A battle is more than the fighting. . .

Victory of the West: The Great Christian-Muslim Clash at the Battle of Lepanto by Niccolò Capponi

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Every book I have on pivotal battles of history mentions the naval clash at Lepanto. It stopped the Ottoman advance into the Mediterranean, possibly saved Spain from civil war, and set up the face of Europe in the 17th Century.

But those three hours of combat on October 7th, 1571 are only the climax of the story. In Victory in the West, Capponi explains the factors and the personalities that led up to the battle. From Ottoman assaults on Cyprus, Spain's battle with North African corsairs, and France's shaky alliance with the Subline Porte. He pays close attention to the powerful personalities that shaped the Catholic League and all the political movements and diplomatic wrangling required to get enough ships and troops. We learn about intrigues in Venice, in Madrid, and it Vatican, and in Constantinople. It's all amazing stuff to read.

Once all the players are assembled, Capponi takes time to introduce us to the ships and weapons used by both sides. As this era isn't one I normally spend a lot of time on, I was surprised by the sheer firepower of the galleys. The imposing Venetian galleasses which were nearly the battleship of the age. And the important tactical differences between the Christian harquebus(devastating power, but slow to reload,) and the Ottoman archers (impressive rate of fire, useless against armored foes.)

After that, the battle is joined. As in the rest of the book, the writing is crisp and clear and really brings you into the action. Capponi is careful to note when an incident is disputed or has different versions. But you are swept along into the fury of what amounted to an infantry action on the water.

After that, we are treated to what happened after the battle. The Ottoman attempt to rebuild their fleet, which failed for several reasons, the failure of the Catholic League, Venice making a separate peace with the Sultan. . .and what happened to the various leaders of the battle. Some retained high posts and died in comfort and wealth, so fell from grace and landed hard. One fun thing I learned was that one of the soldiers of the Catholic League was Miguel de Cervantes.

Great book, highly recommended.



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More medical mysteries

I love it when, after multiple examinations by medical equipment that seems like science fiction, a dozen tubes of my blood analyzed by labs, and being poked and prodded by people with advanced degrees and years of experience, the answer boils down to. . .

"Damned if I know."

The issue is systematic inflammation that's being seen in various places. But as Dr. Sundaramurthy said today, "I'd rather treat the person than the symptom." Which is a plan I agree with.

So, next up is a lumbar puncture, a PET scan, and the potential of having a biopsy done on one of the inflamed lymph nodes. The problem is this chain is in my chest, behind my sternum, so this might be a more involved surgery.