A vivid new account of one of the most decisive military encounters in history
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'A gripping account.'
-- Evening Standard Evening Standard
-- Evening Standard Evening Standard
Book Description
On 7 October 1571, on the gulf between mainland Greece and the Peloponnese, the fleets of the Ottoman Empire and the Christian Holy League met in a battle that would prove the crux of that century's war between Christianity and Islam. No naval battle until Jutland in 1916 - not even Trafalgar - involved such numerous forces, and in no previous encounter with the Ottomans had the Christians met with success. In this compelling piece of narrative history, Niccolo Capponi takes a fresh look at the last great, bloody, and crucial showdown between oared fighting galleys, which - like the legendary battles of Salamis, Waterloo and Stalingrad - halted the progress of a force that had hitherto seemed unstoppable.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
A very thorough account of the battle of Lepanto, covering the economic and political origins and consequences, as well as a detailed account of the course of the battle itself.
Capponi makes a good case for reconsidering the battle's significance, arguing that it really was a decisive event in preventing further expansion of the Ottoman empire in the Mediterranean, despite the way many historians have lately portrayed it.
Ocasionally, the book did start to get a little dry, but even then it was thorough. The descriptions of the main characters involved on both sides is good, and the account of the battle itself is quite gripping. The political and diplomatic manoeuvering of the unstable alliance of Venetians, Spanish, Italians and the Pope is interesting, as is the political infighting in the Sultan's court in Constantinople.
His account of the actual events of the battle itself is quite different in many factual respects to Roger Crowley's in 'Empires of the Sea'. Also, Capponi goes into far more detail of the ships, tactics and events of the day. On top of the military and political drama, you get a good sense of the human tragedy involved as well. A very thorough history, readable, yet arguing a strong case for his point of view.
Capponi makes a good case for reconsidering the battle's significance, arguing that it really was a decisive event in preventing further expansion of the Ottoman empire in the Mediterranean, despite the way many historians have lately portrayed it.
Ocasionally, the book did start to get a little dry, but even then it was thorough. The descriptions of the main characters involved on both sides is good, and the account of the battle itself is quite gripping. The political and diplomatic manoeuvering of the unstable alliance of Venetians, Spanish, Italians and the Pope is interesting, as is the political infighting in the Sultan's court in Constantinople.
His account of the actual events of the battle itself is quite different in many factual respects to Roger Crowley's in 'Empires of the Sea'. Also, Capponi goes into far more detail of the ships, tactics and events of the day. On top of the military and political drama, you get a good sense of the human tragedy involved as well. A very thorough history, readable, yet arguing a strong case for his point of view.
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
This is a very well researched and written history book about the battle of Lepanto, with a broad introduction of the historical brackground and a magnificent description of the galleis and weaponery involved.
It will make an excellent holiday book .It is well illustrated with accurate maps and prints.
This is the best account of the battle I have read.
5 stars
It will make an excellent holiday book .It is well illustrated with accurate maps and prints.
This is the best account of the battle I have read.
5 stars
61 of 67 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
After so many works of inadequate quality, we have at last an excellent piece of scholarship on the event that in the XVI century saved Europe from Islam. For the first time in more than a century, Niccolò Capponi has written a book based on painstaking archival research and a thorough exam of printed sources. Thus he has managed to correct a number of incorrect statements about the battle, that almost all modern authors repeat in parrot fashion. The fundamental role played by superior Western technology, already suggested by Fernand Braudel, is here explored in depth and ample credit is given to the decisive, devastating, effect of Christian artillery.
Although of high scholarly quality the book is enjoyable to read, and destined to remain a milestone amongst the many, and to often useless, publications about one of the most important victories of the West.
Although of high scholarly quality the book is enjoyable to read, and destined to remain a milestone amongst the many, and to often useless, publications about one of the most important victories of the West.
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful
By E. Woolley
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
The battle of Lepanto (strictly speaking at Curzolaris at the mouth of the gulf of Patras in present day Greece) in 1571 was the turning point in the expansion of the Ottoman Empire into Europe which had been going on for two hundred years, which makes it one of the key dates in history. Lepanto was just a name to me before reading this book and it has opened up the history of this era in a fascinating way. In addition,it is so well written that one can only say that one is astonished by Niccolo Capponi's command of what is not his first language (see below).
His publishers tell us very little about the author but if you look him up in Google you will find that he comes from a very ancient Florentine family and he tells us in his introduction that his ancestors fought on both sides.
His publishers tell us very little about the author but if you look him up in Google you will find that he comes from a very ancient Florentine family and he tells us in his introduction that his ancestors fought on both sides.
2 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is an area of History not covered in British school, not much is other than Slavery and the Nazis these days, so I was very interested in learning about a section of History of which I knew very little. This is a great book which is very good at describing people and events and doesn't pull any punches while is does it. So if you wish to discover the important events and people of the sixteenth century which helped shape the subsequent history of Europe buy this book.
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful
By R. vd Berg
Format:Paperback
Though I haven't finished the book yet, so far it's a very interesting and relaxed read, giving lots of background information on the era and how the (in-)balance of power came to be in the mediterranean and surrounding states, all without being tedious. Can't wait for the bits on the battle itself...
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