The Last Crusaders: East, West and the Battle for the Centre of the World Paperback – 4 Nov. 2010

Brilliantly entertain and well written book that covers the fight to control the Mediterranean between the Ottoman Empire and its allies versus Spain and Portugal. Exceptionally well researched, the narrative rattles along at breakneck speed.

An excellent book and extremely readable.

Very good book about the endless wars around the Mediteranean, from 1415 to 1578. These start and end dates correspond to the Portuguese taking of Ceuta in 1415 (the start of their 'crusade' into, or perhaps rather around Africa) to the epic 1578 'battle of the three Kings' - effectively the end of the Portuguese attempt to conquer Morocco, and arguably the end of the Portugese golden era as they lost some 20,000 people including their king and most of the country's nobility.Not that the writer limits himself to just Portugal - we learn about the rise of the Ottoman Empire, the fall of Constantinople, Ferdinand & Isabella, the Barbary corsairs, Andrea Doria, the siege of Malta, Lepanto, Francis I and Charles V, you name it. Despite the catchy title, a lot of the conflicts were between christians and between muslims rather than part of any crusade.Where appropriate, excursions outside the Mediterranean are included, the most interesting of which (I thought) was the Portuguese involvement in christian-muslim conflict in Ethiopia. Despite the vast scope of his subject, somehow Mr. Rogerson has succeeded in squeezing over 150 years of history into a book that is not prohibitive in size - a testament to his narrative skills. I would recommend anyone remotely interested in the history of the period to buy this book, and make sure to not (as I did) read it in just a few sittings but rather take it chapter by chapter.

A most excellent and entertaining narrative history that filled many of my knowledge gaps concerning the 16th century. It takes a little time to get going but then develops an unstoppable momentum. The final chapter, concerning The Battle of the Three kings, is incredibly gripping. It gets to you. Any author who can finish a great book in such an epic way gets five stars from me.

This is a wonderful read. Exceptionally well-written, packed full of fascinating details and providing a skilful and entertaining narrative that takes the reader though an extraordinarily complex tale. One of the best books that I have read for a long time - and I have read many a book!

Excellent.That is the only word that describes this book.If you have a passion for history and are particularly interested in this period then this book will delight you.Set out clearly and well written it was hard to put down.

Not yet read

Really nice book that shows what's going on in the mediterranean at the time