Jerusalem Falls: A Monk's Tale of the First Crusade

Spring, 1096. Europe’s princes march their armies toward the Holy Land. They are accompanied by tens of thousands of pilgrims, led by a fiery preacher Peter the Hermit. Their destination is Jerusalem, the holiest of all Christian cities. Their goal is to conquer the Muslim occupation. History will call them the First Crusade.Among the pilgrims is Oderic of Rheims, a Benedictine monk from eastern France. He's devoted to the cause, but the Crusade will test every vow he swore to the Church. His poverty will be challenged by greed, his obedience tempted by blood lust. But it’s his oath of chastity facing the greatest trial, in a deep, secret love for Rebecca, a Jewish woman Oderic rescues on the long road to Jerusalem.The four-year journey is filled with unimaginable hardships and dangers: terrifying Turkish armies, impregnable cities, a death march, starvation, excruciating thirst, desertions. Ninety percent of the Crusaders will never see Europe again. As Oderic evolves from priest to warrior to lover, he realizes he will not return to Europe the same man. If he returns at all.

Thomas Ewing, Ph.D, JD, began his professional life as a lecturer in Asian history and language at Leeds University, England, with a specialty in the northern Chinese frontier. He's published one history with Indiana University Press and several academic articles within European university journals. After returning to his 150-year-old farm in Oregon, he became an attorney with an emphasis on appellate law. He was appointed Chief Administrative Law Judge of the State of Oregon leading an organization of eighty judges. He retired in 2010. Ewing's first love has always been history, particularly the Middle Ages. Jerusalem Falls began twenty years ago when he read a popular history of the First Crusade. Fascinated, he subsequently read over 120 books on the subject. Jerusalem Falls follows the First Crusade though the eyes of a Benedictine monk, but always with a scrupulous, uncompromising attention to historical accuracy. Ewing lives with his wife of fifty years and their two sons in Mt. Angel, Oregon.