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vomaleki's review
informative
medium-paced
5.0
Really fascinating book. Covers quite a range of topics from the 16th Mediterranean world in a way that for me was not dry. I also found myself caring about the individuals the author followed, which was surprising. A great historical snapshot
msgtdameron's review
3.0
If you are a real affectionate of Ottoman in the Balkans history from 1500 until the 1600's, this is a great read. If not, well...
This is a great micro - history of The Bardis family. Their actions bleed into the general history of the region from Albania and Dubrovnik across to Istanbul, up to Moldavia, and down the Peloponnese. This family had priests, corsairs, friars, rouges, diplomats, linguists and any other specialty jobs that needed doing for Venice, Istanbul, Moravia, The Pope, Spain, The Hapsburg's, Russia, and England. This family was very good at being invaluable to those in power. And because they were invaluable this family was part of most every major action of all the great powers. Making the macro - history very enjoyable. it's the Micro - history that makes the work bog down and thus the three stars. The in depth on each family member can get tedious as the work progresses.
If you are an aspiring author looking for a unique local and time period for a mercenary, murder mystery, diplomatic story this book will be extremely useful for getting the facts right in your historical fiction. Well documented with meticulous foot notes. This time period and the exotic local could get you on the N.Y. Times Best Seller List.
This is a great micro - history of The Bardis family. Their actions bleed into the general history of the region from Albania and Dubrovnik across to Istanbul, up to Moldavia, and down the Peloponnese. This family had priests, corsairs, friars, rouges, diplomats, linguists and any other specialty jobs that needed doing for Venice, Istanbul, Moravia, The Pope, Spain, The Hapsburg's, Russia, and England. This family was very good at being invaluable to those in power. And because they were invaluable this family was part of most every major action of all the great powers. Making the macro - history very enjoyable. it's the Micro - history that makes the work bog down and thus the three stars. The in depth on each family member can get tedious as the work progresses.
If you are an aspiring author looking for a unique local and time period for a mercenary, murder mystery, diplomatic story this book will be extremely useful for getting the facts right in your historical fiction. Well documented with meticulous foot notes. This time period and the exotic local could get you on the N.Y. Times Best Seller List.
mylogicisfuzzy's review
3.0
This is a good read, full of fascinating detail about Ottoman empire, life and politics as well as European geopolitics in the second half of the sixteenth century. It is not, however, about 'agents of empire' as such, the title is misleading because, while the book is fabulously researched, there is simply a lack of detailed evidence about the Bruni and Bruti families, the central characters. Primary sources are scarce - understandable, given the locations the families lived in but I frankly got bored with frequent conjectures and suppositions as to the level of involvement and actions of the family members. I also could not find a 'corsair' among them or a Jesuit (from the book's subtitle) - although one did get a full Jesuit education. Also 'spies' is a bit misleading too. Feel slightly cheated.
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