Title: Full of facts, but dull
Product review: This book does have a lot of information about Istanbul, but it's the kind of book that someone would finish only if he or she were living in Istanbul or going there on an extended visit. The book isn't really entertaining in itself, but there are lots of facts and dry anecdotes about the city's history.A better, more interesting, book on historical Istanbul is Constantinople : City of the World's Desire 1453-1924 by Philip Mansel.As for Freely on contemporary Istanbul, he is never able to give the reader a feeling for what it's like to spend time with the people who live in Istanbul, like Max Rodenbeck is able to do in his book about another city, Cairo: The City Victorious. There must be better books about Istanbul out there.
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