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A review by adammp
City of Fortune: How Venice Won and Lost a Naval Empire by Roger Crowley
4.0
I read this book in anticipation of a coming trip to the Dalmatian coast, in order to get a better understanding of the nature of Venice and its maritime empire. Roger Crowley does a masterful job of capturing Venice as a city, society, and empire at its rise and peak.
While the book's focus is clearly on Venice, Crowley also does an impressive job of tying Venician history into the history of Eastern Europe, Asia Minor, the Middle East, and even the Russian steppe, as indeed he must considering the extent of Venice's trading network in the 13th, 14th, and 15th centuries.
If I have any complaints about this book, it's about the themes that he introduces very quickly at the end rather than at the beginning. In particular, Crowley stresses the importance of Venice as the only major Italian city that did not rise to prominence during the Roman empire. Introducing this theme earlier would have done much to explain Venice's perpetual conflict with Genua and other city-states in Northern Italy. Crowley also addresses Venician culture, economy, and what maritime life was like in the last third of the book, rather than addressing these subjects at the beginning and weaving them into the narrative.
Overall however, I found Crowley's writing style to be engaging and his presentation of the material to be nuanced and interesting. I'd recommend this book to anyone who is interested in either the history of Venice, or the history of Europe and the near east during this time period.
While the book's focus is clearly on Venice, Crowley also does an impressive job of tying Venician history into the history of Eastern Europe, Asia Minor, the Middle East, and even the Russian steppe, as indeed he must considering the extent of Venice's trading network in the 13th, 14th, and 15th centuries.
If I have any complaints about this book, it's about the themes that he introduces very quickly at the end rather than at the beginning. In particular, Crowley stresses the importance of Venice as the only major Italian city that did not rise to prominence during the Roman empire. Introducing this theme earlier would have done much to explain Venice's perpetual conflict with Genua and other city-states in Northern Italy. Crowley also addresses Venician culture, economy, and what maritime life was like in the last third of the book, rather than addressing these subjects at the beginning and weaving them into the narrative.
Overall however, I found Crowley's writing style to be engaging and his presentation of the material to be nuanced and interesting. I'd recommend this book to anyone who is interested in either the history of Venice, or the history of Europe and the near east during this time period.