Lords of the Horizons: A History of the Ottoman Empire. Review

On one of the Podcasts that I listen to they do a book club style episode every month or so and there was one that stood out to me.  However, the Library didn't have it in stock, and I felt like I might need a little it more of an introduction to the Mediterranean in the 14th to 18th centuries.  So I turned to one of the books that was available, Lords of the Horizons: A History of the Ottoman Empire.  Written by Jason Goodwin, this 325 page book is an introduction from the humble beginnings of the empire as a group of nomadic warriors to an empire that stretched from Baghdad into Europe and all through the Mediterranean. 

This book was tough to read.  Goodwin's style is a bit flowery and poetic, which makes it tough to retain the focus on the source material.  While roughly organized in chronological order, there are a lot of instances of jumping around in each chapter.  This makes keeping all of the main players difficult, as you try to track which Sultan is still in control or Vizier is making the calls for a particular campaign.  THe content of each chapter is also only roughly organized, with descriptions of fortifications on the frontier intermingling with descriptions of poetry and an out of date tax system. 

Apart from the style, the book also is mostly concerned with the European portion of the Empire, with long details of holdings in Eastern Europe and exploits there, with only a cursory look at the Turkish people that made up a majority of the empire.  There is also a large reliance on works by Europeans visiting the Empire versus primary sources of Turkish origin.  The descriptions of many of the campaigns and important battles are built more narrative than likely should have been for such important inflection points in the Empire's history.  The Siege of Vienna especially was written without any insight into the tactical moments.

Overall I'm a bit disappointed in this book and its overall ability to give a real working history of the Empire, and to provide a framework for which to study the topic further.  I would only give 2 stars for it.