The Great Siege
Ernle Bradford’s book on the Turkish siege of Malta in 1565 is not a detailed scholarly study of the subject, though the subject could use one. However, it is a fairly thorough look at the subject from the Hospitallar’s viewpoint. There is some examination of the Turkish and Spanish activities and reasoning, but this is a more minor part of the book, which is focused on the siege itself. There is also a little about the native Maltese, but Bradford points out that their activities mostly only live in local legends.
Crowley’s excellent Empires of the Sea uses this book as his main source for his section on the siege of Malta. In fact, reading most of this book felt very familiar, because Crowley had summarized it down so well. This is kind of disappointing, as I was hoping for a bit more. Still, if you want the story of one of the most hotly contested sieges in history, this is a very good book. Otherwise, I recommend Empires of the Sea, which is more vivid and wide-ranging in subject.
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