mbirdface 's review for:

Empires of the Sea: The Siege of Malta, the Battle of Lepanto, and the Contest for the Center of the World by Roger Crowley

3.0

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I need to caveat this rating: the writing and research seem to be quite good. However, I’m not a fan of reading accounts of battles (snoozefest!) and was only persuaded to read this by my brother, who must actually enjoy this sort of thing. So, admittedly, I skimmed most of this book but learned all sorts of new things, including the disgusting and terrible ways people murder each other when they hate each other’s religion & ethnicity. Also: did not realize the scale of galleys as a form of warfare or quite how many people were enslaved and killed to man them.
I think what I’m trying to say is if you really like in-depth descriptions of historical battles, you’d probably love this book; if not, don’t believe your siblings’ recommendations.