Holy War: The Crusades and Their Impact on Today's World

Armstrong's style of writing is very enjoyable. Unlike any other historical, academic or theological texts that I have read, This work by Armstrong exceed other writers, in that once you start reading it, you just can't put it away for long until you finished reading through the last chapter. I finished it in less than a week, it was very enjoyable reading.About it's content, Armstrong is very fair in explaining the crusades from the Christian, Jewish and Islamic viewpoints. Her narration shows that she is not siding with any particular religion or belef, she managed to give fair insight to all sides involved. This is a truly good history book.As a Muslim reader, she has my highest apreciation.

Just read only introduction, but sure to make me to read soon after finishing what I am reading now. Thank you.

While Karen Armstrong's other works are entertainingly exhaustive in their scope, this book seems to drag under the weight of repeated contextualization between the time of the events covered and modernity. Time and again, Armstrong feels the need to tie what she is covering in every chapter with what was happening in the Middle East at the time of writing leading to what feels like a distraction from the topic at hand.Altogether a good read though. Her ability to synthesize a number of different events into a linear storyline is impressive and her commitment to the study of spirituality, deity and history has always been a favorite topic of mine. I just wonder how differently this book would have been had there been less time spent on modern events rather than what is presented.

BEST!!!

A must read for anyone trying to understand the historical and present day problems in the Middle East. I recommend this book to all my friends.

I disagree with the reviewer who wrote about Armstrong's "tunnel vision." This is a work of History, and as any Historian, or indeed any Writer (if we are to insist on Capital Letters), Armstrong has her own scholarly interests and proceeds to discuss them. ANY book is subjective, and to claim Armstrong uses "tunnel vision" but to recommend another writer or historian writing about this or any era is merely to recommend another subjective viewpoint (besides, what about Amin Maalouf's Crusades through Arab Eyes??). She does not cover everything (how could she?) but she doesn't set out to, either.I have lived in the Middle East for four years and I cannot help but agree with much of what Armstrong theorizes and the connections she makes, and I would recommend this book to anyone who wants a better understanding of the historical roots of some of the modern conflicts in this area. While the Muslim empire did stretch far and wide throughout Asia and the Mediterranean, Armstrong's point is the difference in strategies: the Christian Crusaders, who were so "threatened" by Muslim power, responded with death and destruction for EVERYONE, including, yes, any and all Muslims, but also European Jews, and even earlier Crusaders who had become too "Oriental," whereas when the Muslim empire was expanding, expulsion, not death, was the result of a refusal to pay a tax to the Muslim conquerors--and then only if one did not CHOOSE to become Muslim (Christians have an unfortunate history of either not allowing conversion or not believing in its sincerity, usually leading to death, regardless). In the Eleventh and Twelfth Centuries, European Christendom was stumbling and Muslim power was at its impressive height: Christian insecurity and fear of the East (exemplified by the slaughter of European Jews and distrust of Byzantine Christians), more than anything, prompted the Crusades.The most important point of Armstrong's thesis is the effect of the Crusades on the Muslim AND Arab mentality: a pulling in and isolationist movement throughout the Muslim world that broke down the power, wealth, learning, acceptance, and openmindedness that had so characterized the empire while the Dark Ages (illiteracy, disease, hunger, etc.) were ravaging Europe. Today, in some ways the West and the Middle East have switched positions, and it remains to be seen how each will deal with the consequences, but the History cannot be underestimated. Armstrong is not pointing modern fingers at the descendants of any medieval faction, she is exploring little-understood and long-held insecurities on both the West and the Middle East's parts toward each other in the face of today's conflicts.Excellent. 5 stars.

I simply could not plow through the incredible amount of info on every page and that was just the first chapter!

excellent, thank you !

The book "Holy War..." is definitely below my expectations. The author presents her personal religious views on Christanity at the inception of the book. This is disapponting because her views are superficial. More to the point, they are in conflict with serious logical reasoning (even the principle on non-contradiction is at stake in her many of her huge verbal tirades) and are even politically biased for their annoying and old fashioned atheistic propaganda.

Best book to understand the roots of the three religions Christanity, Islam and Judaism.

Die Autorin schreibe nur Bücher, um zu verkaufen. Sie hat keine eigene Meinung. Sie schreibt die Bücher in der Weise, damit die Kuden zufrieden sind. Ihre Bücher haben kein tiefes Wissen. Die Inhalte sind teilweise nicht genau.

What a wonderful inrtoduction Karen gives to the subject. This is an eye and mind opener - required reading for any student of any religious or hunmanist belief.