God's Shadow: Sultan Selim, his Ottoman Empire, and the Making of the Modern World

"Though certainly recommended for public libraries, God's Shadow will probably find a largely academic, rather than a general, readership, although history buffs will doubtless enjoy its challenges and rewards."

"A massively ambitious study, largely accessible and percolating with ideas for further study."

"Spotlighting the role Selim's mother, Gülbahar, played in his political education and early administration, Mikhail also sheds new light on female political power during the era, and offers intriguing discussions on topics ranging from the Sunni-Shiite split to the discovery of coffee."

"Global economics and politics are well illuminated, as are the connections and relationships between Eurasia and the Americas."

"Mikhail steers clear of such guesswork, and instead makes his case by devoting the bulk of his book to a biographical account of Selim the Grim (reigned 1512-20)...Mikhail sometimes struggles to integrate this story smoothly with his tale of the Spaniards in America; there is maybe too much detail on Selim's campaigns, and some of the linkages, like the parallels Mikhail draws between Selim's death and Montezuma's (both in 1520), feel strained."

"But a reform of the law courts and legal practices, however sweeping, is hardly equivalent to the redefinition of doctrine and ritual practice that the Protestant Reformation produced."