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Ghost Empire Kindle Edition

by Richard Fidler (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

120 ratings

in History of Eastern Europe

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'A brilliant reconstruction of the saga of power, glory, invasion and decay that is the one-thousand year story of Constantinople. A truly marvellous book.' - Simon Winchester

In 2014, Richard Fidler and his son Joe made a journey to Istanbul. Fired by Richard's passion for the rich history of the dazzling Byzantine Empire - centred around the legendary Constantinople - we are swept into some of the most extraordinary tales in history. The clash of civilisations, the fall of empires, the rise of Christianity, revenge, lust, murder. Turbulent stories from the past are brought vividly to life at the same time as a father navigates the unfolding changes in his relationship with his son.

GHOST EMPIRE is a revelation: a beautifully written ode to a lost civilization, and a warmly observed father-son adventure far from home.

Length: 511 pages	Word Wise: Enabled	Enhanced Typesetting: Enabled
Page Flip: Enabled	Audible Narration: Audible Narration Switch back and forth between reading the Kindle book and listening to the Audible narration. Add narration for a reduced price of $5.49 after you buy the Kindle book. Ready	Language: English

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Fidler displays great charm in the telling of his tale, spicing it with delicious gossip.

Australian radio personality Fidler recounts a trip to Turkey with his son in this surprisingly diverting tome that elucidates the rise and fall of Nova Roma. Fidler colors the contours of ancient history while sharing personal reminiscences of his travels with his son.

Fidler's prose is lively and entertaining; he has a great affection for his subject and often describes it in a way that makes it seem magical. Strongly recommended for anyone interested in traveling to Istanbul and in its history

The author navigates fluidly from the city's founding by Constantine, the first Christian ruler, moving on to the significant rule of Justinian and his strong-willed wife, Theodora, construction of the Hagia Sophia, schisms, plagues, Crusades, sieges, and the creation of the 'deep state' that resonates today under Turkey's current authoritarian prime minister. Fidler provides a palpable sense of this glittering city built as 'a mirror of heaven.'

Byzantium, Constantinople, and Istanbul--a three thousand year story of phantasms and delusions, of invasion, collapse, empire, decay, a tragic continuo of golden and grandiloquent hopelessness, an erotic magic-show poised at the sea-washed edges of Asia and Europe. All of this provides a canvas for Richard Fidler to reconstruct, quite brilliantly, a saga of power and glory that most of us vaguely remember, but few of us have had a chance fully to savor. Now, thanks to the stylish cleverness of an exceptionally curious and talented man, we can feast on what strange magic the city brought--and still brings today--to the world beyond. I am speechless with admiration.--Simon Winchester

Fidler's story leaves its readers with a sense of faith in the renewing, illuminating, social powers of historical narrative. The tale of the Ghost Empire has bridged the gap between a father and son, enriching the contemporary world with the echoes of the past. Byzantium never really died. Its labyrinthine--its byzantine--intrigues cast their shadows over the city still. --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

About the Author

Richard Fidler presents 'Conversations with Richard Fidler', an in-depth, up-close-and-personal interview program broadcast across Australia on ABC Radio. It is one of the most popular podcasts in Australia, with over five million downloaded programs every month. Richard is the author of the bestselling book Ghost Empire.

--This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

ASIN : B01HE6X31K
Publisher : ABC Books (1 August 2016)
Language : English
File size : 3934 KB
Text-to-Speech : Enabled
Screen Reader : Supported
Enhanced typesetting : Enabled
X-Ray : Not Enabled
Word Wise : Enabled
Print length : 511 pages

Best Sellers Rank: 3,548 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- 1 in History of Eastern Europe (Books)
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Top reviews from Australia

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Richard Oborn

Places we don,t know

Reviewed in Australia on 1 January 2017

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Australia can be on the edge of things. Makes us a bit exotic from a distance, I guess. Also means, being far away, we can be rather distant, perhaps making us somewhat self-absorbed or self-referencing. So what did I know about Byzantium. Pass me a postage stamp, plenty of room for my summary. I have even been to Istanbul and come away without hearing of the Theodosian walls. So this was a revelation, which is Richard's aim. I enjoy chatty history - the anecdotes make it come to life. I sort of liked how he wove his own family into the story - gave it a narrative theme and much personalization. We're there things I didn't like? Yes. Rather like school time history it had much emphasis on power, politics, and empire. More, much more, on other themes such as commerce, daily life, music, knowledge done in the same chatty manner would have added missing dimensions and history. Also, with so much emphasis on Constantinople the city as an entity, why stop with the Ottoman conquest. I did notice the intermingling of cultures in the region at least. So the city didn't stop at that point. The Ottomans added to the 'ghost story'. Is there going to be a sequel? I would read that!!

4 people found this helpful

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Holy City

Reviewed in Australia on 29 August 2016

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Brilliant history for those of us weaned on the thin gruel of Western European and puffed up British Empire tales. Here lies the richest part of Eastern and Orthodox with its entanglements into the calligraphic mysteries of Islam. Told by Richard Fidler - a master interviewer - who sees it for - and through - his love for his companion on the journey - his mid-teens son. There is a tenderness that carries over from that relationship into the way he writes the history of Byzantium Constantinople Istanbul. When I was just a year or two older than son Joe I had a girl-friend from Baghdad. Christian. An older brother had been born in Damascus, her mother in Teheran - her father in Stamboul - the City at the centre of this book. My wife and I were in Turkey just a few months before the visit outlined in this book. With fresh eyes I saw it all again - bravo, Richard! And well pointed out - the Simon Winchester admiration (who wrote a book on a cousin from my Scottish teacher grand-mother's side of the family - a Dictionary man)!

5 people found this helpful

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Bacchus BCR

Ghost Empire comes alive

Reviewed in Australia on 11 June 2017

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Thank you Richard Fidler you have awakened my senses to an amazing world of mystery, murder and magnificent- Constantinople! I wished I had read this book many years ago when I was a backpacker staying in a very grotty youth hostel near Hagia Sophia. What a fascinating read, it has transported me back in time to those young days of travelling and provided an amazing insight to the creation of incredible city.

3 people found this helpful

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RosaandEnzo

A must read

Reviewed in Australia on 29 December 2017

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I found the author, very balanced in representing the facts through the eyes of all faiths as their impact contributed to the unfolding of the Byzantine story. I read this book over a few days and every time I put it down, I had an urge to pick it up and read just a bit more.
Fact is better than fiction. This book was written like an adventure and I liked the way the authors own family experiences were entertained into the narrative.
I recommend reading this and I personally will be looking forward to reading more by the same author.
Also does a great radio show with the same easy style that was bought to this book, that can be found on podcast.

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Steph4

A thoroughly enjoyable wander through ancient Constantinople

Reviewed in Australia on 13 April 2019

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I really enjoyed this book although my reading of it has been long only picking it up now and then to dip into the story that Richard Fidler was telling. He has a wonderful way of bringing the past to life. I loved the way he and Joe explored this amazing city and its history, the drama the colour, the pain and the suffering that was experienced by its long suffering inhabitants.

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Frank Wagner

For the History Buff

Reviewed in Australia on 9 October 2018

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Always being interested in the history of the world, this book by Richard certainly was a great account of the history of and the rise and fall of the Eastern Roman empire in Constantinople. It has always astounded me how savage history has been and still is.

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Adrian

What a Compelling and Engaging Read

Reviewed in Australia on 31 December 2017

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It has been a while since I have been so completely engrossed by a book.

Richard Fidler tackles the age old problem of how to present history in a way that is both insightful and interesting. Too often do history books fall into a never ending collection of dates and hard to pronounce names.

However Fidler presents it more like a collection of stories, artfully woven through a retelling of his father-son trip through the streets of Istanbul. Vivid and powerful, this book consistently lists it's sources, and occasionally you get a glimpse into to the painstaking research that Fidler must have undertaken to bring this book to you, the reader.

I encourage you to download the sample and read the first chapter and see for yourself.

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Firas Halawani

A fantastic read and listen

Reviewed in Australia on 23 September 2018

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When I finished reading, and listening, to this book, did i want to research Richard Fidler. Oh it is him at ABC! As an amateur history enthusiast, Richard gives us a fantastic glimpse on the history of the region through the history of one of its icon cities. Well written and extremely well narrated through the audio portion, i found it to be both joyful and informative. I think that 'Ghost Empire' adds to the series of history books we are seeing in the last few years throwing light on older civilisations from someone different perspective in an effort to somehow rediscover ourselves.
A must read for those in that category!

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Whatever

Wonderful read.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 14 October 2017

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Immensely readable. A thoroughly enjoyed journey through time in this magical city. Richard Fidler, what have you got for us next?

Chris Wang

Amazing read if you are interested in the history of the East Roman Empire

Reviewed in Canada on 7 January 2019

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I have always been fascinated by the East Roman Empire since first learning about them, this book proved to take my interest and hold it till the last page. The East Roman Empire witnessed history for over a thousand years, it's continuation of the Roman Empire saw from the crucifixion of Christ to the discovery of the Americas. From its capital internal politics clashed into constant usurps, and outside its Theodosius walls wars raged on between foes from both sides of the Bosporus strait. The book did an awe inspiring job at the impossible task of describing the capital in its golden days, a city laden with silver, gold and ivory, with a legendary status that spread from Scandinavia to the Asiatic coasts. Between the writing on the empire's history, the author's travels with his son to the capital are told. These are alongside occasional tales that lay down further context and connect all the parts together.

There is so much to learn from this work, it's impossible to not revisit after absorbing to much info. I can't recommend this book enough.

"If the Earth were a single state, Constantinople would be its capital" -Napoleon Bonaparte

Jack Hicks

Going to Istanbul? Read this first

Reviewed in the United States on 30 March 2018

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Ghost Empire, a Journey to the Legendary Constantinople, Richard Fidler, 2017
It seems strange that most people are not more aware of one of the most significant and impactful leaders in the history of the west. Constantine founded the city of Constantinople, now Istanbul and transformed Christianity, a minority eastern cult, into the majority religion of the Roman empire. This act transformed the future direction of the “western world morally, spiritually and politically”. “Constantine is why the provinces of Europe, Russia and eventually the Americas would form themselves into the self-described Christian nation states that endure today”. But what of the city he founded, a city that while the rest of Europe endured the dark ages, poverty and illiteracy was “home to universities, law schools, hospitals with woman doctors, precious Greek and Latin manuscripts on philosophy, mathematics and literature”. The cities preservation of this knowledge, known as the Corpus Hermeticom, was critical in the birth of the European renaissance and is why we today have access to philosophy of Plato and the plays of Aeschylus. “The golden and copper domes of the city welcomed merchants from Venice, China, India, Africa and Russia”. It was global trading city a thousand years before our own age of globalization, yet the thousand-year history of this gorgeous city on the Bosporus is also mostly unknown today by most people.
Richard Fidler is a broadcast journalist from Australia. He has written an unusual history book in that it is a combination of travelogue and history. He takes his 13-year-old son on a trip to Istanbul and we accompany them as they visit Hagia Sophia while learning the history of this magnificent structure that has withstood earthquakes and invasion for over 1500 years. We walk the three and a half miles of the Walls of Theodosius and come to the very gate where the Janissaries finally broke through the cities defenses in 1453. We are swept along into amazing tales of history, tales of the rise of Christianity, Fall of empires, revenge, ambition, murder all the while walking the streets, experiencing a trip to this great city. JACK

7 people found this helpful

Hans Kerrinckx

this book gives a good overview of the basics of history the Eastern Roman ...

Reviewed in the United States on 5 September 2016

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The Australian journalist Richard Fidler and his son Joe made a journey to Istanbul in 2014. When I started this book, I thought "This is going to be some sentimental thing about father-son relationship." Wel it is not: this book gives a good overview of the basics of history the Eastern Roman Empire and focusses at the same time on the 21st century Constantinople and the politics of the Erdogan and his AKP. The 3 emperors that get the most attention are Constantine I "the Great", Justinian I "the Great" and Heraclius and his heroic fight with the Persian Empire, his restoration of the Roman Empire and the tragedy of the Muslim conquest. Also the sack and fall of the City in 1204 and 1453 get a lot of attention.
This book is an easy read: great for laymen as a first introduction to the history of the Eastern Roman Empire and Constantinople. And also for the scholar who wants a break from the "real" textbooks.

12 people found this helpful

Edward R. Dick

When will we ever learn to Love our Neighbors as ourselves?

Reviewed in the United States on 21 February 2018

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This book has been missing from my life far too long. It fits a big cap in what I had learned from other sources about World History after the death of Jesus relating to Rome, Constantinople, the early Popes, Constantine,
the Crusades,and the formation of the Ottoman Empire. I may have known that each division of the Abrahamic relegion lay claim to the Holy Land as theirs and took their turns at ruling it until the time when it became a part of the Ottoman Empire. But it did not occur to me how fair the Ottoman Empire wss to everyone who lived in there as compared with the other rulers thereof.

I owe a great debt to a friend of mine who brought this book to a lunch we had together. When i noticed that
this was about a father who took his son to visit Constantinople and shared what his knew about each particular part or event they encountered during their visit that I decided to buy this book for myself. It is a very fast and very interesting read, and filled large gaps in my knowledge about this very important part of homan history. We are still feeling the aftershocks of the fall of Constantinople

4 people found this helpful

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