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| Nonfiction Reviews |
| Warriors Of God Richard the Lionheart and Saladin in the Third Crusade by James Reston, Jr. |
| Warriors Of God is a tale of two larger-than-life personalities of the Middle Ages. On the one hand we have Richard, vain but fierce in battle, he is mired in territorial disputes and family schisms at home. Richard sees the call to the Crusade as an impedimaent to his ambitions inFrance, and proceeds to loot and plunder his way to the Holy Land. On the other hand, there is Saladin, a pious and just man, who rules the Muslim lands with compassion and tries in vain to reach a middle ground with the Europeans who hold sway over the Holy Land. At last, war comes again to the Holy Land, when the rage of the Islamic faithful cannot be contained. The resulting clash of arms will pit two of Medival history's most intriguing figures against one another in a battle for all that they hold dear, the Third Crusade. Although well written and even-handed, Warriors Of God will set most of the modern-day notions about the principle players on their heads. Although it shattered many an illusion about my Medival Heroes, it was a nontheless factual and fascinating read. Reston does an excellent job of looking at the events of the Third Crusade from both sides, ultimately showing that there were no winners. This book's moderate length and it's exciting narrative make it highly recommendable to those even remotely interested in Medival history or those who would enjoy a slightly different angle on military history. |
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| 3 of 5 stars |
| Nolanbuc's rating: |
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