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A review by echofm
1453: The Holy War for Constantinople and the Clash of Islam and the West by Roger Crowley
3.0
1453 is an account of what led to and took place during the siege and fall of Constantinople. It delves deep into the workings of the time of the Christian world, the Ottoman Empire, and the clash of Islam and Christianity.
This book has a lot of great information and insight, but I would not call it an easy read, which is the primary reason I gave it 3 stars. I had to push myself to finish this book because it just took so much effort to read. Some may enjoy how the book goes in depth on battles, and while I enjoyed the history that led to 1453, a good chunk of the book is describing the siege. Unfortunately, most of the siege can be summed up by: The Turks made lots of noise and struck fear into the hearts of the defenders, they shot cannonballs, the walls crumbled, defenders rebuilt. Everyone was frustrated and terrified and the people of Constantinople were not particularly confident despite almost succeeding. In essence, it was a lot of book devoted to the same thing said in different ways, none of it particularly interesting. I don't regret reading the book, because I learned a great deal, but I very nearly chose not to finish the last 50 pages.
This book has a lot of great information and insight, but I would not call it an easy read, which is the primary reason I gave it 3 stars. I had to push myself to finish this book because it just took so much effort to read. Some may enjoy how the book goes in depth on battles, and while I enjoyed the history that led to 1453, a good chunk of the book is describing the siege. Unfortunately, most of the siege can be summed up by: The Turks made lots of noise and struck fear into the hearts of the defenders, they shot cannonballs, the walls crumbled, defenders rebuilt. Everyone was frustrated and terrified and the people of Constantinople were not particularly confident despite almost succeeding. In essence, it was a lot of book devoted to the same thing said in different ways, none of it particularly interesting. I don't regret reading the book, because I learned a great deal, but I very nearly chose not to finish the last 50 pages.