 | By: Nanami Shiono Binding: Hardcover Publisher: Vertical Inc. ISBN: 1932234179 ISBN-13: 9781932234176 Released: 30 Mar 2007 RRP: Average Rating:  |
That it does, but only to a very limited point. A dozen or so characters appear from a Greek monk opposed to the church reunion with Rome, to a Serbian captain forced to fight as part of the Turkish armies. But, instead of going into their beliefs & their culture in any great depth, the characters more or less serve as props for what amounts to an abridged narrative of the siege & the key facts & dates instead.
Worse, the book tells you next to nothing about what a city that was built to hold half a million inhabitants but housed 50,000 at its falll must have been like. We find out that there were lots of churches, the wallls were high, lots of Italians lived there in their own quarter, and, er...that's it!
If you are already familiar with Byzantine history, this book will add next to nothing on top of what you already know. And if you do want to buy a book that reallly paints a picture around the falll of Constantinople, I'd recommend Roger Crowley's excellent "The Last Great Siege" instead.
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