With this year 2015 being the 450th anniversary of the 1565 Great Siege of Malta, a second edition of Arnold Cassola's The 1565 Great Siege of Malta and Hipólito Sans's LA MALTEA has just been republished as a Kindle Book.  This eyewitness account by Sans is a real must both for the professional academic and for lovers of history, in particular Ottoman, Christian and Maltese 16th century history.This work is about the fully fledged epic poem La Maltea, consisting of twelve cantos built on the model of the classical tradition, of Virgilian fame. The real intention of Hipólito Sans (b.?- d.1604/1605), who published La Maltea in Valencia, Spain, in 1582, was the glorification of the heroism of the Knights of the Order of St John of Jerusalem, in their defence of the island of Malta against the mighty Armada sent by Suleyman the Magnificent in 1565 to conquer the island. Sans must have had first hand knowledge of what went on in Malta during the 1565 Siege, since he was one of the defenders on the island. Of course, one must keep in mind that Sans's La Maltea is a poetical work, which cannot fulfil the role of a faithful historical chronicle. History and fiction are intermingled in La Maltea, as Sans himself admits in the prologue. However, much of what he relates is credible not only because the author was a witness to events during the Siege of Malta but even more so because he insists strongly on the fact that he only wants to stick to factual truth.Suleyman and his Armada, La Valette and his most courageous knights, Dragut, Toni Bajada and the Maltese defenders are all given prominence in Sans's account, from which we also learn that La Valette was 67 years old at the time of the Great Siege and that Suleyman intended invading Italy after having conquered Malta. 
The book (Kindle Edition, ASIN: B00SN42B5W) can be accessed on internet through:  www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00SN42B5W?*Version*=1&*entries*=0; orwww.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00SN42B5W?*Version*=1&*entries*=0#reader_B00SN42B5W