A reader has emailed me with the following request:
| Given the name of your website, which I read regularly and tend to agree with, I wondered if you could point me to any comprehensive history books that chronicle the Battle of Vienna – what would you recommend? Thanks. |
Since I am a history buff, I’m embarrassed to say that I’ve never read a book dedicated solely to the Battle of Vienna. Everything I’ve read treats it as a part of the much larger history of the advance and decline of the Ottoman Empire.
However, I know that many of our regular readers are more well-read on this topic than I am. Axis of Islam, this means you! Among many others, of course.
Everyone: please weigh in with suggestions, with Amazon links if you have them.
I have found the Osprey books to be a wealth of information. They have no specific book on that battle but they do have one on the Ottoman Empire.
http://www.ospreypublishing.com/title_detail.php?title=S5694&ser=ESS
The books are very well researched and foucus on the military side of life, as they are primarily intended for wargamers.
A basic but incomplete discussion of the 1683 battle of Vienna may be found at Wikipedia. Includes a discussion of the role of the King of Poland’s relief army.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Vienna.
There is also a book by a John Stoye, seems to be a new edition at Amazon.com, here:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1841580678/102-9700689-8976930?v=glance&n=283155&v=glance
Honestly, guys, we need clickable links for all the lazy Sluggos out there!
From tyreea came the Osprey link, and from El Jefe Wikipedia, and John Stoye.
Neal Stephensons book Quicksilver” the first book of his fantastic Baroque (sp?) Trilogy, has two of his main characters meet during the siege of Vienna.
Its a great read even tho the 3 books total ~ 2000 pages…
The only monograph on the Siege that’s currently in print is The Siege of Vienna by John Stoye, which should be available from Amazon. It’s a good survey, and the only other one in English I can think of offhand is Double eagle and Crescent: Vienna’s Second Turkish Siege and its Historical Setting, which is well out of print and must be ordered from used book dealers.
Baron, how does one do links in comments?
Jeffery Hodges
* * *
“The Shadow of the Vulture” by Robert E. Howard – admittedly fiction and probably out of print.
Still of note for the introduction of Red Sonja of comic book fame – strange but true – she had nothing to do with Conan and metal bikinis and everything to do with throwing back the Turk.
Baron:
You’re going to have to sit us dummies down one afternoon and teach us those tricks 😉
“Honestly, guys, we need clickable links for all the lazy Sluggos out there!”
Signed,
Sluggo
To make a link in a comment:
My Website Title
I’m going to have to post this on our sidebar so people can link-whore more easily.
I’m a lazy one-click Sluggo myself.
The Stoye book seems to be the favorite, among both commenters and emailers. One enterprising reader has sent me all of these additional links:
Vienna Siege.
Siege of Vienna.
Siege of Vienna.
Vienna Battle Plan.
Overstock.com link.
Wikipedia Battle of Vienna.
Siege of Vienna.
Earlier Siege of Vienna (1529).
I have a review of John Stoye’s The Siege of Vienna at Troynovant —
the interior link:
The Siege of Vienna – reviewed at Troynovant
For anyone who marvels at how French foreign policy became so interesting in recent times — well, that’s not a new phenomenon, as John Stoye’s book shows in passing.
Robert W. Franson
It’s surprising there isn’t more out there on the siege–there’s so much folklore stemming from it. Allegedly, the bagel, the crescent roll, and the first European use of coffee (though this was later proven not to be so) came out of it.