The End of Byzantium

"'Harris interrogates the evidence sensitively … showing how the realities of power in the Eastern Mediterranean rendered simple notions of patriotism and heroism irrelevant. … What Harris's lucid narrative demonstrates is that there was no clear East-West, Muslim-Christian split.' - Times Literary Supplement * Times Literary Supplement * “Harris offers plenty of serious scholarship, and a useful amount of background.”—John Hinton, Catholic Herald -- John Hinton * Catholic Herald * ""Lucid; extremely well written with an excellent array of quotes and spread of information.""—Michael Angold, Reviews In History -- Michael Angold * Reviews in History * ""Harris is fully in command of this Islamic conquest and records a saga seething with treachery and avarice with rich political overtones and giant cannonades. Christendom is at flashpoint in this scholarly journey into a barbaric age.""—Colin Gardner, Oxford Times -- Colin Gardner * Oxford Times * “A remarkable book, which offers numerous fresh insights and weaves a gripping and deeply moving story that constantly startles us with its newness, its originality, and its balance. Byzantines, Turks, Latins - Harris breathes new life into these long-dead characters and makes us understand both their choices and the circumstances that led them to make those choices. This is history as it should be written - an epic tale that rouses our imaginations and captures our sympathies as effectively as it explains and informs.” - Colin Wells, author of Sailing from Byzantium -- Colin Wells ""Jonathan Harris's new account of the fall of Constantinople in 1453 is a welcome and highly readable treatment of one of the most important events in world history. The author knows his sources inside out and his book is a fine work of scholarship. But he also handles his subject with narrative momentum and descriptive flair, and he never loses sight of the humanity involved in these twilight years of a once-great empire.""—Norman Housley, author of Fighting for the Cross -- Norman Housley Harris's book tells and oft-told tale in a fresh way. — Brian G. H. Ditcham, Gillingham, Kent, England -- Brian G. H. Ditcham * Sixteenth Century Journal * “Shows expert knowledge of the Greeks in the west and of cultural trends in humanistic thought. . . . Harris provides a sympathetic reading of the civil wars and conflicts engendered by the empire’s fundamental problem in this era: how to balance Byzantine traditions with the need for military aid from the West in order to confront the Ottoman Turks.”—Judith Herrin, Wall Street Journal -- Judith Herrin * Wall Street Journal * “Western education has given us so little background on the Byzantines that Harris’s thorough study will whet readers’ appetite for more about this intriguing kingdom.”—Publishers Weekly * Publishers Weekly * “The End of Byzantium is a worthy successor to [earlier] books and indeed supersedes them as an introduction to the empire in its final hour. . . . [Harris] explains the unfamiliar without dumbing-down and lets the players speak for themselves.”—Paul Magdalino, American Historical Review -- Paul Magdalino * American Historical Review *"