This is not a narrative history, but a collection of essays about aspects of the crusades.
In many stories, the reader only sees the top 10% of the iceberg. The other 90% remains beneath the surface. Similarly, many histories about the Crusades only present the popular narrative. These essays represent (a portion of) the other 90%.

For a person just beginning, this book is most likely not for you. Asbridge or Runciman would be better starting points. It would be like a Tolkien reader starting in the Appendices, the Unfinished Tales, and Histories of Middle Earth before actually reading the trilogy itself. As long as the prospective reader understands what this book is about, they will be happy with it.

Those doing in-depth studies about who participated, why, and how - the financing, the motivations, the social consequences on the families and local and regional economies (both on the home front and front lines), the impact on social classes, how they transformed Europe and the ME, the military orders - would do well to look here. There are discussions about how the crusades have been reflected over time by historians, literature, art, and architecture.

While each essay has a clearly distinct topic written by a distinct author, the essays are cohesive and show an awareness of each other, perhaps due to excellent editing by Riley-Smith. Some essays are more interesting than others, but I believe each is equally important to a more complete understanding of the Crusades.

The paper quality is good, the illustrations superb, and I found no typos or odd grammar throughout the text.

One thing I found particularly interesting was the illustration of Richard the Lionheart's effigy. Just as Yosemite gives set designers THE image of paradise and Sedona and Monument Valley are THE images of the Wild West, that effigy is THE stereotypical image of a vibrant medieval king from Errol Flynn movies to Shrek. ( )

`Undertake this journey for the remission of your sins - assured of the imperishable glory of the kingdom of heaven.'

When Pope Urban II made his famous speech in 1095 launching the First Crusade, he set in motion a movement that would involve every country in Europe, touch almost every aspect of life, the economy, and society, and have an enduring influence on the history of the Islamic world and the Baltic region. It is a story of popes and peasants, holy wars and barbarian invasions, sieges and slaughters, warriors whose names - Saladin, Richard the Lionheart - have entered the realm of legend.

This richly illustrated book presents a readable, authoritative, and comprehensive history of the Crusades, from the preaching of the First Crusade in 1095 to the legacy of crusading ideals and imagery today. Written by a team of leading Crusade scholars, it covers crusading in many different theatres of war. The ideas of apologists, propagandists and poets, and the perceptions and motives of the crusaders themselves are described, as are the reactions of the Muslims to Christian holy war. The
book highlights the remarkable art and architecture associated with the Crusades, and offers fascinating insights into the history of knightly orders, such as the Knights Templar and the Knights of St John.

Including detailed reference material - maps, chronology, a guide to further reading, and a full index - this volume will be welcomed by anyone interested in the ideals and history of the Crusades.

Contributors: Jonathan Riley-Smith; Marcus Bull; Simon Lloyd; Michael Routledge; Jonathan Phillips; Jaroslav Folda; Denys Pringle; Alan Forey; Robert Irwin; Norman Housley; Peter Edbury; Anthony Luttrell; Elizabeth Siberry.

This is a nice little book full of photos and maps, but it's hardly a "history" and certainly not a narrative one. ( )

In The Oxford Illustrated History of the Crusades, the story of the Crusades is told as never before in an engrossing, authoritative, and comprehensive history that ranges from the preaching of the First Crusade in 1095 to the legacy of the crusading ideals and imagery that continues today. Here are the ideas of apologists, propagandists, and poets about the Crusades, as well as the perceptions and motives of the crusaders themselves and the means by which they joined the movement.

The authors describe the elaborate social and civic systems that arose to support the Crusades--taxation, for example, was formalized by the Church and monarchs to raise enormous funds needed to wage war on this scale. And here are vivid descriptions of the battles themselves, frightening, disorienting, and dangerous affairs, with keen and insightful commentary on the reactions of the Muslims to a Christian holy war. Extensively illustrated with hundreds of photographs, paintings, drawings, maps, chronologies, and a guide to further reading, The Oxford Illustrated History of the Crusades even includes coverage of crusades outside the eastern Mediterranean region and post-medieval crusades.
From descriptions of the battles and homefront conditions, to a thorough evaluation of the clash (and coalescence) of cultures, to the legacy of the crusading movement that continues into our conflict-torn twentieth-century, to the enduring artistic and social changes that the Crusades wrought, The Oxford Illustrated History of the Crusades offers an informative, engaging, and unsurpassed panorama of one of the great movements in western history.

Editorial Reviews

"Fascinating...a comprehensive history of the wars."--History Today

"In 1095, Pope Urban II granted absolutions to whomever would reclaim the Holy Land for Christendom. With that assurance began two centuries of Crusades, and the story...is well treated in this interpretation of the movement to take up the cross."--Booklist

"In a series of finely crafted and admirably succinct essays, the contributors unravel a number of important medieval political and religious themes. This comprehensive approach adds a great deal to the book's interest and presents some of the best insights of modern Crusading scholarship....Excellent."--Tablet

"The great merit of Professor Riley-Smith's book is to follow the story down to the present day."--Church Times

"In 1095 Pope Urban II granted absolutions to whomever would reclaim the Holy Land for Christendom. With that assurance began two centuries of Crusades, and the story, in contemporary chronicles, artwork, and castellated ruins, is well treated in this interpretation of the movement to take up the cross."--Booklist

About the Author
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Jonathan Riley-Smith is Dixie Professor of Ecclesiastical History at the University of Cambridge and is one of the world's leading authorities on the Crusades. His previous publications include The Atlas of the Crusades and The Crusades: A Short History.