This book; while it deals primarily with civil conflicts between the Byzantine Emperor Basil II and the warrior-aristocrats Bardas Phocas and Bardas Sclerus; casts considerate light on Christian-Muslim relations in the Middle East during the century immediately preceding the crusades. These interactions-sometimes hostile; sometimes surprisingly intimate-occurred during that one period between the mid-tenth and mid-eleventh century when Shi'ite Islam; not Sunni Islam; dominated the Muslim world. The ethnic and secretarian fragmentation that marks present-day Islam was already well in place at the end of the tenth century.
#2950735 in Books University Alabama Press 2012-08-30Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.25 x 2.00 x 6.13l; 2.40 #File Name: 0817317635560 pages
Review
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. The Best Station is the best Civil War book about SavannahBy Miles K ThoromanProfessor Melton apparently spent decades researching the material for this book. The book is about not simply the Confederate Naval officers and enlisted men; but the civilians who interacted with them. Anyone who has an interest in Savannah should have this book.2 of 2 people found the following review helpful. A Forgotten Naval Chapter in the Civil WarBy A. A. NofiAn excerpt from the review on StrategyPage.Com:'Prof. Melton (Albany State); who has also written The Confederate Ironclads; opens with the secession of Georgia and the brief life of the "Georgia Navy"; which was soon folded into the new Confederate Navy. He then covers the process by which a rather strong naval squadron was developed at Savannah; the business of the blockade and of blockade running; personnel; the improvisation of warships and the problems of building ironclads; and; of course; operations. Melton carries the story beyond the fall of Savannah to Union ground forces in December of 1864 (Sherman's "Christmas present" to Lincoln); for he follows up the scuttling of the warships to cover the service of the squadron's blue jackets and marines fighting as infantry; from the defense of Wilmington to the fall of Richmond.'The Best Station of Them All is a very important contribution to the literature of the "brown water" war and for those interested in the improvisation of armed forces.'For the full review; see StrategyPage.Com3 of 3 people found the following review helpful. A long awaited opusBy Edward H. WiserI bought this book at a history conference and dug into it immediately. Melton has done an excellent job of accurate; thorough research conveyed objectively and coupled with excellent prose. This will undoubtedly stand as the definitive work on the Confederate Navy at Savannah. It is also a superb case study of a flotilla created for harbor defense and prods the reader to ponder the value and utility of Mr. Mallory's Navy.
