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by Brian Todd Carey, Joshua B. Allfree, and John Cairns.
Hardback (6.4×9.5 inches). 328 pages. 2022.
As this covers all the major numbered crusades in the Middle East and a few of the minor crusades, it is by definition an overview. Details are certainly included, but moreso on the strategic and operational level than on the tactical level.
That said, the book contains 106 black and white maps with the vast majority showing multiple phases of tactical battles. Granted, they’re not sophisticated — more like 1960s-era line graphics — but they do match the text. Plenty to at least get you thinking about tabletop scenarios, from sieges to ambushes to set-piece battles.
One typo: “under cover of darkness” (p39) is used twice in the same sentence, as if copied and pasted instead of cut and pasted.
The book contains 14 color photos, 12 color illustrations, two black and white illustrations, and the 106 black and white maps.
You get a good sense of the waxing and waning of crusader fortunes based on the amount of infighting among the crusader factions as well as among the Muslim factions. The personalities involved, diplomatic overtures or not, and aftermath of clashes all contribute to better understanding of the chaos in the medieval Middle East.
Enjoyed it.
— Reviewed by Russ Lockwood
