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"In his splendid study The Siege of Vienna, the Oxford historian John Stoye provides a detailed account of the intricate machinations between the Habsburgs and the Ottomans. Mr. Stoye's description of the siege itself is masterly. He seems to know every inch of ground, every earthwork and fortification around the Imperial City, and he follows the action meticulously."-The Wall Street Journal

"Worthy of the pen of Herodotus. . . . It is a measure of the fascination of Mr. Stoye's subject that one should think of comparing his treatment of it with the work of the greatest historians."-The Times Literary Supplement

"John Stoye is the master of every aspect of his subject."-Daily Telegraph

The siege of Vienna in 1683 was one of the turning points in European history. So great was its impact that countries normally jealous and hostile sank their differences to throw back the armies of Islam and their savage Tartar allies.

The consequences of defeat were momentous: The Ottomans lost half of their European territories, which led to the final collapse of their empire, and the Habsburgs turned their attention from France and the Rhine frontier to the rich pickings of the Balkans. That hot September day in 1683 witnessed the last great trial of strength between the East and the West-and opened an epoch in European history that lasted until the First World War.

John Stoye, the author of several books on European history, is a fellow at Magdalen College, Oxford, where he lives.

Average Customer Rating:

Throrogh, but a bit dry.

Customer Rating:

A somewhat dry but thorough narrative history of the second siege of Vienna. The work was originally written in the early sixties, and lacks many of the qualities that people look for in more modern works of popular history. Although it is very thorough when it describes the political and diplomatic events of the seige, there is little here for a social or a military historian. There is no discussion of the general way of life, of the personal experiences of small people, or of the weaponry or tactics of the day. Similarly, there is no discussion of the economic factors that helped lead up to the conflict, or were affected by the conflict. Nor are the events put into the long-term history of centuries of conflict of the Ottoman and Austrian empires, nor the context of the development of Islam in Europe. Nor is there a description of the cultural impact of the seige on further generations of eastern Europeans. These criticisms may be unfair. For a historian of the early sixties, John Stoye writes a good thorough narrative account, and teases out the facts of what really happened when with judicious skill. This is what historians of his era generally did. To ask for more, is to ask for a book written later, which would look at more. If you are reading any other books related to the seige of Vienna, then this is probably a very good book to get, as it will explain, carefully and readably, the sequence of events: a need that more modern historians sometimes overlook in their attempts to be very clever or insightful. It is a bit dry however, by modern standards.

Rather looks like a turn paper of a quite average college	Customer Rating:
Rather looks like a turn paper of a quite average-college standard. Also, the reference index is really not revealing. So, why?

A mixed blessing

Customer Rating:

This is a meticulously researched and documented history of a distant event with contemporary repercussions. However, it is remarkable how indifferently the question of illustrations and maps was dealt with. I don't understand why someone would produce such a wonderful and detailed account and then accompany it with maps and illustrations that are virtually meaningless. The maps are either insufficiently detailed to permit following the documentation in the text, or the illustrations (themselves of some interest because of their contemporaneousness) so indistinct as to render references to them useless. There should be a match between the illustrations and the text--either reduce the textual detail to match the illustrations, or (far better) include illustrations that support the text.

Poland to the rescue

Customer Rating:

Not many people today realize that militant Islam reached as far West as Vienna in its attempt to conquor Europe. After reading this meticulously researched and coherently presented book, the reader will come to realize what a close call Western civilization had before the gates of Vienna in 1683. France, the largest country and most militant power in the West, refused to help the Emperor because it suited its own political ends, even at the cost of the eastern part of Europe being lost to the Moslems. The saviors were a motley group of small German principalities and the Kingdom of Poland, led by its ruler Jan Sobieski. Were it not for these groups, and particularly the Poles, our history might have been completely different now. What thanks did the Empire give to Poland? As a later Austrian diplomat said in another connection: "Our ingratitude will astonish the world." Merely a century later, Austria took part in the dismembering of Poland, and wiping that heroic kingdom from the map of Europe for well over a century. If Sobieski had still been alive, he would have wished that he and his army had stayed home in 1683!

The Siege of Vienna	Customer Rating:
A bit more detail than I was looking for. Not that it was a scholarly monograph, just more layered and complex than "popular" history.