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A review by silverthane
The First Crusade: A New History by Thomas Asbridge
3.0
This book is excellent, written in a simple, easily accessable way and I recommend it to anyone even vaguely interested in the Crusades.
All of the Crusades were bloody affairs with terrible atrosities committed on both sides. The mentallity of Medieval Christians from the lowest peasant to the highest Lord is illustrated in surprising detail and there are plenty of pictures both of medieval imagery and photos of Jerusalem and Crusader forts
My only critisim is that the book can at times heavily criticise the Christians of the period and not the Muslims. Although it was the Christians who instigated the Crusades it was partly in response to crimes that had been committed by Muslims against Christian Pilgrims in Jerusalem.
The author does also have a habit of stating his own opinions as solid fact when often there is no way of proving his views one way or another.
Still despite this it is a book that is well worth reading and can teach alot.
All of the Crusades were bloody affairs with terrible atrosities committed on both sides. The mentallity of Medieval Christians from the lowest peasant to the highest Lord is illustrated in surprising detail and there are plenty of pictures both of medieval imagery and photos of Jerusalem and Crusader forts
My only critisim is that the book can at times heavily criticise the Christians of the period and not the Muslims. Although it was the Christians who instigated the Crusades it was partly in response to crimes that had been committed by Muslims against Christian Pilgrims in Jerusalem.
The author does also have a habit of stating his own opinions as solid fact when often there is no way of proving his views one way or another.
Still despite this it is a book that is well worth reading and can teach alot.