The Crusades: The War Against Islam 1096-1798 - Softcover

Billings, Malcolm; The British Library

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0752429744 ISBN 13: 9780752429748

Publisher: Tempus, 2006

Synopsis

In 1095, Pope Urban II granted absolution to anyone who would fight to reclaim the Holy Land. With God at their backs, the first crusaders embarked on an unprecedented religious war that was to last for almost two centuries. While addressing the contribution of flamboyant characters like Saladin and Richard the Lionheart, Malcolm Billings also looks at the experiences of the men on the ground—the peasants, knights, and fighting monks who took the cross for Christendom and the Holy Warriors of Islam.

About this title

About the Author:

Malcolm Billings spent most of his career broadcasting and producing Radio 4 and BBC World Service program. He presented the Today program during the 1970s. He has also contributed from many parts of the world to Radio 4’s From Our Correspondent and was producer and presenter of the BBC World Service Heritage program for fifteen years. His other publications include: The Crusades, the War Against Islam, 1096-1798 (2006); Queen’s College: 150 Years and a New Century (2000); and The English, the Making of a Nation from 430-1700 (1991).

Review:

"'Demonstrates that one can write in the light of the most recent research without losing excitement and colour... a story which has everything that has always made it so exciting for the general reader: warfare; exploration; western medieval castles in the desert and on Syrian and Greek mountain ranges; heroism alternating with acts of revolting cruelty' PROFESSOR JONATHAN RILEY-SMITH, University of Cambridge."

About this edition

• Publisher: Tempus
• Publication date: 2006
• ISBN 10: 0752429744
• ISBN 13: 9780752429748
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 285