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A review by jsjammersmith
City of Fortune: How Venice Won and Lost a Naval Empire by Roger Crowley
5.0
Roger Crowley and Venice, you can just hear my money flying away from me, but I don't care. I knew after finishing 1453 that I just had to read this man's collected work because I have yet to find a popular history writer who has the level of depth, narrative ability, balanced historical bias, and general concern for the puplic and professional face of History. Plus, I mean, like, it's Venice dude.
City of Fortune did have the same level of Dynamism that 1453 had, but this book is still an amazing introduction to the most serene republic of Venice and history. Taking a wealth of scholarly work and producing a history that feels relevant and dynamic and interesting but Crowley has an ability with words as much as he does with facts and information. This book tells a story about the Republic of Venice and contextualizes it with its time and tries to understand why the leaders and average peoples managed to create a mythos of themselves that last for centuries. Venice is, according to Crowley, the first modern city and he argues it quite effectively
My only real beef with this book is that Crowley's endnotes only apply for his direct quotes and I would have liked to have seen more concern for tracing certain details back to their sources, and his ending feels a bit abrupt.
Still, I loved this book and it's only inspired me to learn more about the Serene Republic. I would offer this book to anyone beginning the history of Venice because it's not only a satisfying and effective introduction, it's an incredible book, and Crowley remains, indefinitely, my man.
City of Fortune did have the same level of Dynamism that 1453 had, but this book is still an amazing introduction to the most serene republic of Venice and history. Taking a wealth of scholarly work and producing a history that feels relevant and dynamic and interesting but Crowley has an ability with words as much as he does with facts and information. This book tells a story about the Republic of Venice and contextualizes it with its time and tries to understand why the leaders and average peoples managed to create a mythos of themselves that last for centuries. Venice is, according to Crowley, the first modern city and he argues it quite effectively
My only real beef with this book is that Crowley's endnotes only apply for his direct quotes and I would have liked to have seen more concern for tracing certain details back to their sources, and his ending feels a bit abrupt.
Still, I loved this book and it's only inspired me to learn more about the Serene Republic. I would offer this book to anyone beginning the history of Venice because it's not only a satisfying and effective introduction, it's an incredible book, and Crowley remains, indefinitely, my man.