A review by marktkimball
1453: The Holy War for Constantinople and the Clash of Islam and the West by Roger Crowley

5.0

A well-crafted tale of the fall of Constantinople. I loved the immense amount of details that Crowley gives in this book, much of it coming from primary or secondary witnesses to the battle. It was unexpected how much character was given to all the combatants (especially Constantine and Mehmet) and made the book read almost like a historical fiction. The fact of the matter that this was an actual battle and these were real people made that writing style even more enjoyable. Why isn't there a movie of this battle? It is perfect for Hollywood, so many crazy stories of the immense amount of ingenuity that both sides, but particularly the Turks, used to gain any sort of edge. The heroics of the small band of Byzantines fighting to the death in the face of certain defeat, holding out longer than anybody would have anticipated. There is so much here that would be wonderful for the silver screen. Alas, I am left to mourn over the loss of Constantinople from the pages of books and this has been the best I have read yet.