The Crusades: The War for the Holy Land Paperback – 9 July 2020

This was the first book I bought when I decided to get into reading history books. Coming into the crusades knowing only a little knowledge, I wanted a book that would take me step by step on how the crusades unfolded, the people involved, the battles, and generally getting a good overview of the crusades. Even little details about certain situations have been fun to read. From the prologue throughout, I have learnt so much and all the material was easy to read. Dates, people, descriptions all laid out in a systematic way which is very engaging and laid out in a simple way for a beginner to understand. I throughly enjoyed this book and the information written has been invaluable and have enjoyed great discussion over the topic. Great book to read and this book has inspired me to read more and brought about a new passion for reading!

I've read a good deal about the Crusades and have visited the Middle East where most of the action took place. I started out reading what many regard as the standard work by Runciman and went on from there. This is clearly a well researched book, easy to read and which covers the subject in a concise yet informative manner.I thought it stood well in comparison to other similar works. Very enjoyable read.

For over a thousand years inter-religious strife has been focused on the city of Jerusalem and the surrounding areas. Jerusalem is a holy place for the three Abrahamic religions and therefore is a jewel fought over. Conquered by Islamic forces in the 7th century, Christian pilgrims were still able to access the holy places but by the 11th century the papacy felt that Jerusalem should be rules by Christians. Thus began two centuries of warfare for possession of the Holy Land involving the elite of the European nobility and a succession of Muslim rulers.This is a superb book, meticulously researched and full of detail. What is really important about this book is the fact that it offers a balanced view of the times. Most books focus solely on the 'Franks' but Asbridge also considers the muslim situation in depth, neither side was truly focused and both were riven by issues related to leadership. This aspect gives a depth to the history which is refreshing. Asbridge also expands the view to consider the hijacking of the word 'crusade' in modern times. This is a definitive history of a relatively short but violent series of encounters.

The author goes straight into the first crusade, without the boring bits, he really gets into the nitty gritty, and then onto the second crusade. Most of the book however was about the most famous crusade the third one with Richard the Lionheart verses Saladin. There is over 100 pages alone on this. The fourth, fifth and sixth crusades are mentioned towards the end, but I feel not enough was written about them, especially when Baybars of Egypt defeats them. Overall I felt the book read like a novel, was a page turner and is certainly one of the best books I have ever read on the crusades. It certainly will give Dan Jones's book a good run for its money.

Although 800 pages or so, it does not read that way. Asbridge has succeeded in bringing the Crusades to life in a scholarly fashion without over complicating a layered and textured subject. The writing is light but not without detail, and it is often enlivened by excellent use of anecdotes. To use a well-worn phrase it wears it's scholarship lightly, and as such is an excellent though thorough introduction. Asbridge is an excellent story-teller as anyone who watched his BBC series on the Crusades (this is the book of the series if you were in any doubt). I always believe a good 'narrative style' title is the best way to study any historical topic. Were I a student again, I would start here and move on to Prof Housley's 'Fighting for the Cross' which is also an important though readable work, which approaches the subject in general, thematically. For greater detail than Asbridge, move on to Tyerman's 'God's War', also work by J. Riley-Smith. I cannot recommend this title strongly enough to the titular reader.

Having read many volumes of historical books I found this book both informative yet slow going and ended up taking 6 Months of intermittent reading to complete. Great book for reference but keeping this readers interest not so great

I really enjoyed reading this book but found it a bit hard going in parts.

I have been interested in 'The Crusades' since I did a general studies course on the subject 40+ years ago (during my Physics degree, of all things!).I don't propose saying anything more about the excellence of this book - the other 29 reviewers (so far) have said it all - absolutely excellent book about the Crusades!What I would like to draw out is the fact that this book falls very neatly (and nicely!) between such relatively short introductory texts such as 'The Cross and the Crescent' by Malcolm Billings(*), and 'The Crusades' by Anthony Bridge(*) and more academic studies such as 'A History of the Crusades' by Steven Runcieman. It's a perfect general, but detailed introduction to the Crusades with a nice balance between academic rigour and entertaining anecdote. Wonderful!(*) Both of these books are excellent in their own right.

Intricately detailed and vividly narrated, this book masterfully brings to life a significant historical conflict. Asbridge's compelling storytelling takes readers on an immersive journey through the battles and ideologies of a bygone era. A must-read for history enthusiasts seeking a deeper understanding of a monumental war.

I had been told that this was a kind of definitive work on the topic and, indeed, its mere size so displays. It is a scholarly approach to a phenomenon that addresses the most known phenomenon from the European Middle Ages. Yet legend and myth have somehow blotted the real picture of the events. So, as a whole, the book fits the bill. Still, at times one cannot but feel a bit overwhelmed by the detailed and morose description of certain episodes.

Ein sehr unterhaltsames Sachbuch, welches die geschichtlichen Ereignisse spannend aufbereitet und sich dem doch ziemlich aufgeladenen Thema gut annimmt. Es umfasst die Geschichte aller Kreuzzüge und der Rückeroberung der Levante bis zum Fall von Akkon durch die Mamelucken. Die Wendenkreuzzüge, die Reconquista sowie die späteren Kreuzzüge gegen die Osmanen werden nur kurz erwähnt und sind nciht Teil des Buchs.Es beleuchtet beide Seiten und deren Motivation auf eine meines Erachtens sehr neutrale Art und Weise und widerspricht fundiert vielen gängigen Vorurteilen über die Kreuzzüge. Besonders spannend fand ich die Betrachtung der Kreuzzüge im Laufe der Zeit. Früher waren anscheinend z.B. Nur ad-Din und Baybars deutlich populärer in der islamischen Welt als heute, während aktuell Saladin ja der beliebteste Gegner der Kreuzritter ist. Zudem fand ich es sehr erhellend, dass die ersten Kreuzzüge nicht als Angriff auf den Islam selbst gesehen wurden, sondern mit den "Franken" halt ein neuer Spieler aus dem Nichts hereingeplatzt ist. Die Komponente des Religionskampfes, kam auf der muslimischen Seite erst etwa 50 Jahre später hinzu.Asbridge schafft es sehr eindrucksvoll die historischen Ereignisse und Hintergründe derart in Szene zu setzen, dass man auf jede neue Entwicklung gespannt ist, selbst wenn man den groben Ablauf und das Ergebnis der einzelnen Kampagnen schon kennt. Der Stil erinnert mcih bisweilen wirklich an historische Romane, nur, dass es wirklich gut recherchierte Ereignisse darstellt. Das ist wirklich große klasse.Durch die genauere Betrachtung der muslimischen Seite habe ich zum ersten Mal wirklich die Interaktionen zwischen den Zengiden (und Saladin) und den (schiitischen) Fatimiden verstanden. Mir war zuvor auch nicht klar, wie lose das Reich der Ayyubiden eigentlich vereinigt war und wie existenzbedrohlich der dritte Kreuzzug letztlich für ihn wurde und wie der Friedensvertrag zustande kam.Von mir gibt es inhaltlich eine uneingeschränkte Kaufempfehlung. Bei meiner Version war das Buch leider schlecht geklebt und hat schnell Seiten verloren, was mich geärgert hat. Ich möchte nicht behaupten, dass das der Standard ist, aber mir sind in meiner ganzen Lesekarriere wirklich nur wenige Bücher so schnell kaputt gegangen.

Asbridge does an excellant job explaining the societal factors impacting the Crusades as well as evaluating the possible motivations of the actors on both sides. This is a very balanced look at an important period in history. In recent years, many Western scholars (Reston, for instance) have depicted Islam as pure and the Crusaders as rapacious and unadulterated evil. Asbridge is evenhanded in his treatment of the West and Islam, which is a refreshing approach, since rarely is one side all good and the other all bad. The Crusades continue to be very relevant to modern issues involving the West and Islam and I would highly recommend this book as a good survey of an important period of this relationship between the two.

More the book that accompanies a TV series than a stand alone history.