Type of bind: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.6
Format: Bargain Price
Label: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Manufacturer: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 320
Printing Date: May 16, 2006
Publishing house: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Release Date: May 16, 2006
Sale Popularity Level: 82377
Studio: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
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Rated by buyers 
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This promised to be a great summer read. I had enjoyed Goodwin's "Lords of the Horizons" immensely. It was a unique book, a brilliant creation. This one did not come close. The fact that he is so knowledgeable about the unique and at times bizzare Ottoman culture and Istanbul and its history, which he exposed generously in this book alone made it worthwhile, but as a novel it fell flat at the end having started out so promising. Maybe non-fiction is more his style.
In any case, we have everything in this book, all cliches and aspects of Ottoman history and cuture are given their due: Sultans, their foreign mothers, enuchs, harem and kýzlar agas (not kislar!), circussian "cariye"s, janissaries, instant death around a corner, transvestites, palace schemes, Potamkin, all kinds of races and religions, Aya Sofya, Bospourus, Topkapi Palace, proto-Jeun Turcs, Tanzimat reforms, hamams, and the city itself. Though it provides a very interesting and expert caliedoscopic view of this ancient queen of cities, a virtual and authentic time-travel of sorts, all too much for one book.
Choice of the decade after the demolishing of the Janissary corps was a smart as this period truly connected old and new, and there were so many influences pulling the Ottoman Empire in different directions at the time.
Plot itself kind of goes surreal towards the end and loses credibility.
There were some faux pas in spite of his intimate knowledge of Istanbul and history. Sun never sets behind the Princess Islands in Istanbul Mr. Goodwin, and Salacak near Uskudar is the best place to watch the real sunset.
In any case, I like his point of view of the Ottomans. More than any other author, Goodwin appreciates the uniqueness of the Ottomans and how they represented, for a good while, a totally different path for the human civilization and history.
Rated by buyers 
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This is best mystery I have read in years. Goodwin combines an insider's sense for the life of Turkish Istanbul with a fantastic sense for character development, intricate and surprising plotting, and a real gift for literary style. Absolutely amazing!
Rated by buyers 
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No spoilers
After reading all the rave reviews The Janissary Tree has gotten here on Amazon, I was very excited to read it. However, having finished it I am baffled and these glowing reviews and wonder if these people ever read the book. A murder mystery in 19th century Istanbul is indeed a great premise to me, especially knowing more than the average person might now about the fascinatingly complex history of the city like I do, but Goodwin does not pull it off. On the detail side, he does a great job describing the city physically and a pretty good job describing the feel. However, when it comes to the novel, it fails. Flat out, this book is boring and the protaganist is not one I felt like I wanted to "get behind" and see him save the day. Me finishing this book was more a function of its short length and the fact that I almost NEVER not see a book through (no matter how bad), instead of me actually having a desire to see what played out.
The bottom line is that this book, in terms of murder mystery qualities (that is the genre, after all) is a yawn and you will not miss out on much at all if you pass it over.
Rated by buyers -
While the quality of the writing is excellent, the story falls short. The very first half of the book had me thinking this was going to be a five star experience. By the end, I felt let down. All the running around Istanul was just that - the author giving us a scenic tour.
The story itself would have been so much stronger had the author brought it to a close much sooner. While quite good, the ending was not powerful enough to justify all the scenic tours through the second half of the book.
Rated by buyers -
This book is very well written. It has lively characters, an intriguing story, and a fascinating setting. It's almost as educational as it is entertaining, based on the authors considerable knowledge of the history of Istanbul and the Ottoman Empire.
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