Review (PDF) Lords Of The Horizons: A History Of The Ottoman Empire
For six hundred years, the Ottoman Empire swelled and declined. Islamic, martial, civilized, and tolerant, it advanced in three centuries from the dusty foothills of Anatolia to rule on the Danube and the Nile; at its height, Indian rajahs and the kings of France beseeched the empire's aid. In its last three hundred years the empire seemed ready to collapse, a prodigy of survival and decay. In this striking evocation of the empire's power, Jason Goodwin explores how the Ottomans rose and how, against all odds, they lingered on. In doing so, he also offers a long look back to the origins of problems that plague present-day Kosovars and Serbs.
Paperback: 368 pages
Publisher: Picador; Eighth edition (January 1, 2003)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0312420668
ISBN-13: 978-0312420666
Product Dimensions: 5.4 x 1 x 8.2 inches
Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (171 customer reviews)
Best Sellers Rank: #282,922 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #124 in Books > History > Middle East > Turkey #224 in Books > Textbooks > Humanities > History > Middle East #985 in Books > Textbooks > Humanities > History > Europe
It was a delight to read this book even though the topic was so familiar. One had to contend mostly with very narrow and stuffy academic treatments or blatant propaganda until recently if one wanted to just learn, as an ordinary interested person, about one of the last great empires, Ottomans. Even as a student of recent Ottoman history, much new perspective was gained. It is easy to read and enjoyable. It captures the colors, sounds, smells and tastes of this fascinating empire, its times and its adventures, effecting so much of what happens around us even today. How the Ottomans managed such a huge, multi-ethnic, multi-religious society for such a long time is also a very timely and relevant topic given the global political developments following the end of the Cold War. There are some quirks of style such as notes that lead to no interesting or related facts but seem to go tangential and comments that seem to just hang in the air, but it did not distract from the flow of the story at all. Readers without any background in the topic or region may feel lost a little at times as some of the reviews suggest. Historical accuracy and references are excellent, especially for a self-proclaimed travel-writer. It was especially appreciated by this reader that a strict chronological story line was not followed, which distinguishes it from other "history" books. Mr. Goodwin puts real people and events and motives behind the story, which has understandably frustrated those readers who would like to see Turks or Ottomans as pure evil and cause of everything ever done wrong. Mr. Goodwin does not give them much satisfaction. The Ottomans represented for a long while an alternate path to civilzation, if only world did not have boundries.
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