Reviews
God's Shadow: Sultan Selim, His Ottoman Empire, and the Making of the Modern World by Alan Mikhail
mbondlamberty's review
3.0
Great read, but sadly not terribly accurate. Gave this 5 stars and recommended it to my other World History friends and they pointed out the inaccuracies rampant in this book.
If Ottoman history isn't your thing this still might be your book - the contextualization of Selim and his rise is very well done and the author makes connections all around the world (again not all of them accurate - like the peppers) and the evidence is spotty).
Not everything in the book is brand new, but the connections are and even some things that I thought I should have known - like about the Safavids - came out in new light.
If Ottoman history isn't your thing this still might be your book - the contextualization of Selim and his rise is very well done and the author makes connections all around the world (again not all of them accurate - like the peppers) and the evidence is spotty).
Not everything in the book is brand new, but the connections are and even some things that I thought I should have known - like about the Safavids - came out in new light.
jdscott50's review
informative
medium-paced
5.0
I've had this book on my to-read shelf for quite some time. I was fascinated by the premise. That the discovery of the "New World" was predicated on Mehmed and Selin's Ottoman Empire. At one point, Selin completely cuts off Europe from trade with China. This threat, combined with the Spanish reveals of fortunes in the Reconquista, would be the genesis of Colonial Expansion. The existential threat, the fear of a Mulsim planet, is largely responsible for Western Colonizlim and expansion.
Mikhail painstakingly describes Sultan's life. From the death of Mehmed II, the Conqueror of Constantinople and one of the greatest threats to Europe dies. A power struggle between his sons ensues, teaching a young Selin that no one can be trusted. As the youngest son of the Sultan, he is sent into the far-flung realms. He makes the most of it. Skirmishes with his enemies and builds his forces. By the time he is finished, he will vanish his father's army, kill his brothers, and defeat two Muslim empires while again threatening Spanin before his untimely death. He was indeed God's Shadow on Earth.
Mikhail painstakingly describes Sultan's life. From the death of Mehmed II, the Conqueror of Constantinople and one of the greatest threats to Europe dies. A power struggle between his sons ensues, teaching a young Selin that no one can be trusted. As the youngest son of the Sultan, he is sent into the far-flung realms. He makes the most of it. Skirmishes with his enemies and builds his forces. By the time he is finished, he will vanish his father's army, kill his brothers, and defeat two Muslim empires while again threatening Spanin before his untimely death. He was indeed God's Shadow on Earth.
genius_koala's review
2.0
I have so many thoughts about this book.
The major issue is that the author is trying to do too much. It's a biography of Selim, or it's an analysis of global geopolitics from the Ottoman perspective, or it's the relation of Islam to the colonization of the Americas and the evolving relationship of Islam to North American, the United States in particular. Some of these topics are super interesting, but they honestly require their own deep dive. For example, in the chapter, American Selim, he briefly discusses a handful of well known American authors with varying understandings/feelings about Islam, but it's a tangent. This would actually be an interesting topic but it was introduced in the second to last chapter and didn't really fit with any points he was trying to make.
The author also falls into the trap that he tries to attribute EVERY major world event since the 15th century to the Ottomans. As a result he grossly over simplifies a lot of topics. The author also ends up contradicting himself all over the place and really reaching for some of the conclusions he presents. Just one example is the claim that Islam is more spiritually attuned with Protestantism because non-Catholic Christians do not have a central Pope. He makes this claim after an exhaustive description of Selim's military campaigns that were SPECIFICALLY designed to establish himself as sultan and Caliph, and therefore the ONLY legitimate leader of global Islam as justification for his imperial conquests.
The book gets two stars, because he does provide a decent biography of Selim. The issues arise when he tries to force the history to fit his pre-determined framework.
The major issue is that the author is trying to do too much. It's a biography of Selim, or it's an analysis of global geopolitics from the Ottoman perspective, or it's the relation of Islam to the colonization of the Americas and the evolving relationship of Islam to North American, the United States in particular. Some of these topics are super interesting, but they honestly require their own deep dive. For example, in the chapter, American Selim, he briefly discusses a handful of well known American authors with varying understandings/feelings about Islam, but it's a tangent. This would actually be an interesting topic but it was introduced in the second to last chapter and didn't really fit with any points he was trying to make.
The author also falls into the trap that he tries to attribute EVERY major world event since the 15th century to the Ottomans. As a result he grossly over simplifies a lot of topics. The author also ends up contradicting himself all over the place and really reaching for some of the conclusions he presents. Just one example is the claim that Islam is more spiritually attuned with Protestantism because non-Catholic Christians do not have a central Pope. He makes this claim after an exhaustive description of Selim's military campaigns that were SPECIFICALLY designed to establish himself as sultan and Caliph, and therefore the ONLY legitimate leader of global Islam as justification for his imperial conquests.
The book gets two stars, because he does provide a decent biography of Selim. The issues arise when he tries to force the history to fit his pre-determined framework.
miguelf's review
4.0
Detailed and highly interesting history of Selim I and a glimpse into the period of the Ottoman dynasty when he ascended and more than doubled the area under their control. The author does a good job in upending traditional understanding of the year 1492 and its aftermath, although perhaps spending a bit too much in the early part of the book with details on Columbus. By the end of the book he has made a full circle to show the what-ifs had Selim not succumbed to plague/cancer/poisoning at a relatively early age and had continued his westward pursuits. There seem to be some differing opinion on how he handled the content (well, most history books will likely come under that scrutiny), but I would hope to read more accounts like this from this author concerning the Ottomans as most of this was definitely new and quite interesting to me.
sarahtokar's review
informative
medium-paced
4.0
Listened to this as an audio book. Narrator had a lovely tone and pace.
smuds2's review
informative
fast-paced
2.75
Like two books in one and not in a good way.
One book - of the Ottoman Empires influence across the old and new world. The other - a biography of Selim. Neither done to a particularly gripping depth.
I would have much preferred a more thorough analysis of the empires impact, with more primary sources, and more angles than “europe was afraid of the empire and so they went west to flank them and accidentally found the new world”.
Even the parts of the biography seemed surface level. Most of the story of his territorial acquisition could be summed up much briefer - and more time made for how Selim ruled and what his perspectives were.
Between the shoddy sources and factual inaccuracies, I would read this book like a piece of informed historical fiction. It’s very interesting as a way to broaden your perspective from what were traditional taught in US schools - just don’t take it as ground truth.
One book - of the Ottoman Empires influence across the old and new world. The other - a biography of Selim. Neither done to a particularly gripping depth.
I would have much preferred a more thorough analysis of the empires impact, with more primary sources, and more angles than “europe was afraid of the empire and so they went west to flank them and accidentally found the new world”.
Even the parts of the biography seemed surface level. Most of the story of his territorial acquisition could be summed up much briefer - and more time made for how Selim ruled and what his perspectives were.
Between the shoddy sources and factual inaccuracies, I would read this book like a piece of informed historical fiction. It’s very interesting as a way to broaden your perspective from what were traditional taught in US schools - just don’t take it as ground truth.