Empires of the Sea — Roger Crowley

Crowley reconstructs the struggle between the Ottoman and Habsburg empires for control of the Mediterranean in the sixteenth century, focusing on three episodes — the siege of Rhodes, the siege of Malta, and the battle of Lepanto in 1571 — as nodes of a longer conflict that determined which civilisation would dominate the inland sea. The book is written with the pace of a thriller and the research of a scholarly history, and it recovers a contest that has been largely obscured by the more familiar story of Reformation Europe.

'Crowley is one of the finest writers of history working today. Empires of the Sea is gripping from first page to last.' — Dan Jones. 'Brilliantly researched and brilliantly told. A masterclass in narrative history.' — The Independent