Suleiman the Magnificent: The Man, His Life, His Epoch by Andre Clot (translated from the French by Matthew J. Reisz). Saqi Books. 1992. ISBN=20 0-86356-126-8. (Hb). 399 pages.

Three biographies of Suleiman have appeared in English in the last 50 years (all with the title Suleiman the Magnificent). J.B.Merriaman's (1944) is well regarded but now somewhat dated; both Harold Lamb's (1960) and Anthony Bridge's (1983) are worthless affairs. Thus there has been a need for a good modern biography for some time. Unfortunately I do not feel that this work meets this requirement.

One of the joys of good historical biography is that they paint their protagonists 'warts and all' rather than presenting mere sycophantic praise. One cannot say this of Clot's work; indeed one cannot really say that he gives any real insight into Suleiman's character at all.

What is presented here is not so much a biography but a history of his reign or rather a history of his reign as it affected western Europe. Events in the east, such as his many wars against the Persians receive little more than passing reference.

Meanwhile Suleiman's relations with the French king Francis I are given space out of all proportion to their historical importance. Examination of the bibliography suggests that the cause of this is due to the author basing his work primarily on western sources. There are better, more balanced histories of the Ottoman Empire available.

On the plus side the book is well written and definitely falls into the 'easy read' category even if the occasional odd turn of phrase suggests that the translators first language may not be English.

On the whole a missed opportunity I feel.

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