Description: Who are the Turks and where did they come from? The successive empires that they created in a whirlwind of conquests from China to North Africa led one chronicler to call the waves of mounted Turkic warriors a 'storm on horseback.' This is the story of the Seljuk Turks of Anatolia who created the first Turkish state.
Brief description:
John Freely (1926-2017) was born in New York in 1926 and joined the US Navy at the age of 17, serving during the last two years of World War II. He achieved a PhD in physics from New York University and did postdoctoral studies in the history of science at Oxford. He was Professor of Physics at Bosphorus University in Istanbul, where he taught physics and the history of science for more than fifty years. He also taught in New York, Boston, London and Athens.
Freely wrote more than 40 books, including works in the history of science and travel. His books include Storm on Horseback, The Cyclades, The Ionian Islands (all I.B.Tauris), Crete and the bestselling Strolling Through Istanbul (both Tauris Parke).Review Quotes:
"A timely and well-written work of popular history, Freely's book provides a crucial piece in the history of a very exciting time, telling a fabulous story which is not accessible elsewhere. One would never know how terrifically difficult a task he has accomplished. He makes it look easy and does so with great style and charm, seeing the big picture and writing with a novelist's eye for the telling detail. Storm on Horseback will make an important contribution; a public familiar with the Seljuks will be less likely to stand for politicians' distortions of Christian-Muslim history." - Victoria Holbrook
"An indispensable companion for any traveller eager to be in touch with the glory that was Seljukid Anatolia." - Professor Hakan Erdem, Sabanci University