Customer Reviews

The Crusades: The Flame of Islam

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Harol Lamb captures as well or better than any I have ever read the sweep and scope of the Crusades, the Crusaders, and the land they went to reclaim for the Cross. One is caught up in wave after wave of freebooter, noblemen, kinights and peasants that took up the challenge of the Bishop of Rome and pledged all to cleanse the Holy land of the unbeliever. When Baldwin finally takes the City of Jerusalem and storms the Temple Mount, one is left with a feeling of exaltation seldom felt in modern literature. He is equally gripping in his accouting of the excesses of the Knights Templer and others, against which Sahla Haddin (Saladin) rose up in righteouss indignation. Saladin drove the invaders who had come from Europe from the Lands of the Prophet, and cleansed the "land" from the infidel. Altogether one of the most memorable books on that period of history that I have read. His descriptions of ancient warfare are, factual, captivating and superb. He gets to the underlying motives on both sides. Why the Crusades were successful for a time, and why they were doomed to ultimate failure. He also shows why there is such undying animosity between the followers of the Prophet and the followers of the Nazarene.

Lamb has always been a scholar quite interested in the East, its inhabitants become real living people, our peers, and then he draws the characters, situations, and forces that build up a completely new, unseen, unheard of, historical movement. The deplacement of Europe to "regain" the Holy Land has been reviewed and studied, for the last l00 years as a phenomenon of real Christian faith, and from the point of view of the European cultures: France, England, Austria, Italy, etc. But, what about the point of view of the so-called infidels? Lamb has the skill to keep himself neutral, nevertheless he gives us the facts and gives the reader the golden opportunity: the possibility to make its own judgement, based in, more or less, non-fictional facts. And that's Lamb's greatest achivement. He novelizes a subject, but finally it is only a very valid literary resource to lead us to the precise point of human History where the author wants us; and at the same time, Lamb makes Aquinas "tolle, lege", his own. So, after reading "The Crusades", and paying careful attention to the subtitle: "The flame of Islam", we understand that greed, false piousness, false pride, ignorance; the arrogance of the self-conceited christian warriors, lustful, bored -perhaps with a tint of real faith-, made the Europeans cross the seas and barren lands to get to Jerusalem, the three-times blessed City. But, from the pages of Lamb we may be able to point out that failure of the enterprise was due, from the 1st Crusade, to jealousy, envy, and the search of personal success.It was not their main goal to recover The Holy Land. If it had been true, they would have succeeded. Lamb has his personal favorite hero: Saladin, the most chivalrous of enemies, a very intelligent and skillful men, with a good warfare knowledge, quite learned and, by far, the most important Islam's defender of the Faith. The brilliancy of the exposition of Lamb, his excellent use of terms, and his profound knowledge of the ! East provide the ambience. His academic background provides real historical facts, and, ...you have in your hands a must-be-read book!

This book is the sequence of the marvelous Iron Men and Saints, and altough the last is still way ahead with the seizure of Antioch and Jerusalem, the Flame of Islam brings the Generalship of Saladin and the of the Great english warrior King Richard Coeur de Lion. A must read. And a plus to culture.

I truly like this Author. I rate this book as one of my best. Lamb's books are all factual as he visited each area he writes about. Often being allowed into temples forbidden by others. The Crusades is a fast moving novel that underlines the different movements of Europe and Asia fighting. Showing the heroes and villians from both sides. One of my favorite section is when Richard the lionhearted and 300 knights rush to save a castle, that was being attacked. These mobile tanks waded ashore and were immediately were attacked by Salidin. The knights were able to swing 5 ft swords which wrecked havoc on the enemy. At one point, the horse Richard was riding went down. The fighting was stopped so that another horse could be given to him by the enemy, as a show of respect for his fighting prowess. This book is well worth the read. Harold Lamb wrote in the 20's to 50's so his books are hard to find. They are worth the search. In fact he inspired alot a writes including Robert E. Howard (of Conan fame)

1942 edition: READING THIS YOU WILL UNDERSTAND THE WORLD OF ISLAM VS THE CROSS BEARERS, THE CRUCIATI. FOR THE FIRST TIME ALL THE PEOPLE OF CHRISTENDOM SPEAKING DIFFERENT LANGUAGES WERE UNITED IN A COMMON ENTERPRISE. THE SWORD AGAINST THE WORLD OF ISLAM. THIS IS THE STORY OF THE FIRST CRUSADERS, TAKEN FROM CHRONICLES OF THE MEN WHO MARCHED WITH THE CRUSADERS. TWO CHAPLAINS AND AN UNKNOWN SOLDIER. TWO OTHER ACCOUNTS A PRINCESS OF BYZANTIUM, AN ARMENIAN PATRIARCH GAVE ACCOUNTS OF THE CRUSADERS THAT PASSED BY THEM. THERE IS ALSO THE TESTIMONY OF ARAB TRAVELERS AND HISTORIANS OF THE PERIOD, NOTES OF GENOSE SEA TRADERS, AND THE SAGA OF A NORSE KING. THIS IS NOT HISTORY REWRITTEN, THIS IS GRAPHIC, AWFUL, AND AT TIMES UNBELIEVABLE WHAT THEY SAW AND WHAT BEFELL THESE MEN. THIS IS AN AMAZING BOOK THAT COVERS THE FOLLOWING: BARBARIANS, THE IRON MEN, CHIVALRY, THE ROBED MEN, THE SERVANT OF SERVANTS, URBAN'S SUMMON'S, THE RESPONSE, THE GONFANONS, WHAT PETER DID, BYZANTIUM, THE COMING OF THE IRON MEN: ALEXIS AND BOHEMUND, THE OATH OF THE BARONS, THE MARCH OF THE PROVENCALS, THE KNEELING TOWER, DORYLEUM, THE ANONYMOUS, THE ROAD TO ANTIOCH, LOOT, THE SIGN IN THE SKY, THE KEY TO THE GATE, THE TOWER OF THE TWO SISTERS, ADHEMAR AND BARTHOLOMEW,THE LANCE GOES FORTH,THE FIRST FOOTHOLD, THE WALLS OF MAARA, RAYMOND'S PATH, TANCRED RIDES TO BETHLEHEM, THE VALLEY OF THE DAMNED, THE BRIDGE OF FIRE, GODFREY, THE CITY, WHAT FULCHER SAW, THE PATH TO GLORY, MARCH OF THE BARONS, BOHEMUND'S CASTLE, THE LAST COMER, BEYOND THE SE, THE NUMBERS OF CRUSADERS, URBAN AND THE CRUSADE, THE CASE AGAINST BASILEUS, GREEK FIRE, THE BELFROI AT JERUSALEM, THE LEGENDS, THE FIRST AND THE THIRD CRUSADE, BOHEMUND AND THE LION HEART, THE WHITE MANTLE AND THE BLACK, THE TALES OF OSAMA, & THE KNIGHT TEMPLARS. (See also Lamb's earlier book: "The Crusades: Iron Men and Saints.")

I read this book when I was about 14 years of age or so, about 44 years ago. Harold Lamb quoted contemporary Muslim and Christian accounts of numerous events of the crusades. Most of these were utter lies and propaganda, such as, "We slew 500 of the infidels for the greater glory of Allah" and, "We slew 500 infidels for the greater glory of God", and then folded them into a meaningful and coherent whole ("As near as we could see, the Muslims slew 130 Christians and the Christians slew 200 Muslims" (I'm paraphrasing here)).
At this time, (I'm writing this January, 2002) when we now find ourselves fighting battles for many of the same reasons as during the original crusades of over a thousand years ago, his writings are even more essential than they have been in the past.
I have not read this book for many years, only recently getting my hands onto a copy. Maybe the book will not have nearly the effect now that it had on me so many years ago, but I'm excited for having the opportunity to read it. I'll attempt to update this after finishing the book this time, but I've given it a five star rating because of the effect it has always had on me since the first time I read it.