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Rating: 
Summary: Good starting place
Review: As the first book I read on Timur, this one did the trick in that it familiarized me with the subject and carried me through the entire story.It's a bit disjointed and following the man around Central Asia could have been served better with more and better maps. Finally, I would have liked some more historical context and maybe even a little character development. Nonetheless, you can carry the paperback around with you and read it in your odd moments; and you will be happy to have done so if you are just starting out to learn about the origins of Samarkand.
Rating: 
Summary: Meticulous research of valuable original texts.
Review: The story of Tamerlane (Timur - Leng) available to the English speaking world has dealt mostly with his exploits. Translations of reports of his military prowness were made from those affected by the results of his conquests. Contemoraneous reports were tainted by terror or exultation, depending upon how the writer fared in the battles. It was left to Marlowe to reveal the character of the man, from a distance of time and culture, in his plays called "Tamburlaine." Unfortunately, although the psychological insight was telling, many of the facts were wrong. Even Gibbon gave his character less attention than this world conqueror or "Scourge of God" deserved. We are fortunate to have on hand the dedicated work of Roy Stier, whose meticulous research of valuble original texts, permits the reader to form his own conclusions.
Rating:
Summary: thoroughly researched
Review: This novelized biography goes a long way to recover the mysterious--and maligned--figure of this Mongol warrior. Drawing upon sources not readily available (and not translated from the Russian)as well as the considerable holdings of the British Library, Stier offers a historical reconstruction of this mighty figure in much the same way that the bust of Tamerlane that appears as the frontispiece has been forensically reconstructed. A pleasure for the afficionado.
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