Historian Diane Moczar pulls back the curtain on one of the most important acts in the drama of Muslim aggression against the West: the 500-year-long siege of Europe by the Ottoman Turks.

Tracing the rise of the Turkish people from wandering Asian tribe to mighty pan-continental empire, Islam at the Gates chronicles the heroes and villains, the battles and atrocities, the tragic errors and timely miracles, that marked the Ottomans' incursions from Europe's borders to the very heart of Christendom; and then, by the grace of God, their eventual repulsion and final defeat.

In these pages you'll encounter:

• The bold sultans, timid emperors, and vile traitors who aided the Turkish advance - and the popes who tirelessly preached Crusade against it
• Brave saints who rallied Christian forces against the invaders - including the hardy warrior-monk who died in battle at the age of sixty-one
• The island fortress whose rag-tag defenders continually thwarted superior numbers of Ottoman attackers - defying even the great sultan Suleiman
• The suffering of millions of Christian families in occupied lands - their children kidnapped and forced into Muslim armies and harems
• Folk heroes from the hills of Hungary and Albania who rose up against their Ottoman overlords - and whose guerilla tactics inspired their people
• The tragic fall of Constantinople, seat of Eastern Christianity - its people slaughtered, its treasures plundered, its sacred places befouled
• Europe's pivotal, improbable pair of victories at Lepanto and Vienna, and the defeat of the last great Turkish offensive on September 11, 1697

Solid history and dramatic narrative make Islam at the Gates a moving look at Europe's long struggle against the Turks. But the author's shrewd Catholic outlook also makes it an edifying one. Had these events unfolded just a little differently, Christian civilization might have been conquered by the sword of Allah. If we fail to learn the lessons of history, Dr. Moczar warns, the West may yet fall.