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Title details for Istanbul by Thomas F. Madden - Available

Istanbul

City of Majesty at the Crossroads of the World

by Thomas F. Madden
Edoardo Ballerini
Audiobook
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One of Time's 12 Books for the History Buffs on Your Holiday Gift List The first single-volume history of Istanbul in decades: a biography of the city at the center of civilizations past and present.
For more than two millennia Istanbul has stood at the crossroads of the world, perched at the very tip of Europe, gazing across the shores of Asia. The history of this city—known as Byzantium, then Constantinople, now Istanbul—is at once glorious, outsized, and astounding. Founded by the Greeks, its location blessed it as a center for trade but also made it a target of every empire in history, from Alexander the Great and his Macedonian Empire to the Romans and later the Ottomans. At its most spectacular Emperor Constantine I re-founded the city as New Rome, the capital of the eastern Roman empire, and dramatically expanded the city, filling it with artistic treasures, and adorning the streets with opulent palaces. Around it all Constantine built new walls, truly impregnable, that preserved power, wealth, and withstood any aggressor—walls that still stand for tourists to visit.
From its ancient past to the present, we meet the city through its ordinary citizens—the Jews, Muslims, Italians, Greeks, and Russians who used the famous baths and walked the bazaars–and the rulers who built it up and then destroyed it, including Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the man who christened the city "Istanbul" in 1930. Thomas F. Madden's entertaining narrative brings to life the city we see today, including the rich splendor of the churches and monasteries that spread throughout the city.
Istanbul draws on a lifetime of study and the latest scholarship, transporting readers to a city of unparalleled importance and majesty that holds the key to understanding modern civilization. In the words of Napoleon Bonaparte, "If the Earth were a single state, Istanbul would be its capital."
"A major 'biography' of a city at the center of the world, Madden documents the history of the place that has been home to Greeks and Ottomans, Muslims and Jews, the ancient world and the society of the future."—TIME

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    November 22, 2016

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9781501932533
      • File size: 415768 KB
      • Duration: 14:26:10

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • AudioFile Magazine
      All cities have souls; Istanbul has the heart of the world beating in its center, according to this affecting audiobook. Its story is the story of civilization, both classical and modern, and whoever controls the city also controls a vital spot on the globe. Narrator Edoardo Ballerini captures the tone of this audiobook with pinpoint accuracy, using a lilt in his assured, smooth voice to narrate the history of this fabled place. There are times, though, when he lilts too much, and his reading becomes halting and abrupt. Nonetheless, he varies his pitch and tone throughout the book, and his phrasing allows us to luxuriate in new facts and ideas. Overall, Ballerini does a fine job. R.I.G. © AudioFile 2017, Portland, Maine

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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