Overview

Empires of the Sea tells the story of the fifty-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. It is also a narrative about technology and money. Lepanto was the Mediterranean's Trafalgar, one of the great battles of world history, and a turning point in naval warfare. It was the last and greatest moment in the age of the galleys before sailing ships with broadside guns swept all before them, and it was paid for, on the Christian side, with Inca gold. The battle for the Mediterranean was instrumental in fixing the boundaries of Christendom and Islam and redirecting the course of empire. After Lepanto, the great powers turned away exhausted from the bitter and fruitless struggle for mastery of the Mediterranean. Henceforth, the contest for empire would be global: its new theaters would be the Atlantic and the Indian Oceans, the spice islands and the Americas.

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Reviews

"A masterly narrative that captures the religious fervor, brutality and mayhem of this intensive contest for the 'center of the world.'-- ""Kirkus Starred Review"" ""A masterly narrative that captures the religious fervor, brutality and mayhem of this intensive contest."" -- ""Kirkus Reviews (starred review)"" ""Crowley has an astonishing gift for narration; his account is as exciting as any thriller."" -- ""Wall Street Journal"" ""Crowley's page-turner history...deserves to be this [season's] most recommended nonfiction book...Rich in character, action, surprise, what transpired in those few desperate weeks is one of history's best and most thrilling stories."" -- ""Dallas Morning News"""

Author Information

"Roger Crowley was born in 1951 and spent part of his childhood in Malta. He read English at Cambridge University, then taught English in Istanbul, where he developed a strong interest in the history of Turkey. He has traveled throughout the Mediterranean basin over many years and has a wide-ranging knowledge of its geography and its past. Roger has a reading knowledge of Turkish, several European languages, and Latin. He is the author of 1453: The Holy War for Constantinople and the Clash of Islam and the West. JOHN LEE's highly innovative work in the fields of emotional intelligence, anger management, and emotional regression has made him an in-demand consultant, teacher, trainer, coach, and speaker. His contributions in the fields of recovery, relationships, men's issues, spirituality, parenting, and creativity have put him in the national spotlight for over 20 years. Lee has been featured on Oprah, 20/20, Barbara Walters' The View, CNN, PBS, and NPR. He has been interviewed by Newsweek, the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, and dozens of other national magazines and radio talk shows.For over 25 years, Lee has conducted private and group sessions on a variety of issues working with men, women, couples, and families. He lectures, gives workshops and trainings in cities all over the world, delivering sensitive, yet sophisticated material to audiences in a humorous and simple way everyone can understand. His lectures have been branded as ""hilariously entertaining, deeply compassionate, yet filled with 'tell it like it is!'""Lee served as a professor at the University of Texas and at the University of Alabama before becoming a writer, bestselling author, life coach, and personal consultant. He currently resides on breathtaking Lookout Mountain in Mentone, Alabama with his three happy dogs."

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