Strathern's narrative is as thorough as non-academic historical non-fiction can and should get, which suits perfectly for all the war, intrigue, art, and power plays that comprised the spirit of the era in which Borgia, Machiavelli, and Da Vinci lived and thrived. At its core, the book does provi...
Desaix’s division, which had secured the beachhead at Marabout and had not taken part in the assault on Alexandria, had afterwards advanced and camped on the outskirts of the city.As early as the evening of July 3, just a day after the fall of Alexandria, Desaix was ordered to set out for Damanhu...
From its zenith in around 1500, Venice had settled into a gentle decline throughout the ensuing century, as Spain prospered immensely from its New World trade and Portugal profited from the luxuries transported from the Orient around the Cape of Good Hope. This decline in Venice’s fortunes would ...