The Crusades: The Two Hundred Years War : the Clash Between the Cross and the Crescent in the Middle East 1096-1291 (Prime Time History)

James Harpur was educated at Trinity College, Cambridge, England, where he read Classics and English. An enthusiast of medieval history and comparative religion, he has written and edited a number of books on these and related subjects, including Revelations: the Medieval World, The Atlas of Sacred Places and The World's Religions.

Grade 9 Up—The strength of this broad treatment is the illustrative material. Full-color reproductions of medieval illuminations provide a sense of the pageantry of the period, and photographs of the modern landscape add some context. There aren't enough maps, which is disappointing, given that background knowledge of geography is crucial to understanding the progress of the campaign, the Muslim response, and the Mongol threat. Harpur's introduction attempts to dispel common misconceptions about the forces at play and the legacy of dispute handed down to the modern day. He notes that making "facile connections between present conflicts...and the crusades is misleading, because it ignores the very different geo-political and religious circumstances" then and now. Sidebars add background information on the Sunni-Shiite division, noteworthy figures of the period, and other related material. Given his broad scope, the author manages to elucidate the various personalities and their religious and political orientations, emphasizing individual players and relying on their appeal to connect the disparate episodes of nearly 200 years of battles between the Franks and the Muslims. Appendixes include a limited glossary, short biographies of the main figures, and suggestions for further research and reading. This is a worthwhile addition for its visual content and a useful purchase for libraries needing a single-volume over-view of the period.—Rebecca Donnelly, Loma Colorado Public Library, Rio Rancho, NM
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