The Ottomans: An Enthralling Overview of the Rise and Fall of the Ottoman Empire and the Life of Suleiman the Magnificent (Exploring the Past)

This was a gift for a friend interested in how different cultures and states were formed. It was very well received.

Obviously a well educated Englishman will be familiar with the stories of Marathon, Salamis and the Medes and Persians in the Bible, but to re-read and hear not only the background and preceding chapters of those old stories, from the background of Darius and Xerses, adds a new flavour, new perspective, even new insights into what are, at heart old and well travelled paths.Adding into the mix the modern Iran, the Shah, and as a person actually present in Bandar Abbas as the Ayatollah flew into Tehran, makes this as up to date and fresh as one could ever wish.I heartily recommend this book to any general reader wishing to come to terms with the long, complex and, at times both highly sophisticated and also sometimes unbelievably interwoven history of the Middle East to put today’s conflicts and issues into a historical framework.This is not a scholars book, and some of the early chapters might seem overly dry, but it is important to understand the origins of the various peoples that, today, make up such a complicated and newsworthy country.Free copy reviewed for book sprout

A great book for a comprehensive review of the history of the Ottoman Empire and a deep dive into the life and policies of their most famous ruler Suleiman the Magnificent.Excellent gateway into the rich and long-spanning history of the Ottoman empire.For those unfamiliar with Suleiman the Magnificent, his life is a fascinating tale of both harsh decisions and great magnanimity.I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.

For anything and everything Ottoman Empire, check out this book bundle. With two engaging works, one about the Ottoman Empire at large and the other Suleiman the Magnificent in detail, anyone looking to learn more about relevant content will find everything needed within these pages.

Provides an overview of the period, but doesn't go into details, which is frustrating given I already had a decent understanding of the overview, and was hoping for a lot more detail.There are very few relevant images - all of which are publically sourced from wiki, often with unformatted URLs. If I hadn't known the geography of the region, the names of a lot of the places where important events took place would have been incomprehensible.The worst offender was a map showing 1913 Ottoman-controlled territory - overlaid on a modern map rather than a map of 1913 - which I am flabbergasted by.Lastly, the reading wasn't even all that 'enthralling' - ironic given the series is named 'Enthralling History'. The reading was honestly rather dry. Irony being is the lack of detail - which I'm sure is meant to make it easier to read, just made it seem like just listing off events one after another - like reading through an encyclopedia.