Written in time for the 300th anniversary in 1983, this irreverent no-nonsense recap of the 1683 siege of Vienna crushes many misconceptions about the siege. It develops the interesting idea that French money was influential in escalating the crisis caused by Habsburg intransigence towards Hungarian protestants. Ottoman involvement thus was triggered indirectly, which may account for the insufficient resources available to complete such a major undertaking. From the beginning the Ottomans lacked the heavy artillery to pierce the city's bastions. The plunder and destruction of the countryside caused by the Ottoman (mostly Tartar) irregulars destroyed the Ottoman local supply. Finally, the army assembled was too small for both a siege and containing the relieving forces. In hindsight, the West was bound to prevail from the beginning. A quick and entertaining read. ( )