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Title: Ottoman Centuries: The Rise and Fall of the Turkish Empire by Lord Kinross ISBN: 0-688-08093-6 Publisher: Perennial Pub. Date: 01 August, 1979 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $18.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.46 (28 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: A Sweeping and Expansive Achievement
Comment: Here Lord Kinross has created quite an achievement in historical writing, summing up the 600 years of the Ottoman empire in one concise, easy to read, yet expansive narrative. Kinross shows a clear understanding of large historical, cultural, and political trends that results in a narrative that is sweeping in its scope. Kinross is clearly influenced by Gibbon's "Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire" and even uses that phrase a few times in this book, merely replacing the word "Roman" with "Ottoman." Hence while Kinross is commenting on the minute details of various time periods throughout Ottoman history, he also keeps you appraised of the long-term trends that would result first in the empire's rise to greatness and then its slow downfall. One weakness of this method though, is the frequent use of the "beginning of the end" or "it was all downhill from here" refrains, which was also noticed by another reviewer here on Amazon. In fact, Kinross first brings this up way back at the death of Suleiman the Magnificent, nearly four centuries before the empire finally dissolved, although it's true that the empire had reached its peak at that point. Another possible point of contention with this book is Kinross' coverage of the empire's foreign relations, with most space going to the Europeans to the west and later the Russians to the north. There is very little about the empire's relations with the Persians to the east, and almost nothing about the Arabs and Africans to the south. However this is probably more the result of the differing amounts of documentation and evidence available in each area, rather than any bias on the author's part. Meanwhile Parts VI and VII really drag with minute details on the political wranglings of the European powers in relation to the empire. But those are just some minor weaknesses, which are more than made up for by the strengths described above, as well as Kinross' occasional forays into colorful descriptions of the lifestyles of the royals and their subjects, and coverage of the empire's culture and architecture.
Finally, one reviewer here for some self-serving reason slammed this book for failing to cover the massacres of the Armenians. This is 100% false, as Kinross not only covers three different periods in which the Turks tried to smash the Armenians, but effectively places the blame where it's due. That reactionary critic both failed to read the book and failed to realize that it supports his position. He/she also claims that the fall of the empire is left out, supposedly missing an entire half of the book. Figure that one out.
Rating: 4
Summary: Clear, accessable history for us lay-people
Comment: Kinross effectively reconstructs Ottoman history in the space of several hundred pages and in doing so, gives a good overview of an important civilization without become so overly academic and thus too dense to understand. The book, although a history, is as easily readable as any novel. This perhaps is its most impressive feat - that even those of us who aren't trained historians can understand and appreciate the people and events involved therein.
My only real criticism of this book is that I would have like to have seen more about the effect of the Crusades on the early empire. Although the Ottomans came to power after the Crusader period, I was curious as to the effect of that period on their conception of Christians and Westerners in general.
Otherwise recommended.
Rating: 5
Summary: Legendary Book By A Legendary Writer
Comment: I bought this book over 15 years ago and I always go back to it as a reference. Lord Kinross writes very clearly and if you want a solid reference on the Ottoman Empire this should be on your bookshelf. Gives a description of major Sultans and events in Ottoman Turkish history. I also recommed Kinross's other excellent book on Ataturk the founder of modern Turkey. Once again Kinross does not dissapoint.
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Title: A Short History of Byzantium by John J. Norwich ISBN: 0679772693 Publisher: Vintage Books USA Pub. Date: 01 December, 1998 List Price(USD): $17.00 |
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Title: Ataturk: The Biography of the Founder of Modern Turkey by Andrew Mango ISBN: 158567334X Publisher: Overlook Press Pub. Date: 01 November, 2002 List Price(USD): $22.95 |
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Title: The Fall of Constantinople, 1453 (Canto S.) by Steven Runciman ISBN: 0521398320 Publisher: Cambridge University Press Pub. Date: 01 December, 1990 List Price(USD): $18.00 |
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Title: Crescent and Star: Turkey Between Two Worlds by Stephen Kinzer ISBN: 0374528667 Publisher: Farrar Straus Giroux Pub. Date: 04 September, 2002 List Price(USD): $15.00 |
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Title: A Peace to End All Peace: The Fall of the Ottoman Empire and the Creation of the Modern Middle East by David Fromkin ISBN: 0805068848 Publisher: Owl Books (NY) Pub. Date: 01 October, 2001 List Price(USD): $20.00 |
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