A personal review of books, the only link between them is that there is NO LINK!
by Steven Runciman ISBN: 978-1-84511-895-2 First published 1980 144 pages Publisher: Tauris Parke Paperbooks Cover image: Hagios Nikolaos, Mistra Cover image by Vanni/CORBIS 5/5 Stars Take a trip into the past, into the last flourish of the Byzantine culture. The last cultural outpouring of a people that traced their lineage back through thousands of years,… Continue reading Lost Capital of Byzantium
By Thomas F. Madden ISBN: 978-0-14-750980-2 First published 2012 427 pages Publisher: Penguin.org Cover photograph: Josef Hoflechner 5/5 Stars A super history of a once great city-state. Madden reveals how Venice was formed by refugees of the fallen Western Roman Empire, and was nurtured for most of its long life by the Eastern Roman Empire.… Continue reading Venice – A New History
A History of the Crusades II: The Kingdom of Jerusalem by Steven Runciman ISBN: 978-0-241-29876-3 First published 1952 385 pages Cover: British Library Board Publisher: Penguin Modern Classics 5/5 Stars If the 'hero' of the first was crusade was Baldwin I, the first King of Jerusalem, then the 'hero' of the second crusade (and the… Continue reading The Kingdom of Jerusalem
By Michael Foss ISBN: 1-85479-674-7 First published 1997 228 pages Cover illustration: Detail from The Fall of Acre, Vie et Miracles de St. Louis Publisher: Michael O'Mara Books Limited 3.5/5 Stars An interesting view of the crusades from those that took part in it. Relying on close personal accounts from that time - the author… Continue reading People of the First Crusade
by Steven Runciman ISBN: 978-0-141-98550-3 First published 1951 270 pages Cover illustration: Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris Publisher: Penguin Random House, UK 5/5 Stars A drama and narrative that reads like fiction but is based on closely researched historical fact. Runciman brings to life the major players with detailed character analyses; Baldwin I of Boulogne, Raymond Count… Continue reading A History of The Crusades: The First Crusade
The Eclectic Book Review 