Konstantin Mihailovic, born a Christian Serb in the early 15th century, was kidnapped by Ottoman Turks and brought to Anatolia, where he was trained as a Janissary -- a member of the elite corps of the Ottoman army made up entirely of converted Christian boys. As a Janissary, Mihailovic was an eyewitness to important events such as Sultan Mehmet II's sieges of Belgrade and Constantinople in 1453 and the campaign against Count Dracula. In 1463, his garrison of Janissaries was captured by the Hungarian king, and he opportunistically redeclared his Christian faith. He drew on his unique first-hand experience with the Turks to write his memoirs, which became a 'bestseller' in Central and Eastern Europe in the 16th and 17th centuries. These memoirs were published as a cautionary tale about the heathen customs of the Turks, and as a guide to military practices and customs of the Turkish army. One reason for its success was that the Turks had not only overrun the Balkans but also threatened