The Fall of Constantinople 1453
by Steven Runciman
Should I read this?
Recommended by 1 source and appears in Books Recommended by Paul Graham, History, and Nonfiction.
This classic account shows how the fall of Constantinople in May 1453, after a siege of several weeks, came as a bitter shock to Western Christendom. The city's plight had been neglected, and negligible help was sent in this crisis. To the Turks, victory not only brought a new imperial capital, but guaranteed that their empire would last. To the Gr...
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Why recommended
Recommended by 1 source and appears in Books Recommended by Paul Graham, History, and Nonfiction.
Recommended by notable people
People and public figures who have recommended this book.
Recommendation Signals
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Paul Graham
Co-founder of Y Combinator; essayist
“Q: What should I read to learn more about history PG: The way to do it is piecemeal. You could just sit down and try reading Roberts's History of the World cover to cover, but you'd probably lose interest. I think it's a better plan to read books about specific topics, even if you don't understand everything the first time through. Here are the most exciting ones I can think of:”
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Appears In
Not sure if this is the right fit?
Consider Accidental Presidents by Jared Cohen. Recommended by 10 sources.
“Accidental Presidents offers eight narrative portraits of men who succeeded to the U.S. presidency without election, using anecdote-rich scenes and readable context to show how personality and circumstance interact with office power. It’s strongest as a set of self-contained stories that make succession stakes concrete for non-specialist readers; it does not prioritize dense archival argument or exhaustive methodology, so expect some interpretive generalizations and repeated themes across cases. Use it for fast historical orientation rather than scholarly deep-dives.”
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The Fall of Constantinople 1453
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