Customer Reviews

Crusades: The Illustrated History

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"Crusades - The Illustrated History," Thomas F. Madden, Editor, shares all the strengths of Madden's "Concise History of the Crusades." It is a refreshing and positive look at the falable but devoted knights and kings of Christendom who deeply desired to see the holy sites of Christianity delivered from the hands of their unbelieving conquerors. It is eminently fair in its approach to historical facts. It also incorporates much new knowledge of the period.

Besides being a facinating account of the period, it is a beautifully designed book. Its sections are broken up into short studies with rich colored illustrations. You can read it in short stages, and absorb the material at leisure. It also shares the strength of a perspective shared by several historians, so you are aware that the research is not just one man's ideas but the fruit of much fresh information.

This one is worth the money and time you will put into it.

Wm. H. Scarle, Jr. - BA, M.Div., Th.M - Tampa, FL

This is a great introduction to the medieval Crusades with eye candy to boot! It's a very even keeled overview - without all the political biases that so often get in the way of explaining a subject objectively. This book educates the reader on the various crusades within the context of their times.

I've read numerous books about the Crusades and "Crusades - The Illustrated History" is my absolute favorite. Why? Because it is a wonderful combination of excellent scholarship (all contributors are University professors of medieval history), great illustrations, excellent maps and good organization of individual chapters. Yet, despite the scholarly authorship, it reads extremely well as it is written for the non-expert. If you want to read only one book on the history of the crusades, this is it!

Others have said this, and i agree: much of the book is in short nuggets--a page or two per topic. I really loved that. Made it very organized and easily digested.

What i would like to add, though, is from my point of view this book describes not only the stereotypical Crusades (West European Knights in armor Vs Muslims in the Mideast), but the parts that i've never thought about--byzantium and eastern Europe. The Turks. The fall of Constantinople. The Reformation. And it does so smoothly. I feel like i can see how it all fits together, and the history of the time is not just one abrupt subject to another, but a smooth progression. And a rich progression.

Perhaps other books are better....but this one suited me fine. My point of view is of a layperson who loves to read ancient history but has never much studied the Middle Ages. I guess it caught me at the right time, because now I'm motivated to read much more on the subject.

Crusades:The illustrated History-Christendom,Islam,Pilgrimage,War

Duncan Baird Publishers (October 14, 2004)ISBN-10: 1844830403

A surprisingly Evenhanded and well-written history of the crusades,No Anti-Christian Bias or Anti-Pope/AntiClerical propaganda. With pictures and illustrations from all sides,Christians,Islam,The Turks.It is so nice to read FACTS and not some Author's bias and revisionist history.The Crusades were fought by Man Not Christ therefore The Church(Catholic) Cannot be held responsible for things Man has done,we all sin.Compared to The Communist purges,Over 30 million approx. by Stalin and Over 60 million and counting by Mao,The Crusades appeared little in comparison.Although the author briefly mentions but does not delve into the Many Protestant Crusades especially burning witches at the stake by Our Quaker/Pilgrim Protestant Ancestors nor of the many in Europe by the Crazed Calvinists among many other sects including Luther's(Today most modern counterparts are Labeled Falsely "Christian" or Born Again) In many ways the Crusades as the Author concludes still lingers on taken for granted by one side or the other whether with Barbaric Islamist Extremists or Secularists the battle of ideas always rages on.I would Recommend along with this the book; God's Battalions by Rodney Stark and Thomas F Woods "How the Catholic Church helped Built Western Civilization" as Well as H.W. Crocker's "Triumph".

This was the perfect gift for my husband. Excellent information, beautiful illustrations and photos of ancient artwork.

The writing and the graphics mesh to tell the story completely. I used it for report writing in seminary, and it was better than the textbook or the other two sources. Buy this one first.

This is an excellent book which provides a great introduction to a tumultuous period in history.

This is one of a newer breed of softcover coffee-table book that bring images together in a way no one could accomplish on the Internet.

The history, alas, is grossly biased. I'm a rational person who reads a great deal of history, and I understand that English-speakers will not notice an anti-Spanish bias. But nowhere in this book does Madden, a different type of liberal than I, give the Spanish and Portuguese kingdoms the right to defend themselves against a new faith born in warfare! (Mohammed was a warrior-merchant, like Vasco da Gama.)

Maybe it would have been BETTER if the West had been converted at scimitar-point, as it were. We'd all be of one faith, and warfare would be Muslim-on-Muslim, and Muslim-on-Jew. But the French (!!) saved - for better or for worse - Western Civilization, and they did it in the person of Charles Martel ("Charles the Hammer").

Madden mentions Martel only in passing, then "blames" France for being the center of crusader zeal. He never connects the dots: Jihad - Christian survival - Martel - Christian defense - Crusade from France. In other words, Madden's got facts, but he's not an historian.

O BUT THE PICTURES ... !