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berenikeasteria's review against another edition
3.0
Istanbul isn’t a bad book, it’s just not my thing at all. I loved Bettany Hughes’ comprehensive book on Helen of Troy; thoroughly researched and undoubtedly the best book on the subject to date. And I am immensely looking forwards to reading her biography of Socrates. But those are two very different books to this one – both focus on an individual providing intense research as to their life story. Istanbul is different because it focuses on one city and the entirety of its history. I do not doubt for a second that Bettany Hughes has done her research as impeccably as ever, but the problem I had with the book was that because it must encompass such a vast span of time, it doesn’t seem to cover any of the history particularly in depth. A couple of hundred years were sometimes covered in a three-page chapter, the significant names little more than mentions. Heck, the entire BCE era was barely skimmed, and felt rushed. I wanted to know much more about the city during that time. Anyway, this grand overview style of one city’s history just didn’t draw me in because I couldn’t get into anything in depth, and I just have to chalk this one up and say it’s not for me.
izzywoo's review
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Genocide, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Police brutality, Islamophobia, Trafficking, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, and Murder
frannyarose's review
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
A very good in depth history of Istanbul from the Neolithic era and somewhat to the present, however more attention is paid to the Hellenistic and Byzantine era than any other timeline. I think to fully enjoy this book you’d need some basic understanding of Istanbul, Turkish, and Greek history as well. Sometimes the not fully chronological order was confusing and often cities or regions were referred to by their ancient names without explanation of current names or even their region. But I loved the main idea, that Istanbul has always been a city of new ideas, of newcomers, of refuge. We can not forget this and instead must welcome those who come whether they are fleeing violence or simply hoping for a better life.
Content Warnings
Minor: Child death, Genocide, Hate crime, Incest, Rape, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Violence, Trafficking, and Murder
wmilam's review against another edition
Fascinating historical overview of Byzantium a.k.a. Constantinople a.k.a. Istanbul – skillfully and accessibly ties vastly different historical eras together into a single cohesive story spanning thousands of years.
8little_paws's review against another edition
4.0
Well I managed to get through this book today! A history of istanbul from the first human habitation through after WWI, there was some fascinating stuff here (Justinian rule in particular) yet some things felt glossed over while others took longer. Don't skip the timeline in the back, there's some really wild stuff on there about the various rulers. All in all though, a pick if this city interests you.