Description: Draws on firsthand accounts of pitched sea battles, skillful negotiations, and diplomatic maneuvers to offer a complete history of Venice's centuries-long reign as a naval power and maritime trading empire.
Review Quotes: "The rise and fall of Venice's empire is an irresistible story and [Roger] Crowley, with his rousing descriptive gifts and scholarly attention to detail, is its perfect chronicler."--The Financial Times
"[Crowley] writes with a racy briskness that lifts sea battles and sieges off the page."--The New York Times "Crowley chronicles the peak of Venice's past glory with Wordsworthian sympathy, supplemented by impressive learning and infectious enthusiasm."--The Wall Street Journal"A pleasure to read . . . a gripping story."--Washington Independent Review of Books
"Fascinating . . . [Crowley writes] absorbingly and accessibly for all readers of history."--Library Journal