The Crimean War Author: [UK] Orlando Figgis Publisher: Nanjing University Press

Introduction
In 1853, Tsar Nicholas I took advantage of religious disputes to invade the two Danube principalities in present-day Romania. Subsequently, the shaky Ottoman Empire, which was struggling to maintain its European influence, Britain, which was worried about Russian expansion, and French Emperor Napoleon III, who wanted to restore his glory, successively declared war on Russia. The Crimean War, which lasted for 18 months, caused huge casualties, completely rewrote the political landscape of Europe, and profoundly affected the modernization process of Russia and Turkey.
Figes extensively quotes documents from Russia, France, Britain and the Ottoman Empire, fully demonstrating how nationalist sentiments, imperial power games and religious conflicts influenced the involvement of various countries in the war. From kings and ministers, journalists and writers reporting on the war, to officers and soldiers on the battlefield, and women and children in the besieged city, Figes not only restores the panorama of the war from multiple perspectives, but also provides a new entry point for understanding the "Eastern Question" of the 19th and 20th centuries, the relationship between Christians and Muslims in the Black Sea region, and the world rift between Russia and the West.
Figes trawls dusty archives in London, Paris, Istanbul, Moscow, and St. Petersburg to uncover the politicians' schemes while showing the horrific human toll of war... This book traces the roots of many modern conflicts.
—Gary Bass, professor of politics and international affairs at Princeton University
Solidly researched…rich and absorbing…Based on a vast array of sources, from government archives to news reports to memoirs to letters home from barely literate soldiers, Figgis brilliantly balances political, military, and social history…The chapters on the war itself are as thrilling as an adventure novel…The Crimean War is a collection of wars and a celebration of scholarship.
--The Boston Globe
[Figgis] has a great gift for describing the influence of high-ranking politicians on ordinary people, and clearly illustrates the perverse diplomatic tactics that led to the war. ... This book is clear, well-written, and vividly told. Most importantly, it tells us why this neglected conflict and its victims deserve our long-term remembrance.
——The Independent
This is an important and impressive work. ... The Russian material provides a fresh supplement, and Figes is a master in this respect. ... The Crimean War admirably describes the significance of the international situation and religious background of the Crimean War.
——The New York Review of Books