A review by hughesie
Istanbul: A Tale of Three Cities by Bettany Hughes

2.5

I found this to be an interesting book, with very readable prose, a cast of intriguing characters, several of whom I would like to read more about, and it covers some fascinating events. However this book attempts to cover an awful lot of ground, and though in broad chronology, chapters are on themes or topics and so the timeline jumps back and forth a little, meaning I kept getting the Justins confused with the Justinians etc. Excluding notes and bibliography, the edition I have came in at 600 pages, and whilst I enjoyed it, I don't think I properly absorbed even a third of what I read because there was just so much information. The book touches lightly on so many different elements, in some cases chapters were fewer than 10 pages. It may have worked better had it left out many of these sections and concentrated on the key players more, as the book was at its strongest when it stayed with an individual or time for a longer duration.