Crusade [Hardcover]

Elizabeth Laird (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 2007

This story is about two boys, two faiths, and one unholy war. When Adam's mother dies unconfessed, he pledges to save her soul with dust from the Holy Land. Employed as a dog-boy for the local knight, Adam grabs the chance to join the Crusade to reclaim Jerusalem. He burns with determination to strike down the infidel enemy ...Salim, a merchant's son, is leading an uneventful life in the port of Acre - until news arrives that a Crusader attack is imminent. To keep Salim safe, his father buys him an apprenticeship with an esteemed, travelling doctor. But Salim's employment leads him to the heart of Sultan Saladin's camp - and into battle against the barbaric and unholy invaders ...

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Gr 8 Up– Told from alternating perspectives, Crusade follows two boys as they come of age, Adam growing from landless peasant to squire, and Salim from a merchant's son who shirks his duties to a doctor's apprentice and hero. To Adam, Saladin is a terror, a devil, and Richard the Lionheart is the noble leader who will free the Holy Land from the savages who occupy it. To Salim, Richard is an illiterate barbarian, and Saladin the wise commander who will keep the invaders from taking his homeland. By chance, their paths intersect, opening their eyes to the possibilities that the members of the opposing army may not be as different as they'd always assumed. Both young men end up wishing they could have met at a time when friendship might have been possible between them. Steeped in historical detail, the adventure immerses readers in the daily life of the armies of the Crusades, showing the good and bad to be found on either side. Most of the supporting characters are well drawn; they show depth and believable motivation for their actions and their positions regarding the war they face. The different views on medicine, demonstrated by Salim's Jewish master, a Palestinian-born Christian, and a British doctor, are particularly fascinating. The moral of looking to understand another worldview, particularly between Christians and Muslims, is timely in spite of its historical context.–Alana Joli Abbott, formerly at James Blackstone Memorial Library, Branford, CT. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Review

"Expertly researched, vividly told."  —Publishing News

"As notable in its way as James D. Forman's historical novels of the late '60s and '70s, A Little Piece of Ground deserves serious attention and discussion."  —School Library Journal on A Little Piece of Ground

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 400 pages
• Publisher: Pan Childrens (June 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0330443119
• ISBN-13: 978-0330443111
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 5.3 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,486,763 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great adventure and great history, June 8, 2008

By 

S. Jones (Rochester, MN United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Crusade (Paperback)

My son selected this book on a layover in London. He's 11 and has a hard time finding books are are interesting and engaging (he basically would rather be playing outside with friends, than read). I was worried he would not like this book; that it would be too long, or the topic to 'hisorical'. He LOVED this book, and I read it too, and found it to be a great read. On the cover of my book (the UK version), the subtitle reads, "Two boys, Two Faiths, One unholy war" and on the back, it says, "He looked into the enemy's eyes.. And saw a normal boy just like him..".

I enjoy reading historical fiction--the human story is great, and you get the added bonus of learning a bit of history too. The story is written from the boys' perspective, but has interesting adult characters as well: and my daughter, an avid reader, also enjoyed it. The timeless themes of family, friendship and the humanity of war are well thought out by the writer. It portrays an adequate representation of the times: both the good and bad.

It is too bad that this type of literature is not more widely available to our children. This book talks honestly to them, about people who are different, but maybe not so, .. and about tough situations people get into by circumstance and by history. It does not talk down to them, or spare them some of the realities of life; and, while there is warfare, it is neither gory nor sugar-coated. This was the essence of its appeal to my son.

I highly recommend this book.

5.0 out of 5 stars "Are You Ready, Brother?", May 23, 2011

By 

R. M. Fisher "Raye" (New Zealand = Middle Earth!) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Crusade (Paperback)

"Two boys, two faiths, one war" reads the tagline from Elizabeth Laird's "Crusade" and that sums up the book nicely. Set in the time of the Third Crusade, in which the war over Jerusalem was predominately fought between King Richard and Sultan Saladin, Laird retells the experiences of two young men, one from each side of the conflict.

Salim is a young merchant's son who is horrified to hear his father offer him as an apprentice to an old Jewish doctor so that he might escape the Crusader army bearing down on Acre. Under the tutelage of the cantankerous but good-hearted Doctor Musa, Salim begins to learn the art of medicine. On the way to Jerusalem the two of them are commandeered by the army to treat the great Saladin himself, and Salim finds himself in the Saracen camp perched above the city of Acre, knowing that his family is still inside as the Frankish siege begins.

On the other side of the world, Adam is bereft when his mother dies of a wasting illness without having received a last confession. Given a position as dog-boy at the local lord's estate, Adam jumps at the chance to join the Crusade so that he might secure the salvation of his mother's soul. Along with a great number of knights and retainers, Adam follows Lord Guy de Martel across the seas to the Holy Land, ready to do battle against the heathens and liberate Jerusalem from their control.

Divided into two, the first part of the book is made up of chapters that alternate between the points of view of the two very different boys. There is slight confusion here, as Adam's narrative takes place over an extended period of time compared to Salim's condensed experiences. Thanks to this disjointed timeline it becomes jarring every time Adam's narrative interrupts Salim's, as the former's chapters stretch out over several weeks, and the latter's pick up again only a few days, or even hours, after they left off.

However, once the second part of the book begins, the boys' concurrent storylines begin to knit together more fluidly. Set in the two-year span between the start of the crusading army's long journey to Acre to the fall of the city approximately a year later, the book deals with events on both a personal and political level. Against the backdrop of invasion, both Salim and Adam make both friends and enemies among their own people, and are forced to rely on their wits to survive in extraordinary circumstances.

After a chance meeting puts the boys in each other's orbits they find that they share a strange affinity with one other, something that blossoms into a brief and fragile friendship and forces each of them to question the social prejudices they've been raised with. Both are likeable boys, and Laird keeps them as products of their time even as she allows them to grow and mature, guided by several wise and sympathetic adults that open their eyes to the world around them. During the course of the story both boys are witness to loved ones being placed in terrible danger, and each must take a leap of faith on the goodwill of the other to help them save a life, leaving a permanent impression on one another's psyche in the process.

Ending on an appropriately thoughtful and haunting note, "Crusade" is notable for its fair and balanced portrayal of both sides of the conflict. Neither Frank nor Saracen holds the monopoly on righteousness, and yet Laird doesn't shy away from the fact that both sides believe that they are irrefutably correct in their actions. Only through the boys do we see the true shades of grey that are at work in the world.

With the exception of the time discrepancy in the first half of the book, "Crusade" is an exceptionally well structured book, with accurate research on the time period, historical context, and customs of the people involved. Promoting tolerance and clear-thinking can only be a good thing, and by presenting them in a suspenseful and moving story, "Crusade" becomes a must-read for young readers.

5.0 out of 5 stars A LESSON FOR ALL CONCERNING PREJUDISES, May 10, 2010

By 

Marilyn A. Courchaine - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Crusade (Paperback)

AN EXCELLENT BOOK THAT ILLUSTRATES HOW PEOPLE PERCEIVE OTHER CULTURES AND ARE USUALLY WRONG. A GOOD BOOK FOR CHILDREN.