God Wills It!

Easy to read. This informative book is loaded with photos and illustration. I highly reccomend you give this one a try.

As the other reviewers have pointed out, Bartlett maintains a balance between academic thoroughness and readability. Bartlett tends to lean more towards readability though. He covers the entire Crusading era and the book is richly illustrated with period pictures (e.g. pictures of tapestries) and modern pictures of various sites (e.g. sites in Jerusalem, various Crusader castles built in the Middle East). I was surprised there were not more maps in the book though. As time progresses, Outremer (the name of the Crusader Kingdom, also called the Kingdom of Jerusalem) changes shape and experiences several major changes throughout its life.Bartlett covers the whole gamut of Crusader history from the first Crusade (1095 AD) to the final fall of Outremer (around 1285AD). He covers the successes of the First and Second Crusades and the terrible failures that were the Third and Fourth Crusades. Bartlett does not shy away from discussing the brutality of the all the parties involved whether it be the Crusader slaughter in Jerusalem or the Mongol blood lust that cost thousands of Muslim lives. He also covers the honourable men of the time, such as Saladin, who in many ways lived up to the European ideal of a knight more than any European ever did. Bartlett is honest when dealing with the sources of the time; admitting that some times certain details are disputed or that certain sources may be biased. Indeed, one ought to expect that from any real historian.There are a few problems with the book though. As mentioned above, the lack of maps in an otherwise well illustrated book makes it somewhat difficult to follow the changing fortunes of Outremer. Footnoting of primary sources would be helpful. Some sort of timeline would also make the events clearer. However, the book is reasonably good in its content and includes a bibliography with some comments and an index. If you would like to read some interesting history about the Crusades, this book is a good place to start.

I was looking for a book on the Crusades, but since I wasn't sure whether the topic itself was interesting, I could either buy a three-volume history and regret it if I wound up bored, or a 100-page 101 that would just spoil the story for me. All the other books on the topic seemed to be dry, academic works. This book was the perfect compromise.The tale is told with just the right balance of detail and brevity, and the story itself is fascinating. For a non-academic Bartlett does an excellent job, and the illustrations really do put you in the period. Ideal for people who are curious about the Crusades.

W.B. Bartlett's God Wills It! presents an excellent illustrated history of the Crusades, following major campaigns and revealing the latest scholarly research on the times. Black and white illustrations pepper a survey of the paradoxes and realities of the times.