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A review by nelsta
Empires of the Sea: The Final Battle for the Mediterranean, 1521-1580 by Roger Crowley
adventurous
informative
fast-paced
4.5
Empires of the Sea was a surprisingly fascinating book. Perhaps it was my low expectations, but I think it had more to do with the centralized, linear storytelling and cast. The author chose to focus tightly on a handful of major events and actors in the mid-16th century. This myopic view was of immense benefit to the book, in my opinion. What Roger Crowley laid out was nothing short of extraordinary.
Crowley focuses tightly on a handful of powerful men in Spain, Italy, and the Ottoman Empire. Some of the most interesting portraits described Barbarossa (a Barbary Corsair-turned-Ottoman Admiral), Suleiman the Magnificent (quite possibly the most famous Ottoman Sultan ever), King Charles of Spain (Lawful Neutral Tyrion Lannister), and Popes (not so) Pius V and the (significantly more) Pius IV. In the book’s closing pages, I felt like this story would make an excellent HBO miniseries. It has many of the hallmarks of a hit show: epic battles for control of an entire sea, power-hungry personalities vying for control, and stalwart knights and corsairs fighting to the death for faith, king, and country. If you changed the character and location names in Empires of the Sea and said it was the basis of a new Game of Thrones spin-off, I’d believe you.
There are two events in the book that held my attention completely: the Siege of Malta and the Battle of Lepanto. The Siege of Malta occupies over half the book. Crowley explains it, it’s significance, and the events leading up to it in breathtaking detail. Yet never does it feel tedious. He moves the plot along at a sometimes dizzying pace. Suffice it to say that the chapters on the Siege of Malta are some of the most fascinating writing I have read in recent months. The equally important (at least in the eyes of Roger Crowley) Battle of Lepanto is one of history’s largest naval battles. It was of sufficient importance to Christians that it United Catholics and Protestants alike. Anything that can bridge that gap—especially in the 16th century—is worth studying.
If you like naval battles and/or medieval warfare, this needs to be a must read. If you don’t like those, this is worthy of a read anyway. It sheds some much-needed light on a war that changed history; a truly watershed moment. Empires of the Sea is very good.
Crowley focuses tightly on a handful of powerful men in Spain, Italy, and the Ottoman Empire. Some of the most interesting portraits described Barbarossa (a Barbary Corsair-turned-Ottoman Admiral), Suleiman the Magnificent (quite possibly the most famous Ottoman Sultan ever), King Charles of Spain (Lawful Neutral Tyrion Lannister), and Popes (not so) Pius V and the (significantly more) Pius IV. In the book’s closing pages, I felt like this story would make an excellent HBO miniseries. It has many of the hallmarks of a hit show: epic battles for control of an entire sea, power-hungry personalities vying for control, and stalwart knights and corsairs fighting to the death for faith, king, and country. If you changed the character and location names in Empires of the Sea and said it was the basis of a new Game of Thrones spin-off, I’d believe you.
There are two events in the book that held my attention completely: the Siege of Malta and the Battle of Lepanto. The Siege of Malta occupies over half the book. Crowley explains it, it’s significance, and the events leading up to it in breathtaking detail. Yet never does it feel tedious. He moves the plot along at a sometimes dizzying pace. Suffice it to say that the chapters on the Siege of Malta are some of the most fascinating writing I have read in recent months. The equally important (at least in the eyes of Roger Crowley) Battle of Lepanto is one of history’s largest naval battles. It was of sufficient importance to Christians that it United Catholics and Protestants alike. Anything that can bridge that gap—especially in the 16th century—is worth studying.
If you like naval battles and/or medieval warfare, this needs to be a must read. If you don’t like those, this is worthy of a read anyway. It sheds some much-needed light on a war that changed history; a truly watershed moment. Empires of the Sea is very good.