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2013 Book Review #60: Lords of the Horizon
Title: Lords of the Horizon: A History of the Ottoman Empire
Author: Jason Goodwin
Genre: History (Ottoman Empire)
Thingummies: 2
Synopsis: A rather muddled history of the Ottoman Empire.
Thoughts: There's a lot of interesting detail here. Unfortunately, it's incredibly confusing. The author seems to believe that his readers are already intimately familiar with many of the people, battles, titles, etc of the Ottomans (in which case, why read a survey history book on the topic?). Since many of the sultans have the same name, this becomes extra confusing. Worse, there's only a vague nod towards linearity. Often, the century being discussed will jump from something in the 1500s in one paragraph to something in the 1400s in the next to a supporting quote from someone who you realize halfway through the book lived in the 1700s. Some chapters are about history, which are slightly more linear. Others are about culture, which bounce around insanely. It makes keeping cause and effect and the evolution of the culture impossible to keep clear in your head.
The author fancies that he has a lyrical style. Sometimes it works. Sometimes, it's just kind of annoying.
This did, in fact, have the content I was looking for. (I'd started with Lord Kinross' book, and given up because it was so dry a recitation of dates and names that I couldn't keep that straight, either. Sultan A went to place B and fought battle C. Then Sultan D went to place E and fought battle F.) There was a nice mix of major events, entertaining trivia, and cultural analysis. But it was so muddled up temporally that I think I may be a little more confused than I was to begin with.
Author: Jason Goodwin
Genre: History (Ottoman Empire)
Thingummies: 2
Synopsis: A rather muddled history of the Ottoman Empire.
Thoughts: There's a lot of interesting detail here. Unfortunately, it's incredibly confusing. The author seems to believe that his readers are already intimately familiar with many of the people, battles, titles, etc of the Ottomans (in which case, why read a survey history book on the topic?). Since many of the sultans have the same name, this becomes extra confusing. Worse, there's only a vague nod towards linearity. Often, the century being discussed will jump from something in the 1500s in one paragraph to something in the 1400s in the next to a supporting quote from someone who you realize halfway through the book lived in the 1700s. Some chapters are about history, which are slightly more linear. Others are about culture, which bounce around insanely. It makes keeping cause and effect and the evolution of the culture impossible to keep clear in your head.
The author fancies that he has a lyrical style. Sometimes it works. Sometimes, it's just kind of annoying.
This did, in fact, have the content I was looking for. (I'd started with Lord Kinross' book, and given up because it was so dry a recitation of dates and names that I couldn't keep that straight, either. Sultan A went to place B and fought battle C. Then Sultan D went to place E and fought battle F.) There was a nice mix of major events, entertaining trivia, and cultural analysis. But it was so muddled up temporally that I think I may be a little more confused than I was to begin with.