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  • Empires of the Sea

  • The Contest for the Center of the World
  • Written by: Roger Crowley
  • Narrated by: John Lee
  • Length: 11 hrs and 18 mins
  • 4.8 out of 5 stars (26 ratings)

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Empires of the Sea

Written by: Roger Crowley
Narrated by: John Lee
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Publisher's Summary

Empires of the Sea tells the story of the 50-year world war between Islam and Christianity for the Mediterranean: one of the fiercest and most influential contests in European history. It traces events from the appearance on the world stage of Suleiman the Magnificent - the legendary ruler of the Ottoman Empire - through "the years of devastation" when it seemed possible that Islam might master the whole sea, to the final brief flourishing of a united Christendom in 1571.

The core of the story is the six years of bitter and bloody conflict between 1565 and 1571 that witnessed a fight to the finish. It was a tipping point in world civilization, a fast-paced struggle of spiraling intensity that led from the siege of Malta and the battle for Cyprus to the pope's last-gasp attempt to rekindle the spirit of the Crusades and the apocalypse at Lepanto.

It features a rich cast of characters: Suleiman the Magnificent, greatest of Ottoman sultans; Hayrettin Barbarossa, the pirate who terrified Europe; the Knights of St. John, last survivors of the medieval crusading spirit; the aged visionary Pope Pius V; and the meteoric, brilliant Christian general, Don John of Austria.

It is also a narrative about places: the shores of the Bosphorus, the palaces and shipyards of the Venetian lagoon, the barren rocks of Malta, the islands of Greece, the slave markets of Algiers - and the character of the sea itself, with its complex pattern of winds and weather, which provided the conditions and the field of battle. It involves all the peoples who border the Great Sea: Italians, Turks, Greeks, Spaniards, the French and the people of North Africa.

This story is one of extraordinary color and incident, rich in detail, full of surprises, and backed by a wealth of eyewitness accounts. Its denouement, the battle of Lepanto, is a single action of quite shocking impact - considered at the time in Christian Europe to be "a day to end all days".

©2008 Roger Crowley (P)2008 Tantor
  • Unabridged Audiobook
  • Categories: History

What the critics say

"A masterly narrative that captures the religious fervor, brutality, and mayhem of this intensive contest for the 'center of the world'." ( Kirkus)
"Masterfully synthesizing primary and secondary sources, [Crowley] vividly reconstructs the great battles...and introduces the larger-than-life personalities that dominated council chambers and fields of battle." ( Publishers Weekly)

What listeners say about Empires of the Sea

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Wow!

Two seriously intense and very detailed battles, and several smaller ones that were also quite detailed. The political circumstance that drove the conflict were illustrated without the candy coating. This book gave me a far greater understanding of the critical naval events in the Mediterranean of this time. It sure filled a hole in my knowledge.

The narration and the writing are excellent. The only issue for the reader is that the description is so well done that you feel, for lack of a better term, completely 'beat up' after every significant conflict. This book does not glorify war. It doesn't propose pacifism either. History in the raw.

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    4 out of 5 stars

Couldn't get enough

I'd never read anything like it before, but was fascinated by the detailed history. I kept a map handy to keep track of everything, and was surprised to learn some historical places that still remain.

The narrator is a great fit, and the rhythm of the writing makes for a good listen. I particularly enjoyed his delivery of some of the names.

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