Crusaders

July 22, 2019
Popular historian Jones (The Templars) looks in this accessible and thoroughly researched work at the medieval crusaders who, with the authorization of the Pope, took up arms to advance the causes of the Catholic church. This group included leaders and kings who led the well-known Middle Eastern crusaders, such as Richard the Lionhearted; crusaders who fought on the Iberian Peninsula and against northern European pagans; and the major Islamic opponents, such as the leader Saladin. Jones relates the story as much as possible through the words of surviving accounts from the period. The early chapters examine the motivation and strategy behind the first crusade, culminating with the capture of Jerusalem; the middle of the book describes the buildup of crusader power and culminates with its destruction at the Battle of Hattin and the loss of Jerusalem to Islamic forces under Saladin; and the final part of the book documents the slow demise of crusader power in the Middle East and the extermination of the last crusader stronghold at Acre in 1298. Jones paints a vivid and accurate picture of the culture, politics, and personalities of the crusading period, covering vast swaths of history and many personalities with aplomb. The general reader of history and those interested in a deeper understanding of relations between Islam and the West will find this work engaging and informative.

August 1, 2019
The centuries of campaigning to reclaim the Holy Land retain their fascination, as demonstrated by this expert mixture of cutthroat politics, battlefield fireworks, and mass murder. Bestselling British historian Jones (Templars: The Rise and Fall of God's Holy Warriors, 2017) reminds readers that Christians had been warring against Islam since its warriors burst out of Arabia in the seventh century and advanced well into Europe. By the 11th century, when the author begins the narrative, Spain and Sicily were already battlegrounds. Matters were critical further east where the Byzantine Empire was fending off attackers on all sides, most significantly from the Turks, who had advanced perilously close to the capital at Constantinople. In 1095, its emperor requested military aid from Pope Urban II. For many reasons, not all admirable, Urban responded enthusiastically. Jones does his best to explain, but historians still scratch their heads over the fanatic response. Masses of the poor slaughtered local non-Christians (i.e., Jews) and then walked east in the thousands; most died. Soon after, armies under French and Norman leadership marched the entire distance, more than 2,000 miles, capturing much of Palestine, including Jerusalem, in 1099 after a bloody campaign. The result was a kingdom of Jerusalem and several other Christian principalities that spent the next two centuries fighting, ultimately unsuccessfully, for survival. At intervals, European leaders organized vast, expensive, poorly organized expeditions (crusades) that trundled toward the Holy Land, sometimes reached it, wreaked havoc, and suffered horribly. Readers may recall the Third Crusade's epic clashes between Richard the Lionheart and Saladin. Jones does not neglect officially sanctioned, bloody crusades against Muslims in Spain, pagans in northern Europe, and religious heretics at home. As usual, the author has done his homework, laboring mightily to recount century after century of gruesome warfare between profoundly religious cultures with apparently no inhibition against lying and profound cruelty. Two appendices list the kings and queens of Jerusalem and the popes. Readers may not sort out the innumerable Baldwins, Rogers, Fredericks, or battles, but they will keep the pages turning.

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Starred review from September 1, 2019
Jones' sweeping coverage of a conflict of three centuries' duration hews to the highest standards of popular history. It is literate, thoroughly engaging, and serious, without condescension towards either its matter or its readers. Jones cites and quotes primary sources only, inserting just the occasional demurrer about such matters as inflated casualty figures in the original histories. While the focus is on the West liberating the Holy Land, Jones cites Muslim sources whenever they sharpen that focus, and he profiles big players on both sides of the fray. All along, he tracks the Western theater of crusader activity, Spain, where Christians fought to drive out Muslim rule. Crusades in which Germans attacked pagan Slavs in the Baltic and heretics, such as the Cathars, in France are less fully reported; but then, they weren't Christians-versus-Muslims affairs. Instead of a time line, a 17-page chronological list of Major Characters precedes the text; from Roger of Sicily to Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain, all are characters, indeed! The scope of the Crusades alone encourages regarding their story as an epic, an account that defines the collective spirits of the civilizations that clashed in them.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)

Starred review from September 1, 2019

The medieval Crusades have long fascinated readers, and as Jones (Templars) explains, they still have the power to compel action. The author's choice to make the people doing the action rather than the act as the focus is insightful. For example, Queen Eleanor of Aquitaine was probably the most famous woman to go on crusade and there are many accounts of her experience, but the author also cites the actions of ordinary women whose stories have come to be told, such as that of Margaret of Beverley who survived the siege of Jerusalem in 1187 and recounted her experience to her monk brother. Likewise, we learn about not only famous Muslim leaders such as Saladin but also lesser-known sultans, advisers, and military leaders whom the European crusaders fought. Furthermore, the sources include contemporary and retrospective histories. The title also boasts descriptions of the many times crusades were declared against destinations and peoples besides Muslims in the Holy Land, such as pagans in the Baltic, Cathers in France, and even the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II. VERDICT An entertaining and informative look at a potent historical phenomenon whose echoes are still being felt today. [See Prepub Alert, 4/15/19.]--Cate Schneiderman, Emerson Coll., Boston

Copyright 2019 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 1, 2019

The New York Times best-selling author of books like The Templars, the author/presenter of Netflix's popular Secrets of Great British Castles, and a talking head on the HBO film about the history behind Game of Thrones, Jones is clearly one of our go-to guys for the medieval era. His exploration of the Crusades starts with Christian-Muslim relations in the 700s; expands to embrace Spain, North Africa, southern France, and the Baltic states; includes Arab-Sicilian poets, Byzantine princesses, and Sunni scholars; and looks at consequences today.

Copyright 2019 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.