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Armies of Heaven
- The First Crusade and the Quest for Apocalypse
- Narrated by: Brian Holsopple
- Length: 13 hrs and 23 mins
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Publisher's Summary
At Moson, the river Danube ran red with blood. At Antioch, the Crusaders, their saddles freshly decorated with sawed-off heads, indiscriminately clogged the streets with the bodies of eastern Christians and Turks. At Marra, they cooked children on spits and ate them. By the time the Crusaders reached Jerusalem, their quest and their violence had become distinctly otherworldly: blood literally ran shin-deep through the streets as the Crusaders overran the sacred city. Beginning in 1095 and culminating four bloody years later, the First Crusade represented a new kind of warfare: holy, unrestrained, and apocalyptic.
In Armies of Heaven, medieval historian Jay Rubenstein tells the story of this cataclysmic event through the eyes of those who witnessed it, emphasizing the fundamental role that apocalyptic thought played in motivating the Crusaders. A thrilling work of military and religious history, Armies of Heaven will revolutionize our understanding of the Crusades.
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- Jotika
- 05-14-19
most comprehensive so far
I loved it till the end The way it was written and narrated kept me wanting to know more it was as I was there in the midst of the battles Awesome
1 person found this helpful
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- carlos e pitre jr
- 03-19-18
Detailed story of 1st Crusade & the Miricles
this is one of the best detailed stories about the Crusade that also includes the Miracles that they encountered and saw that most Crusade history books always leave out
1 person found this helpful
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- Andrew R Clay
- 07-11-17
An amazing journey
A good tale of an amazing event, the journey of a massive army across 2000 miles. Slightly bogged down at times, but this barely detracts from capturing the spirit of the first crusade.
1 person found this helpful
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- William Stern
- 09-27-18
Riveting
Jay Rubenstein brings medieval characters and battles to life giving me both a deeper understanding of the subject but also a greater love for the topic. Written with both detail and clarity, I appreciate that he can make himself understandable to an amateur history buff like me.
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- Christopher
- 07-02-12
Long, too much moment-to-moment detail, dull
I was hoping for more summary and historical analysis and perspective. This books is, rather, a lot of moment-to-moment detail about battles, minor nobles, and many names of minor historical figures. If you are a crusades enthusiast, you might like it.
5 people found this helpful
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- Anonymous User
- 01-12-21
Fantastic content, odd reader choice.
The book itself was fantastic; a well researched, highly detailed and utterly compelling account of the first crusade. My only (very minor) gripe, which I realise is highly subjective, was the reader's deep movie trailer voice. While his performance was in no way bad (he'd sound fantastic reading sci-fi), it just took me a long time to get used to his cadence and I would often get distracted by it. Again, this was only a minor (very subjective) concern and it's not to say that I didn't enjoy the book! I'd definitely recommend this wonderful piece of historicism to anyone interested in the period.