Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 54
 Gripping from Cover to Cover March 11, 2010
G. Poirier (Orleans, ON, Canada)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
In just over 300 pages that turn by themselves, the author has recounted over eleven centuries of spellbinding history - that of the Byzantine Empire. Naturally, in condensing such a lengthy time period, the author had to pick the most significant events. This he did admirably in a book that reads like a suspense novel that just doesn't let go. This is history writing at its very best. The writing style is very lively, clear, authoritative, friendly and widely accessible. As one reviewer (on the dust jacket) has pointed out, the text is also peppered with "dry humour" which certainly adds to the book's entertainment value. A few useful maps are included, but otherwise there are no pictures or photos; yet these are not missed since the author's vivid, most engaging prose lets the reader's mind take control. This well-researched book can be enjoyed by any reader who loves intrigue, suspense, conspiracy, treachery, violence, etc., etc.; but in this case, it's all factual, well-documented history. Ancient history buffs who may be lacking in their knowledge of Byzantine history (like I was), will be in for quite a treat.
 An Gripping Read of a 1000 Year History March 10, 2010
Uncle M (The Old North State, US)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
After reading Charles Freeman's "Egypt, Greece and Rome: Civilizations of the Ancient Mediterranean", I became absolutely intrigued by the Byzantine Empire. Freeman's book basically ends with Constantine converting to Christianity and the sack of Rome. I wanted to know more and decided to give this book a try. I am glad I did.
First and foremost this is a historical book, but perhaps not what I would consider a true history book. That is to imply a thoroughly footnoted book of facts with no author opinion (is this even possible anymore?). I don't think this is a fault; and for all those who somehow discredit the book because of this are kind of missing the point.
Brownworth does an excellent job of "fleshing out" the emperors and major figures throughout the Byzantine Empire's history. His writing is at times a little sarcastic, but not annoyingly so. Consider that we are talking about a very brutal time in history. Basically people retained power by murder, exploitation, banishment, mutilation, and bribery. Some of this "tongue in cheek" type writing is warranted because it is hard to relate to the circumstances of the time.
I found myself at times really empathizing with the various emperors and generals described in the book. The author does an incredible job of pulling the reader in with personalities to draw more important points regarding the state of the empire. Towards the end of the book there is a sense of foreboding - you know how it ends but you still want to read onwards.
The end of the book definitely had an impact on me. Brownworth does not disguise his contempt for the senseless crusader sack of Constantinople and the Turk invasion of Eastern Europe. I think he makes good points regarding these events. I found the underlying tone of the Byzantine contribution to the Renaissance interesting as well.
Overall an outstanding read.
 Difficult to review January 28, 2010
Shogun Len (Arizona)
0 out of 3 found this review helpful
I got this book off vine, and it was a proof copy that did not have any maps or illustration or picture, so this book is tough to fairly review. I like how the author stressed the important of the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantine Empire. What I did not like was that often it felt like I was reading a high school research paper. Again, I will probably need to read and rereview this book after seeing an actual copy vs. the proof that I read.
Well-written saga of a "forgotten" period in history January 26, 2010
Rabbi Yonassan Gershom (Minnesota, USA)
This book did an excellent job of filling me in on a millennium-long period of history that I was not very familiar with before. I had heard of Byzantium and was familiar with the fall of Constantinople, although I was never quite clear in my mind as to exactly where it was. (The location is now known as Istanbul, Turkey). I was also aware of a major split in Christianity that resulted in the Roman Catholic Church in the West and the Orthodox Church in the East. But, as a non-Christian "outsider," I never had much understanding of what the split was all about. Lars Brownsworth, in this well-written book, cleared this up in both theological and political terms. I found it interesting that the Byzantine Empire had a better understanding of "separation of Church and State" than did Western Europe. While the Pope sought to merge the two, Byzantium kept to the older Roman model, where the Emperor was separate from the priesthood. And unlike the medieval West, Eastern Orthodoxy never completely rejected the Greek classics as "pagan heresies," because Greek was the spoken language of the area and the classics were part of the local culture. Greek also remained the language of liturgy in the Orthodox Church, as opposed to Latin in the Roman Catholic Church.
This is, however, a history book, not a book of theology. Brownsworth gives us enough religious background to understand the various political conficts, but his main focus is on the story of the Byzantine Empire itself. As he admits in the introduction, cramming a thousand years of history into one book is "taxing enough, and much must be sacrificed to brevity." Given that, the book manages to cover 1300+ years without becoming a mere outline. It's success is due, in my opinion, to the author's focus on interesting personalities, with all their strengths and foibles. At time he writes with a sense of irony (as well as occasional dark humor) that makes the saga read more like a novel than a textbook.
One question that this book did not answer for me, however, was this: How did the Jews fare under Byzantine rule? I know a great deal about how the Jews were treated in medieval Europe, but very little about their role in Byzantium. I do know that persecuted Jews fled the Inquisition to settle in Turkey and Anatolia, becoming what are known today as the Sephardic Jews. But that was in 1492, after Constantinople had already fallen to the Muslims. Was Turkey more tolerant toward Jews under Islam than Christianity? Or did Byzantium have a more tolerant attitude toward its minorities, which carried over in the general populace no matter who was in power? Unfortunately, Brownsworth is silent on the subject of Jews under the Byzantines, although he does mention (correctly) that Jews were slaughtered along with Orthodox Christians by the western Crusaders when they sacked Jerusalem. Beyond that, there is no mention of Jews. As with so many other history books, the "Judeo" half of "Judeo-Christian" civilization vanishes into that 1900-year "blank" between the death of Jesus and the Nazi Holocaust. For the Jewish side of this historical period, the interested reader much go elsewhere. (Such as The Jews of Byzantium 1204-1453 and The Jew in the Medieval World: A Source Book, 315-1791.)
Even with this omission, I found the book to be an enjoyable read for those who, like me, need a clear introduction. Brownsworth's book should go along way toward his clearly-stated goal, namely, to rescue Byzantium from academic obscurity and acknowledge its major role in the history of European civilization.
Byzantium, Lost and Found January 13, 2010
Michael Gunther (Maryland, USA)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
In this book, Lars Brownworth recovers the lost empire of Byzantium for the modern reader. It is a popular history, and a quick read. I appreciated his fluent writing, and his book - poised delicately, like the Byzantine Empire itself, between East and West - is an excellent corrective to the usual, Western and Euro-centric, understanding of the Middle Ages. As Brownworth explains, Byzantium stood for one thousand years as a fortress between Europe and Islam, and lasted just long enough until Europe became strong enough to stand on its own.
If it weren't for Byzantium, we'd all be speaking Arabic and bowing down to Mecca today. It is an inspiring history, and Brownworth tells it in a way that most of us can appreciate and enjoy. This is not exactly an academic history, but it is very appropriate for homeschooling, and high school or college students and general readers will also be sure to get a lot out of it.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 54
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