Crowley follows his first narrative history of Constantinople with this engaging account of the wars between the surging Ottoman Empire under Suleiman the Magnificent and a divided, timorous Catholic Europe. In themselves, the events would be enoug
h to keep readers flipping the pages, but Crowley succeeds in turning the events of 500 years ago into a thrilling spectacle, conjuring the smoke and heat of battle as well as the machinations of medieval politics. Best of all is the account of the siege of Malta, a fight Christendom had to win to survive.
Also try: Giles Milton, Paradise Lost
THE TEN MOST BEAUTIFUL EXPERIMENTS
George JohnsonThe Bodley Head, £14.99
This short, accessible book recounts a range of famous and "beautiful" scientific discoveries, from Newton's experiments with light to Pavlov's work with dogs. In describing these beautifully simple works of genius, Johnson reveals as much about the corporatist nature of modern science as he does about early research. Johnson's book recalls a lost spirit and, as he points out in his introduction, we are unlikely to see many more "Eureka" moments because of the vast teams and complex computing required today.
Also try: Michael White, Leonardo
A COUNTRY IN THE MOON
Michael MoranGranta, £20
Those who have lived in post-Communist central Europe will find much to recognise here, from the bureaucratic inanities of buying a car to the drabness that continued long after communism's demise. Inspired by a love of Chopin, Moran arrived in Poland in 1992. If his prose occasionally falters into over-writing, and his talent for characterisation is less sure than his research, then this is still an entertaining document of the post-Communist period, a time now fading into history as Poland and its neighbours become integrated to the EU.
Also try: Adam Zagajewski, To Go To Lvov
The full article contains 318 words and appears in Scotland On Sunday newspaper.
