God’s War: A New History of the Crusades

Thoroughly researched work, I wish amazon would package their books just a bit better.

This is a must read for any history fan, Crusader Kings player, or someone who wants a good understanding of the crusades with a scholar touch but without any dull moments. Like a great podcast almost on paper. I only wish it was on kindle to read as I travel, hopefully it will be on kindle soon

To tackle a subject as broad (geographically) and long (in time) as the Crusades is an imposing task. To do so in a one-volume treatment, balancing the line between scholarly research and popular interest is even more difficult. It is a tribute to the author (and, presumably his editors and proofreaders) that this book succeeds. I am no more than an armchair historian, and certainly no expert on the Crusades, so I can only take the word of Tyerman's colleagues that this is a well-researched and referenced text. As an armchair historian, I might be more qualified to testify to the book's general readability, and it is very readable - dense, yes, but also entertaining and informative. More importantly it is never confusing nor does it degenerate into a compendium of names and deeds.This is no mean feat - Crusading stretched all across Europe and into North Africa and, obviously, the Holy Land. As such, the number of princes, bishops, cult leaders, merchants, and commoners that participated is enormous, made the more confusing because names might duplicate over the centuries and/or between different nations, while some people will have multiple names due to their multiple titles (e.g. King Conrad II of Jerusalem was also Emporer Conrad IV of the HRE). Somehow, Tyerman skirts the fine line between excessive detailed explanation and confusion - you are never required to keep track of all the noble lines of European royal houses!Another potential pitfall to writing about any military campaign (or sets of campaigns) is to overemphasize certain aspects. Although the chronicle of battles and seiges might be the most entertaining, the reader is hardly well-informed about the true nature of warfare including the logistics, politics, etc. Thus, the various (and varied) Crusades depicted in this book are covered end-to-end: from recruitment to victory (or defeat) on the battlefield. Much space is devoted to the internicene quarreling of the Christian nations (e.g. England vs. France, various claimants to the Imperial throne, the trading rivalries between Venice, Genoa, and Padua, etc.), and how these coloured the national characters of each Crusade. Finances are equally well documented - mounting a campaign over such a distance was expensive.Ultimately, any such massive history as this comes down to the execution of the writing, and here is Tyerman's greatest success. He comes off as knowledgeable and populist at the same time. It's rare that I'm sent to my dictionary as often as with this book - the author using such new and useful words (to me) as "elision" (deliberately omitting something) and "fissiparous" (reproducing by fission) - but the author also talks of "the gravy train" and uses other vernacular terms. Thus is such a thick subject rendered entertaining in the hands of a skilled writer.My only complaint is that, as the Crusades proceed, they appear to become much of a muchness. It becomes a formula: 1. set up the political scene, 2. proceed to the recruitment stage, 3. talk about finances, and 4. describe the military campaign. This pattern repeats for each Crusade, meaning it repeats 10+ times through the course of the book. There's not much Tyerman can do about that, I suppose, and maintain his rigour, but it does diminish the reading experience somewhat.

The Crusades have become a popular area of university study. This book is more than a tome for undergraduates. It is well referenced and goes a long way to explain the modern situation between Christianity and Islam. It is an important addition for anyone interested in both the historical and modern perspective.

In depth, most up to date tome on the crusades, using the most currently available scholarship. Overwhelms Runcimn's work on the crusades written back in the 50's.

I gave up on this book after 150 pages. This book is for people who are already very familiar with the crusades. The author has an odd style of jumping back and forth in time which makes it very difficult to follow unless you are already familiar with the events described. It is as if you were reading a WW2 history that was addressing the campaign in North Africa then jumping to D-Day, then the Battle of the Bulge, then back to North Africa in just a couple of pages.Also, dozens and dozens of people and events are introduced and given only a few pages. It would have been easier to follow if more time was spent with the more significant historical figures and events. There is also a very limited description of the military events of the crusades.This book is for people with a preexisting knowledge of the history of the crusades. However, they probably won't learn anything new from a one volume treatment. The best description of the book is it is a massive info dump.

It will take you a while to finish & you will probably read this in chunks between other books, but a worthwhile purchase.

Amazing book...well written!

A good book for those with a background knowledge of the Crusades. Not as accessible as other titles by Tyerman but nonetheless it's a good read, if a bit hard to get into - a good reference book for essays and dissertations too!

It took me the best part of two months to wade through this book. About six weeks of that was after the third crusade and I think this highlights my main criticism. The fourth crusade and beyond, the Baltic and Albergensian crusades and Spanish Reconquisita seem to interest Tyerman less than the three "classic" crusades. The result is that a very readable history full of anecdote, interesting detail and absolutely chock full of primary material takes a turn towards a different form of storytelling. The author's voice originally channels the eye witness accounts as if he himself was present when Peter Bartholemew unearthed the Holy Lance in Antioch but after Richard's return from Palestine the author's voice becomes more distanced as if presenting material not so dear to his heart.If you are after a well researched history of the crusades (all the crusades) in an easily digestible volume and with tons of original sources, this is it. The apologetic view of the fourth crusade's result is also an interesting read.

Excellent product, delivered on time.

Magisterial :)

Very welcome gift