Levant: Splendour and Catastrophe on the Mediterranean - Softcover

"This is a rich piece of historical storytelling that will satisfy scholars, travelers, readers of travel literature, and everyone in between, Highly recommended for anyone with an interest in this complicated region of the world."--Veronica Arellano, Library Journal--Veronica Arellano "Library Journal "

"Levant is an eminently readable and authoritative work that speaks directly to present-day anxieties, both about the nature of today's western multicultural cities, and about current tensions between nations and religions."-- Roderick Beaton, King's College London

"Philip Mansel's Levant: Splendour and Catastrophe in the Mediterranean is a remarkable, highly unusual and very readable social history of the ports of Smyrna, Beirut and Alexandria during the final decades of the Ottoman Empire."--Lev Myshkin, Global Dispatches--Lev Myshkin "Global Dispatches "

"Philip Mansel's impressive return to the eastern Mediterranean. . . . Mansel has given the Levantine world its chronicle, and restored its weight in history."--Jason Goodwin, Spectator--Spectator "Jason Goodwin "

"A masterly work."--Moris Farhi, Independent--Moris Farhi "Independent "

"I could scarcely put down this magnificent book, with its galloping narrative, its worldly analysis, sparkling anecdotes and its unforgettable cast of the decadent, the cosmopolitan, and the cruel."--Simon Sebag Montefiore, Financial Times--Simon Sebag Montefiore "Financial Times "

"The strengths of the book are colossal. Philip Mansel's knowledge of the history and culture of these places is encyclopedic; he has walked their streets, met the scions of their famous families and penetrated their private archives. His eye for detail is sharp; telling anecdotes are culled from memoirs of all kinds, and the sights and smells of each city are vividly conjured up."--Noel Malcolm, Telegraph--Noel Malcolm "Telegraph "

"An extraordinary achievement. Passionate but impartial, animated, sensual and scholarly. "--Barnaby Rogerson, auhor of The Last Crusaders

"[A] highly enjoyable and intricately-worked account of three great Mediterranean ports."--The Economist--The Economist

"This book is a labour of love and finely tuned scholarship, ornamented with such telling social detail and intimate knowledge of the urban and social landscapes that it brings 300 years of history to entertaining life...Philip Mansel slowly makes the reader aware that the grand theme of his history is a slow unfolding tragedy which remains absolutely relevant to today's multicultural societies, engaged as they are in the delicate balancing act between political unity and cosmopolitan diversity...not only an entertainment and a historical education but also something of a political warning..."--Barnaby Rogerson, Times Literary Supplement--Barnaby Rogerson "Times Literary Supplement "

Chronicles the history of three major cities in the Levant region--Smyrna, Alexandria, and Beirut--from its golden age in the sixteenth century when different cultures and religions lived together to the present day.