Reviews for Oxford Illustrated History of Crusades

The average rating for Oxford Illustrated History of Crusades based on 2 reviews is 3.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2012-09-04 00:00:00 Crystal Witchley When I started this book, I had just read two others which went chronologically through the Crusades in an overview manner, giving some details of battles, etc. So I was not necessarily looking forward to reading another book that did exactly the same on an overview level without going into any more detail on specific things I was interested in, but I really wanted to see some pictures and get an idea about the Crusades with some visual aids, so I started reading it anyway. I was pleasantly surprised that this book took a different approach and talked about various cultural/social/political ideas and movements on the peripheries of the battles which greatly helps inform them and gives them a context. This book to me is less about the Crusades as it is about how the Crusades affected the people involved in it and the people back home, and about the culture the Crusades grew out of. An excellent book (if a bit jumpy in style, which is unavoidable when you have several authors writing different sections).

Review # 2 was written on 2020-04-07 00:00:00 Thomas Phelan While the book is comprehensive in a wide variety of aspects surrounding the Crusades, it disappointed me in that it actually didn't discuss in any detail the actual battles that occurred. Instead, it provides a wealth of information regarding the Crusades' orgins, artwork, organization, politics, military orders and more. Sadly -- and inexplicably -- the actual battles are rarely even mentioned, let along discussed in detail. So, while I learned quite a bit, I was left wanting in terms of the actual battles and outcomes. Sad.