The timing for this meticulously researched book could not be more
acute, as the Middle East remains the main flashpoint for most of
the planet's political headaches. In the time of Richard the
Lionheart, of course, many believed that the conflict between East
and West was more straightforward - but James Reston shows that the
Crusades were every bit as fraught with moral uncertainties as the
volatile situation in the region is today. Reston expertly evokes
the bloody clash in the 12th century when Christian holy war and
Muslim jihad marked the first major bloodletting in the name of
God. This is a dual biography of the legendary Richard the
Lionheart and the Sultan Saladin, the key figure in the early
Islamic world. We are presented with a sweeping panoply in which
the life of each man is fascinatingly detailed, up to the final
battle of the Third Crusade. Richard has usually been presented as
an iconic representation of chivalric ideals, but Reston presents
us with a far more complex (and interesting) portrait - Richard's
homosexuality, for instance, will be a revelation to many.
Similarly, the wise, cultivated Saladin, while initiating the Arab
dream of a united Egypt and Syria, could not be more different from
the murderous fanatics who may regard themselves as his heirs.
Particularly compelling is Reston's evocation of the
continent-shaking encounters of two mighty armies as they approach
their final confrontation at the outskirts of Jerusalem. (Kirkus
UK)
This is the epic story of the battle for the Holy Land, and the two
opposing warriors at its centre: legendary crusader Richard the
Lionheart, and Sultan Saladin, iconic hero of the Islamic world.
Richard Plantagenet, commonly depicted as a romantic figure,
emerges here in all his dark complexity at the head of the
blood-soaked Crusades. Likewise Reston offers a compelling portrait
of Salah ad-Din, a wise and cultured Sunni Muslim whose recapture
of Jerusalem in 1187 set the stage for his mighty clash with the
forces of Christian Europe. 'This book is a timely reminder that
(we must hope) George Bush didn't know what he was talking about
when he uttered the infamous 'c' word after September 11. For the
crusades were among the most disgusting blots on the human record,
the men who embarked on them doing so in the name of their god,
also known as the Prince of Peace; and they, too, thought they were
defending the only civilisation on earth.' Geoffrey Moorhouse,
Guardian
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