The Crusades

By: Abigail Archer

Narrated by: Sarah Nichols

Looking into the past, the Crusades seem incomprehensible. What combination of religious fervor, hatred of people of different faiths, and gall led Europeans of AD 1100 to make their way thousands of miles to conquer the Holy Land? Why did they continue for 200 years? How did the Crusades change the world?

The intriguing story is peppered with colorful characters. Over the centuries, this well-researched and written book argues, crusaders saw - and participated in - the evolution of warfare and the transformation of society from feudal fiefdoms to nations and empires. The story of the Crusades is a reminder, too, of the horrors wrought in the name of religion. The Crusades are seen by many Christians today as an exercise in fanaticism, an episode in which the teachings of Christ were used to justify the horrors perpetrated on innocents. That judgment is accurate, but not the whole story.

©2015 Abigail Archer (P)2017 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Good introduction for study of the Crusades.

A good overview for learning about the Crusades before going into more in-depth research.

Interesting.

Very interesting. A great book to get the back ones of the crusades.

The narrator did a great job too!

Short & Informative

This book provides a basic primer on The Crusades, the motivations, the leaders, and ultimately the outcomes and a resolution. If you're a History major, or one who has extensively studied this period, this book might be a little too basic. If you are looking to get a general introduction or a refresher, this is the book for you.

Short yet informative history of the Crusades

At first it did not keep my attention, but the early material became very helpful. The author interwoven important insights from more disparate components of history, thereby setting the Crusades in a wider context of European history.

Informative

Feel as though it didn’t go as into detail on the atrocities of the crusades as much as it should. Good foot note history of the crusades though, just not as weary of the past as I feel it should be.

Biased History

Such a short book was never going to be a really good choice for learning. The author has some totally incorrect information regarding the Muslims and the Latin levels of technological influence. The Arabs did not introduce the sphere model to Europe. The Greeks and Romans already had this knowledge a thousand years before. The vast majority of the so-called Muslim Golden Age was precipitated by Greek learning from the Eastern Romans who retained Greek learning. Go to YouTube and find RealCrusadesHistory for a much better Crusade specific history lesson.

Good but hits pitfalls

This is a good book for an overall look at the Crusades. However, it sadly veers into the neo-western cliches that many books on this subject fall into. Western view used to demonize the Muslim world and sweep Christian atrocity under the carpet, neo-western does the opposite. The narrator almost chastises Christian forces while nearly praises cruel rulers like Baibars. She does mention that the Holy Land was a Christian population occupied by Muslim overlords at the First Crusade nor the infighting between Muslim factions. Basically, instead of being even, it praises Muslims and scolds Euro Christians. A good history on the Crusades simply recounts what happened without editorializing. There were atrocities, betrayal of creeds and civilian victims on both sides. Saladin hired Christians to help overthrough the Caliph and there were also times of Christian/Muslim harmony. It seems facts like these were omitted in an attempt to make Muslim society look civilized and Euro Christians look barbaric. This, sadly, is more modern spin than history...

overall it was good

Overall it was a good listen. It did well condensing the Crusades into a listen that i finished in a day.

Excellent presentation

I needed a good overview of the crusades. Wanted to understand the background, political, economic and religious drivers of the Crusades and the resulting outcomes. This one checked all the blocks. Thoroughly enjoyed it and it has made my recent trips to thx region more meaningful.

Enjoyed it on a long drive

Good narration. Interesting pieces of history I was familiar with but did not know the details. Thanks