian + pagan rule but I felt like while there were outsider sources they weren't the main focus.
In any case, still very very much worth a read. I like the idea of concentrating on the history of one city in general, and Istanbul/Constantinople/Byzantium is certainly The City to do it for. I'd love to read a book like this about Jerusalem or Beijing. I feel like it clarified the general timeline of the last few thousand years more generally for me too, which is great!
In any case, still very very much worth a read. I like the idea of concentrating on the history of one city in general, and Istanbul/Constantinople/Byzantium is certainly The City to do it for. I'd love to read a book like this about Jerusalem or Beijing. I feel like it clarified the general timeline of the last few thousand years more generally for me too, which is great!