The urban, cultural and political profile of the Maltese islands is deeply marked by the presence of the Knights of St John over a period of 268 years. The Order has left its mark decisively in the collective memory of the Maltese.

The book Malta - The Order Of St John gives a global picture of this multinational institution in those crucial years when Grand Master L'Isle Adam moved the convent from Rhodes to Malta, when legendary Grand Master de Valette withstood the Turkish assault in 1565, when Grand Masters Wignacourt, Cotoner and Carafa turned Malta into a centre of Mediterranean corsairing and Grand Masters Vilhena and Pinto tried to imitate the central European absolutist princes. It all came to a sudden - but not unexpectedly - end in 1798 when Grand Master Hompesch handed over Malta to the rising star on the European horizon, Napoleon. The various diplomatic attempts of the Knights to regain their island failed.

The book also provides the reader with an overview of the most important monuments connected with the Knights in Malta and Gozo.

The series Malta's Living Heritage, of which this books forms part, aims to bring together academic text and graphic content, thus appealing to a wider audience.

Each volume is packed with the most updated information, colour photography by Daniel Cilia and exclusive illustrations prepared by a team of international illustrators.

The books in the series by Midsea Books are Malta: Prehistory And Temples by David H. Trump; Malta: Phoenician, Punic And Roman by Anthony Bonanno and Malta: The Medieval Millennium by Charles Dalli.

Malta: The Order Of St John by Thomas Freller is the fourth volume in the series.