I have always been fascinated by the conflict between the Christian and Islamic monarchs of the medieval period, and this book does a wonderful job of making that world come alive. Each portrait is keenly drawn, helping the modern reader to understand more fully the reasons behind the conflicts of the era. Recommended.

Received from NetGalley.

I ended up listening to the audio book for this and it really helped me get through the book. I loved the book but for some reason actually reading it seemed to take forever. My favorite part of history to read/learn about is Tudor England so I knew quite a bit about Henry VIII, but I knew little to nothing about the rest of the princes in this book. I learned a lot about the rest of Europe during this time period and thought it ended up being a great book.

This was a fascinating, well done and intriguing read.
I knew absolutely nothing about Suleiman (what an interesting person in history!) and very little about Francis I.
I really enjoyed the juxtaposition between the four powerful men. I always think that certain rulers in History are more favoured so I enjoyed hearing about the other men around at the same time as Henry VIII.
My only criticism is that I feel this would be better read as a physical book. As some parts are footnoted via the use of an asterix, some times I found it hard to remember what the footnote was about when I eventually found it a few pages later. This i'm sure could be fixed in it's final editing staged though.

I was very excited about this book. It matches closely with my academic interests. I knew that this was a popular history, so it wouldn't be completely academic. Nonetheless, my expectations were a bit too high. The scope of the subject is huge for a 300 page book.
The chapters focusing on Francis and Suleiman were my favorites. Unfortunately, they were also the skimpiest. The author spent far more, and far too much time on Henry VIII and Charles V.
Despite this, Four Princes is a good introduction to European politics in the early to mid 16th century. It is also an engaging read for the casual historian

This overview of four powerful leaders of the 16th century reads like a blog. In some ways that is nice. It is easy to read and doesn't get into too many details. On the other hand, it also includes opinions and outright errors. Despite the fact that this is supposed to be about four men, it felt like it focused on Henry VIII in much greater length.

Oh to be a king! The legacy of these four princes changed the world, Norwich has compiled an enthralling account of these men and the times in which they lived. Suleiman is the one which I was least familiar but Norwich is fair and informative in the accounts of all! A well written and research historical account of the time in which the modern world was being formed.

I received a free E Arc from Netgalley of this book.

It's been a long time since I read a non-fiction history book that wasn't set in the Anglo-Saxon/Viking period, but the Tudor period - or rather Elizabeth I was my first great history crush and I was fascinated by the idea of this accounting of the first half of the sixteenth century. History books too often focus on one person, one event or one series of events, it's high time that 'history' looked at the wider reach of events and this is exactly what the author tries to do.

There can be few who know nothing about the reign of Henry VIII and his two 'frenemies' Charles V and Francis I of France, but by offering an account of the interactions of these three men, and adding Suleiman the Magnificent into the mix, a far richer landscape of Europe at this time is revealed. It was a time of great change, and all four of these men strove for something different, but all of them wanted, perhaps, to earn the biggest reputation for themselves, and they all seemed determined to bankrupt themselves in order to do so.

The author treats each king in a similar way; he might not agree with their actions but he can at least offer an explanation for their actions, and, with not a little humour, he's able to find their achiles heel - for Suleiman it seems to have been the weather, for Charles V his unambitious son, the later Philip II, for Francis I his hatred of Charles V and we all know about Henry VIII and his need for a son and heir. And yet these men all dealt with far greater issues as well and I couldn't help feeling a little sorry for Charles V who seemed to face some sort of disaster from everywhere simultaneously.

I would have liked more information about Suleiman as I know so little about him, but the purpose of the book precludes that - indeed I think some understanding of the period is needed beforehand in order to appreciate all that the author has to offer.

Overall, this is a very readable account of the time period - the Papacy looms large, as to be expected, as do some of Suleiman's piratical allies, but each king is given his own space and time and I thoroughly enjoyed the writing and would recommend it to anyone who enjoys reading history books.

(I will also review on Amazon and Wordpress)

Reading history by historians who have ceased to give a damn is a great simple pleasure.

By "ceased to give a damn" I mean, as in this case, the historian has achieved sufficient age, dignity, and renown that he is free to tell a good story about stuff that interests him, without the tedious bowing and scraping to established opinion and other historians which often drags down other histories. Norwich knows a lot of cool stuff and enjoys knowing it, and he invites you to know it and enjoy it too.

I found Norwich’s hard-earned indifference to convention most happily on display in the footnotes when, for example, he refuses to discard the word he has been using for decades to characterize for a particular ethnic group ("Tartars") in favor of a newly-adopted variant ("Tatars") because “it is too late to change now” (Kindle location 494 of galley proof).

Similarly, he throws up his hands at the requirement that he equate prices paid in the 1500 with modern currencies. “It's no good even trying to give modern equivalents," he admits (location 182). While I admit that I am the sort of history reader who likes to know approximately how much 200,000 livres tournois would be today, I appreciate the honesty of a historian who will plainly say "I'm not going there", rather than just ignoring the issue and hoping we won't notice.

I'll admit to a lamentable failure of breeding when I arrived at one footnote (location 1510) which required that I know the difference between a Marquess and a Marchioness. In case your colonial education was as woefully inadequate as mine, there’s an explanation here.

Oh, yeah, and the part of the book that was NOT footnotes was also excellent -- a ripping good story laced with irreverent attitude. Fun to read, and also much-needed evidence that the times we live in (through no fault of our own) might NOT be the most screwed-up era on the planet. At least so far.

I received an advance review galley copy for free from Atlantic Monthly Press via Netgalley. Thanks to all for their generosity.

This new history, compact and full of a delightful liveliness, has the honour of being the first Norwich that I've read cover to cover. Taking the unusual format of a group biography, it focuses on the dazzling first half of the 16th century, when four men between them bestrode Europe like colossi. It's an extremely accessible introduction to the period and the men in question.

Like many people, I suspect, I’m pretty familiar with the life of Henry VIII. I’ve also had numerous encounters with Charles V and Francis I, through their roles as artistic patrons and also their presence as England’s enduring antagonists, both militarily and spiritually. What Norwich does, however, is to stress the connections between them. Most of us will be moderately familiar with the power-struggles of early 16th-century Europe and so much of what he has to say won’t necessarily be new, even if the way he says it puts it back into the context of a close-knit rivalry among three great egos. But the appeal of this book for me, and perhaps for others, was to see how Suleiman fitted into the story. As Norwich points out, Suleiman, along with Lorenzo de’ Medici, is one of only two men to have earned the English soubriquet of ‘the Magnificent’ (even Alexander only managed ‘the Great’). Unfortunately, I felt that he was rather sidelined for much of the book. Norwich’s story takes place almost entirely within the borders of Europe and so we only see Suleiman as and when his story touches on Europe – which is entirely justifiable, given the book’s subtitle. Yet Norwich told me just enough to have me thirsting for more. Suleiman was the only Muslim among the kings, of course, but he was also the most intelligent (in his youth, anyway), the most tolerant (granting freedom of worship and protection to Jews and Christians within his realm), and the most honourable. One feels for him as he makes treaties with European powers who cheerfully break them mere months afterwards. Indeed, the way Norwich described Suleiman made me imagine him as a bemused grown-up watching three pugnacious children fighting in a playground.

this is lighter than some of Norwich's earlier books, which means that one sometimes misses the weight of erudition, but on the other hand makes it much easier to devour. He takes a gleefully Gibbonian approach to footnotes, using them for laconic asides or humorous anecdotes: on the Italian explorer Giovanni da Verrazzano, who was the first thorough explorer of the Atlantic coast in 1524 ('He might have gone even further, had he not in 1528 had the misfortune to be eaten by a Carib tribe on Guadaloupe'), Frederick the Great ('Mistresses were not Frederick's forte') and Henry's reliance on Leviticus in the matter of his divorce ('The King was less inclined to quote Deuteronomy XXV, 5: "Her husband's brother shall go in unto her, and take her to him to wife"'). One senses, in short, that Norwich is having a great deal of fun with this book. I noticed a certain tendency to slip in stories about the Popes, perhaps not surprising in view of his recent book on the Papacy, who consequently become major players in the story.

This is an engaging and excellent way to begin learning about the complex machinations of the period. The first half of the 16th century was an alchemical time: in 1500, Europe was still medieval in many ways: in its feudal structure, its love of glittering chivalry and in its unquestioning adherence to the Catholic Church. Come 1550, the continent was a different place. Religious schisms had provoked new discussions about faith; Protestantism had swept Germany; England had broken away and created an entirely new kind of church; the compelling grandeur of the Holy Roman Empire was beginning to crumble after seven centuries; and the primacy of Christendom had been virtually obliterated by the nation state. You come away with a fresh appreciation for the sheer grandeur of the period, for its crush of wars, treaties, betrayals, unwise treaties and unbelievably expensive festivities; and Norwich is a very fine guide. In all things one has the sense of reading an experienced historian at the height of his powers (most admirable, as he's now 87), with a dizzying fund of knowledge behind him. Norwich is very present as the narrator, happily giving his characters colour and personality in a way which might betray more than a little subjectivity, but which is always appealing. Having read this, I now have renewed determination to tackle his other books: the Popes first, I think, and then I must make a concerted effort to conquer Byzantium and Sicily. But first, I think I need to become better acquainted with the intriguing Suleiman...

For the full review, please see my blog at the link below:
https://theidlewoman.net/2017/02/04/four-princes-john-julius-norwich/