triticale - the wheat / rye guy

The Great Siege

A commenter to this post about the defense of Malta in 1565 recommended the book "The Great Siege" by Ernle Bradford. Altho the book is long out of print, I had no trouble obtaining a copy, thanks to the depth of the collection at the Milwaukee Public Library. Written by a military man who sailed the area around Malta, the book is a thrilling retelling of a desperate battle against overwhelming odds which, along with the battle at the gates of Vienna, marked, at least until recently, the end of Islamic efforts to conquor Europe. Between the non-stop action, the dashing characters, and the special effects needed to depict the use of black powder explosives and incindiary weapons, the book could be made into a smash hit movie. The only catch is that they would have to revise it to make the enemies Neo-Nazis or something.