The Enemy at the Gate
Habsburgs, Ottomans, and the Battle for Europe

This book recounts the collision of empires by describing the many pitched battles that raged for centuries between the Habsburgs and Ottomans and their numerous vassal states on both sides. It was touted on both sides as being a clash of the Godly versus the infidel. Territory was the aim. But ther......more

This book had the potential to offer so much on such an interesting subject however I found the author’s style of writing dull, so much so that I had problems finishing this book. It’s a shame but I don’t think that this book offered anything new in this history of the 1683 Ottoman siege of Vienna t......more

An excellent account of the siege of Vienna of 1683 and its aftermath - there is also a little about the history of the Habsburg-ottoman conflict and a good analysis of the reasons for the attack and the previous attempts of the Ottomans to take Vienna, but the bulk of the book is the siege and the......more

In this book Wheatcroft brilliantly shows the skirmishes and battles that raged for centuries between the Habsburgs and the Ottomans, and their numerous vassals on both sides, represented not so much a “clash of civilizations’ as a collision of Empires. The author point out the struggle was not so m......more

The book has its strong and weak points. It’s an easy read. It’s informative. The author adds value with his analysis. He makes very persuasive links between the specific subject he covers and broader histories such as those of Europe as a whole. He also makes a strong case against conventional wisd......more