Tag Archives: Mediterranean

Blood of Honour

Blood of Honour© 2011 James Holland384 pages It’s May 1941, and it looks like the good guys may actually win one for once.   British troops have arrived in Crete to defend it against an anticipated German invasion,   making … Continue reading

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City of Fortune

City of Fortune: How Venice Ruled the Seas© 2012 Roger Crowley464 pages In the north of the Adriatic grew a city built not on land, but upon the water — whose fortune was earned in transit, by  running the ships … Continue reading

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In God’s Path

In God’s Path: the Arab Conquests and the Creation of an Islamic Empire© 2015 Robert Hoyland303 pages A Roman author referred to the Roman and Persian empires as the two eyes of the world — but they didn’t see the … Continue reading

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Lost to the West

Lost to the West: The Forgotten Byzantine Empire that Rescued Western Civilization © 2009 Lars Brownsworth 329 pages The Roman empire not not fade quietly into history in 474, when a Gothic warlord decided to run the city of Rome directly instead … Continue reading

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The Egyptians

The Egyptians© 1997 Barbara Watterson368 pages “We stand where Caesar and Napoleon stood, and remember that fifty centuries look down upon us; where the Father of History came four hundred years before Caesar, and heard the tales that were to … Continue reading

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Ornament of the World

Ornament of the World: How Muslims, Jews, and Christians Created a Culture of Tolerance in Medieval Spain© 2002 Maria Rose Menocal315 pages            Ornament of the World is the story of a unique civilization in medieval Europe, one … Continue reading

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The Spice Route

The Spice Route© 2005 John Keay308 pages Spock was right. Having a thing is often not as pleasant as wanting a thing. It is not logical, but it is often true. Such was the case with the spice trade, which so … Continue reading

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The Great Cities in History

The Great Cities in History© 2009 ed. John Julius Norwich302 pages             The Great Cities in History takes readers on a literary world tour, traveling through space and time to visit the greatest political bodies in history.  Civilization is nothing … Continue reading

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