How the Crusades Changed History

By: Philip Daileader, The Great Courses

Narrated by: Philip Daileader

Length: 11 hrs and 52 mins

Publisher's Summary

Centuries have passed since the last crusader knight laid down his sword, but the Crusades continue to hold sway over our world. Because the Crusades have been so consequential to history, it's essential to understand the context, motivations, and preconditions of these dramatic military campaigns. In doing so, you'll not only get a fresher understanding of the Crusades, you'll discover surprising truths about why (and how) they were fought.

More than just an enriching recount of events, this series of 24 lectures is an intellectually rewarding exploration of how the Crusades shaped the medieval world and laid the seeds for our own. Plunging you into the series of Crusades to the Holy Land and elsewhere - from the calling of the First Crusade in 1095 to the collapse of the Kingdom of Jerusalem, in 1291 - Professor Daileader's lectures are filled with eye-opening insights and gripping stories that will help you reach your own conclusions about just how important these centuries of warfare were to the story of human civilization.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.

©2013 The Teaching Company, LLC (P)2013 The Great Courses

I am so pleased that Teaching Co is now on Audible

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Philip Daileader is one of my favorite Teaching Company lecturers. I have listened to his 3 middle ages from TC directly and I just finished this Crusades piece. Terrific. A great way to learn history from one of the great professors on the subject. I recommend all 4 series. All 4 are available on Audible now.

Course falls short

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

Good recitation of the history but does a poor job of addressing how the Crusades actually changed history. Many things are attributed to the Crusades in the final lecture but the historical reasoning and fact trails are lacking. Could make the first 11 lectures a course on the history of the Crusades themselves, a prerequisite to a course addressing their impact - a course I expect I would enjoy.

Good Historical Narrative but Lacking In Analysis

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

Pluses:
• Good chronology on all of the Crusades and their main events

Minuses:
• The professor’s style was bland and without emotion
• A little more time spent on the historical powers at the time would help set good context (assumptions seemed to be made)
• I’m not sure the title of the course was adequately answered or at least not hammered home

It's complicated...

Where does How the Crusades Changed History rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

It's rare for me to encounter a book I dislike, so my opinion about the rank of this book might need a little salt. Nonetheless, I have the sense that as time passes, my mind will replay parts of this story in order to provide a new event with some context, or to simply re-live and re-enjoy the story. Some books do not achieve that.

What did you like best about this story?

This is a part of Western History that receives little examination in public schools, and even University curricula. That's a shame and a surprise insofar as current relations between Christian and Islamic societies are very troubled and complicated. All parties would benefit from a reasonably objective review of that history.

Have you listened to any of Professor Philip Daileader’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

This is the first set of lectures I've heard from Professor Daileader. He is really great... reminds me of my college days... wishing I were that young and vigorous again.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

How Will *You* Save Your Everlasting Soul?

Any additional comments?

No history fan will be disappointed with these lectures.

compelling lectures on the Crusades

I was already a Prof. Daileader fan from his three-part Middle Ages lecture series, and this was another hit. I'm surprised at the negative reviews. If you like Teaching Company college-style history lectures, you will love this. (I find lectures easier to listen to than audiobooks at times, but I realize tastes vary on that.)

If you enjoy this, you would also enjoy the Thomas Madden lectures on the Crusades (through Modern Scholar on audible). Each professor chooses to emphasize different details.

Strengths here include an increased emphasis on causes and later impacts, while not skipping some of the interesting stories along the way. The lectures changed my perspective in many ways. He does a good job presenting the different schools of thought among historians on these issues, which seems especially prevalent in this time period with limited sources.

Overall, one of the better TC history lecture series.

Amazing history! Entertaining and eye-opening

I've long wanted to know more about the crusades and this book delivers. From the WHY to the HOW and WHO, it's all explained here. From the famous crusades to the Middle East to the more obscure ones into central Europe, why men of all ages and social ranks joined, etc. Fascinating! (Didn't give 5 stars for story because some of the latter chapters tend to run long, but maybe I just wasn't as much into the topics.)

Curious as to the What, Who, Why and When?

What did you love best about How the Crusades Changed History?

The detail. The summary in the last two chapters was very much appreciated. However, this lecture series contains so much material I may need to go through it a few more time. I do love listening to Professor Philip Daileader as he lectures.

What other book might you compare How the Crusades Changed History to and why?

NA

Have you listened to any of Professor Philip Daileader’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I have listened to his wonderful series on the Middle Ages; those are incomparable!

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No way - much too complex

Any additional comments?

I completed this course "How the Crusades Changed History" narrated by Professor Philip Daileader today. Great stuff!

I can't recommend this for those with a lackluster interest in the how, why and who of the Crusades or those who shy away from violent history, but it is a doggone good collection of lectures for a neophyte like me.

This course did address a huge gap in my understanding of the many dimensions/layers of the crusades. Particularly enlightening was Professor Daileader's explaining the ignorance that crusaders had of Islam and the Arabic culture, particularly in what is now Spain when all this started. The crusaders' fear of something of which they had so little understanding and how that changed over the course of the 500 years following the first crusade made for a fascinating study.

Be advised there is no soft pedaling of the violence that characterized this era.

Dull

Any additional comments?

The author pretty much writes an outline of dates and events and reads down the outline. You have to force yourself to pay attention to it. A good history teacher knows how to tell a story and this is completely lacking. It's like being ready to be served a delicious cake and the chef just comes out and reads you the recipe. The subject itself is something I would be very interested in hearing about but I will look for some other source. I listen to a lot of history courses and this is one of my least favorites. I didn't even finish it and that's very unusual.

informative

Interesting background on historical issues we still face today. Covers the events at the strategic level with little information on the tactics used.

Fascinating and tragic

Daileader is a stellar lecturer and this course on the Crusades is a fascinating tour through the narrative and, to a lesser extent, the broad themes involved in the history of the Crusades, full of pathos and a clear and easy-to-follow thread of events. Still, compared to his courses on the broader history of the Middle ages, Daileader seems a little tired in these lectures, and his wit is not as sharp and his delivery not as snappy. Still, well worth the listen all the way.

One of the best Great Courses I've listened to

Would you consider the audio edition of How the Crusades Changed History to be better than the print version?

There isn't a printed version of this lecture series, but listening to historical material is always preferable to reading it as historical material can become dull and the mind can wander.

What other book might you compare How the Crusades Changed History to, and why?

Anything by Philip Daileader, his Middle Ages lectures are excellent and well worth a listen.

Which scene did you most enjoy?

The Richard the Lion Heart and Saladin lecture was particularly interesting.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Not really.

Any additional comments?

I've listened to a lot of the Great Courses lecture series and have found Philip Daileader is one of the best Great Courses lecturers, along with Bart D.Ehrman, and I would recommend anything by him. He is very easy to listen to and deals with the subject in a methodical and engaging way. Once I had completed the How the Crusades Changed History series I really felt that I had learned something and had been entertained by it. One of the best Great Courses lectures I've listen to.

Thrills and spills!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes, because they're all history nerds.

Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Some of the tales of Crusader hardship are amazing to listen to. Less about the appalling conditions, but also the spaceflight levels of chuztpah that these journeys entailed. And he gives a very balanced description to everyone.

Any additional comments?

The "historical" part was a good overview of the crusades in order, but the hook came with all of the sundry details. Also, really good at expanding the view from Muslims vs. Crusaders to West vs. Religious Orders vs. Byzantium vs. Levantine states vs. Arabs.

Lucid and fascinating

A very lucid account of a long and complicated period of history. Each lecture is beautifully structured, and despite the abundance of names and dates you never lose your way. The last few lectures, on the legacy of the Crusades, are particularly fascinating. Professor Daileader has an engaging way of delivering his material, with nicely judged touches of humour on occasions.

Title says it all great course

Title says it all great course, I started listening to a lot of the Great Courses about mankind’s past, this book will not disappoint well read

The Crusades

A very thorough insight to the reasoning, logistics and outcome of the Crusades.
Consequences and effect is a great insight that, still today, is evident.
Broken down into small chapters it was a very enjoyable and enlightening listen.
Highly recommended.

poor performance

performance I found unbearable to listen too regrettably as it is such an interesting subject. I'll read instead.

Part of a series of great courses

Content informative and well structured, Prof. Daileader is engaging and cracks the occasional dry gag. It's all good. Daileader does have a few rhetorical quirks, such as his fondness for saying 'aaaaaaand', which may seem gratuitous at first but after a while you barely notice them. I've listened through all his published medieval courses multiple times. Anyone interested in the period won't go far wrong with any of them imho.

A wonderfully informative series of lectures.

Crusades in context, continuing under various guises to this very day. I can highly recommend this series of lectures... Brilliant!