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The New Concise History of the Crusades (Critical Issues in History) | 
 enlarge | Author: Thomas F. Madden
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Category: Book
List Price: $24.95
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Rating:  34 reviews
Sales Rank: 101272
Media: Paperback
Edition: Stu Upd
Pages: 280
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.8
Dimensions (in): 8.8 x 5.9 x 0.7
ISBN: 0742538230
Dewey Decimal Number: 909.07
EAN: 9780742538238
ASIN: 0742538230
Publication Date: November 2005
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Condition: Ships immediately! Perfect and New! Stu Upd. 2005 Paperback.
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Product Description
How have the crusades contributed to Islamist rage and terrorism today? Were the crusades the Christian equivalent of modern jihad? In this sweeping yet crisp history, Thomas F. Madden offers a brilliant and compelling narrative of the crusades and their contemporary relevance. Placing all the major crusades within their medieval social, economic, religious, and intellectual environments, Madden explores the uniquely medieval world that led untold thousands to leave their homes, family, and friends to march in Christ's name to distant lands. From Palestine and Europe's farthest reaches, each crusade is recounted in clear, concise narrative. The author gives special attention as well to the crusades' effects on the Islamic world and the Christian Byzantine East.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 29 more reviews...
 Well balanced and full of great information June 3, 2005
A. Cicogna (Rye, New York United States)
118 out of 132 found this review helpful
For once, here is an author who is not scared of writing a good and well balanced book about the crusades.
The author is trying to make us understand both side of the issues, he is very fair and allow us to make our own decisions about the truth behind the motives of each sides.
This book is full of great information, has great details and tells us a great deal about the mentality of each participant, should it be the European nobles, the clergy, Popes, knights or muslims, their leaders and followers.
If you are an history buff like me you will really enjoy this book.
Easy to read and understand.
If you are not an apologist and have an open mind you will enjoy Thomas F. Madden's great work.
Excellent Primer on the Crusades October 31, 2005
Brian A. Hathaway (Valrico, Florida USA)
118 out of 125 found this review helpful
I just finished reading Thomas Madden's "A New Concise History of the Crusades". I have recently become an interested student of the Crusades, and this is the third book I have read on the topic. The book gave me thorough overview of the various Crusades, when they occurred, and who the major players were. I think the word concise is very appropriate, as Prof. Madden covers all the Crusades to the Middle East and Africa, from the first in 1096 to the seventh in 1270, as well as several other Crusades within Europe in 225 pages.
I think a reader interested in discovering the basics regarding the Crusades would do well to read this book as a starting point to other studies. Madden's select bibliography offers a considerable number of resources for further study, and he offers helpful comments on each of the resources cited.
I was particularly interested in the author's approach regarding the various myths surrounding the Crusades, although I would have liked to see his points developed a little more fully. Those arguments are apparently beyond the scope of this work, and will require further investigation through the sources he cited.
In summary however, I found the book enjoyable and it has piqued my interest in further study of the topic.
A Superior Introduction to a Fascinating Topic May 17, 2005
Chris Wade
49 out of 56 found this review helpful
The author of this book is the most distinguished historian of the crusades in the U.S. I worried, though, that his erudition would make the book overly complex and unreadable. I shouldn't have worried! This book is a joy to read. Madden brings out the tension, excitement, and human drama of the crusades. Best of all, it is not the usual rehash of tired cliches, but instead the story is based on the best and most recent research. This is that rare book that appeals not only to professional historians, but also to interested general readers as well. If you want to know the truth about the crusades, grab this book!
GOOD WORK TO GET YOU STARTED August 10, 2005
D. Blankenship (The Ozarks)
49 out of 67 found this review helpful
As other reviewers have pointed out, there are pros and cons to this particular work. I have some reservations myself, but overall, found the work good. This work does indeed give us a good, if somewhat brief, overview of the crusades. The author does present some ideas that are a bit different than than those that have been traditionally taught, and for the most part, unquestioned. This, in my opinion is a good thing as it makes us all think. On the other hand, I am not enough of an expert to be able to verify with any validity some of his statements. I do feel the author tried to be fare. On the other hand he tells us "research" is able to give us much more insight as to what was in the hearts and minds of men and women several centuries ago. I find this hard to beleave at times. I also felt the author sort of fluffed over and flitted through some pretty important aspects of the crusades. The act of completely obliterating city after city and the killing of hundreds of innocent people, really deserves more than one or two sentences. All in all, the work is a good survey and I feel it's greatest value is to spur the reader to continue reading in this area and gather more information from writers, researchers and historians in the field. I gave this five stars due to the writing ability of the author and the sheer guts he shows here to go against common and popular opinion and because it caused me to rethink and exmine some of my long felt beliefs and notions. This is always a good thing. All in all, I highly recommend and recommend you add this one to your collection.
An easy introduction January 28, 2007
David G. (Toronto, Canada)
36 out of 37 found this review helpful
This book is great for beginners. The writing is smooth and lively, and the author doesn't overwhelm you with too much useless information. Once you're done with this book, if you're interested, you should move on to the books by Jonathan Riley-Smith (we're using them at school). His books contain more information but they are more difficult; I would not recommend them for beginners. You should start with this.
Both Thomas Madden and Jonathan Riley-Smith take a refreshingly balanced approach. They do not paint the Crusades and Imperialism with the same brush, as if the crusaders were just a bunch of greedy European Christians out to plunder innocent Muslim lands. This is currently the popular view; but it confuses the greed of secular imperialists with the piety of devout crusaders. Furthermore, it assumes that Islam spread throughout the Middle East, North Africa, and Southern Spain 'innocently.'
Instead, the Crusades were armed pilgrimages to the holy land with three main objectives: a) to come to the aid of Eastern Christians who were under threat by Muslim forces, b) to recapture some of the territory which was recently conquered by Muslim forces, and c) to improve relations with the Eastern Church. Unfortunately, the Crusades eventually failed in all three of these areas.
Once a crusade was launched it was difficult to control, and too many atrocities took place along the way. Two common examples of such atrocities are the massacring of Jews in Germany during the First Crusade, and the sacking of the city of Constantinople during the Fourth Crusade. Nevertheless, these atrocities were never the initial intentions of the Crusades. Thomas Madden explains all of this in a very fair way. He neither shies away from the ugliness of these atrocities nor uses them to justify an anti-Catholic/pro-secular rant.
A breath of fresh air.
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