Throughout the medieval era, the Holy Land was a fiercely contested battlefield, fought over by huge Muslim and Christian armies, by zealots and assassins. The Third Crusade, spanning five years at the end of the 12th century, was, writes James Reston Jr. in this absorbing account, "Holy War at its most virulent," overseen by two great leaders, the Kurdish sultan Salah ad-Din, or Saladin, and the English king Richard, forevermore known as Lionheart.

Writing with a keen sense of historical detail and drama, Reston traces the complex path by which Saladin and Richard came to face each other on the field of battle. The Crusades, he observes, began "as a measure to redirect the energies of warring European barons from their bloody, local disputes into a 'noble' quest to reclaim the Holy Land from the 'infidel'." Of the five Crusades over 200 years, only the first was successful, to the extent that the Christian armies were able to conquer their objective of Jerusalem. The Third Crusade, as Reston ably shows, was complicated by fierce rivalries among the Christian leaders, by a chain of military disasters that led to the destruction of an invading German army and its emperor, and by the dedication of an opposing Islamic army that shared both a goal and a language.

Saladin, Reston writes, was a brilliant leader and a merciful victor, but capable of costly errors; Richard was extraordinarily skilled at combat, but his lack of resolve cost him many battles, and, ultimately, Jerusalem. Richard returned to Europe, Saladin to Damascus. Neither leader has long to live, and the peace they made would soon be broken. James Reston's splendid book does them both honor while examining a conflict that has never really ended. --Gregory McNamee


From Publishers Weekly
Chronicling the often inglorious exploits during the third crusade (1187-1192) of King Richard I of England and Saladin, the sultan of Egypt, Syria, Arabia and Mesopotamia, Reston's panoramic narrative begins with the first crusade, launched by Pope Urban II in the last years of the 11th century. In the story's unfolding, we are privy to a world peopled by a bevy of characters, compelling and repulsive: starving, horse-and-grass-eating Christian soldiers, who, in sturdier moments, cut down the enemy with something akin to religious relish; mighty Muslim swimmers, traversing ocean waters and trailing leather pouches heavy with money and messages; the seafaring ghost of St. Thomas of Canterbury, urging onward fearful and flagging crusaders; Christian and Muslim men who betray gleefully savage contempt for women of all confessions. Some passages lend this account the flavor of historical fiction, complete with the requisite romance: a purported sexual liaison between Richard the Lionheart and King Philip Augustus of France. This is, nonetheless, a worthwhile introduction for those eager to be swept along by an often lively narrative thick with disturbing and provocative details. The interweaving of Islamic perspectives with those of Christians is especially valuable. This frankly accessible work may capture the imagination of those who have thus far resisted the pull of crusade history, presenting, as it does, both the extraordinary and less well known participants for whom this peculiar drama was the stuff of everyday life. Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.


From Library Journal
Prolific author and journalist, Reston (The Last Apocalypse, Galilio: A Life) offers the reader a captivating story in a lucid and often humorous style. In the process, he highlights the perennial religious volatility of the Holy Land. From 1189 to 1192 it was the Christians and Muslims who slaughtered each other in the name of their respective gods. The Third Crusade led to a mighty collision between two legendary warriors. Leading the Christians was the tempestuous and pious killer Richard the Lionheart. Guiding the Muslims was the sagacious and devout Sultan Saladin. Reston uses these two powerful personalities to weave a spellbinding medieval tale of ruthless devastation and chivalrous compassion. His sympathies are with the sultan, as he takes a dim view of Richard's "emotion quotient" he was definitely a king governed by sentiment. For a better appreciation of Richard's skills as a 12th-century ruler, see John Gillingham's Richard I (Yale Univ., 1999). Warriors of God is a fine example of narrative history and belongs in both academic and public libraries. Jim Doyle, Sara Hightower Regional Lib., Rome, GA Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Booklist
Celebrated primarily as the romanticized figure in the legend of Robin Hood, Richard the Lionheart was indeed a flesh-and-blood ruler who led an army of crusaders against Sultan Saladin at the end of the twelfth century. In this superb dual biography, both Richard and Saladin are presented as complex, multidimensional leaders. Mythologized as a quixotic and chivalrous knight, Richard was actually a cunning and ferociously determined military strategist. Though vilified in the Christian world, Saladin, the sultan of Egypt, Syria, Arabia, and Mesopotamia, was renowned for his compassion and humility as well as his military genius. A vivid historical reassessment of the major players in the Third Crusade. Margaret Flanagan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved


Review
Praise for James Reston, Jr.'s The Last Apocalypse:

"Boldly written... Can the last millenium enlighten the next? Reston ... gives us the question dipped in blood."
--Atlantic Journal-Constitution

"Reston weaves the poetry of the age; many of the book's most pleasurable passages into his narrative... [A] vivid tale."
Business Week

"A vivid portrait... [Reston] has an eye for unforgettable detail."
Knight Ridder Newspaper

Praise for Galileo: A Life:

"It is to James Reston's credit that his masterful new biography of Galileo Galilei manages to capture... the Renaissance as colorfully as it does, without making his subject seem too much like some time-traveling hero from a more sensible age... a brilliant biography."
--Bruno Maddox, Washington Post Book World

"A spirited evocation of Galileo's charisma and capacity... fresh, sinewy, and altogether admirable."
--Los Angeles Times Book Review



Book Description
Warriors of God is the rich and engaging account of the Third Crusade (1187-1192), a conflict that would shape world history for centuries and which can still be felt in the Middle East and throughout the world today. Acclaimed writer James Reston, Jr., offers a gripping narrative of the epic battle that left Jerusalem in Muslim hands until the twentieth century, bringing an objective perspective to the gallantry, greed, and religious fervor that fueled the bloody clash between Christians and Muslims.

As he recounts this rousing story, Reston brings to life the two legendary figures who led their armies against each other. He offers compelling portraits of Saladin, the wise and highly cultured leader who created a united empire, and Richard the Lionheart, the romantic personification of chivalry who emerges here in his full complexity and contradictions. From its riveting scenes of blood-soaked battles to its pageant of fascinating, larger-than-life characters, Warriors of God is essential history, history that helps us understand today's world.

FROM OUR EDITORS

James Reston Jr.'s history of the Third Crusade (1187–92) presents this five-year struggle as a protracted contest between two full-blooded and enigmatic commanders: the English king Richard the Lionheart and the Muslim sultan Saladin. This lively, accessible work vividly renders the religious fervor of the Christian Crusaders who attempted to recapture Jerusalem and the Muslim soldiers who sought to defend it. In Reston's hands, the savagery of medieval warfare comes alive and the zealotry of 12th-century warriors seems instantly relevant. Whether read as political history, military history, or as a dual biography, Warriors of God opens new doors even to seasoned history buffs.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

James Reston, Jr., the author of Galileo and the critically lauded The Last Apocalypse, a stuningly original portrait of the Christian world at the turn of the first millennium, now recreates the collision of the Christian holy wars and the Muslim jihad at the end of the twelfth century. A dual biography of the legendary Richard the Lionheart and the Sultan Saladin, iconic hero of the Islamic world, Warriors of God recounts the life of each man and reveals the passions of the times that brought them face-to-face in the final battle of the Third Crusade.

Richard the Lionheart, commonly depicted as the romantic personification of chivalry, here emerges in his full complexity and contradictions as Reston examines the dark side of Richard's role as the leader of the blood-soaked Crusades, and breaks new ground by openly discussing Richard's homosexuality. Reston's compelling portrait of Saladin brings to life the wise, highly cultured leader who realized an enduring Arab dream by united Egypt and Syria and whose conquest of Jerusalem not only sparked the Third Crusade but ignited the first jihad and turned Saladin into a hero of epic proportions. In riveting descriptions, Reston captures the fascinating clash of the two armies as they battled their way to the outskirts of Jerusalem. There, Saladin's brilliant maneuvers and Richard's sudden failure of nerve turned the tide. Sweeping readers into a mesmerizing period of history, Warriors of God is a provocative look at two towering leaders and the not always noble causes for which they fought.

FROM THE CRITICS

Tariq Ali - Washington Post

The author charges the 200-year Crusades with "unleashing a frenzy of hate and violence unprecedented before the technological age and the scourge of Hitler." James Reston Jr. has written a refreshingly unbiased popular history of the Third Crusade (1187-92), which deserves a place on the shelf of every history teacher.

Publishers Weekly

Chronicling the often inglorious exploits during the third crusade (1187-1192) of King Richard I of England and Saladin, the sultan of Egypt, Syria, Arabia and Mesopotamia, Reston's panoramic narrative begins with the first crusade, launched by Pope Urban II in the last years of the 11th century. In the story's unfolding, we are privy to a world peopled by a bevy of characters, compelling and repulsive: starving, horse-and-grass-eating Christian soldiers, who, in sturdier moments, cut down the enemy with something akin to religious relish; mighty Muslim swimmers, traversing ocean waters and trailing leather pouches heavy with money and messages; the seafaring ghost of St. Thomas of Canterbury, urging onward fearful and flagging crusaders; Christian and Muslim men who betray gleefully savage contempt for women of all confessions. Some passages lend this account the flavor of historical fiction, complete with the requisite romance: a purported sexual liaison between Richard the Lionheart and King Philip Augustus of France. This is, nonetheless, a worthwhile introduction for those eager to be swept along by an often lively narrative thick with disturbing and provocative details. The interweaving of Islamic perspectives with those of Christians is especially valuable. This frankly accessible work may capture the imagination of those who have thus far resisted the pull of crusade history, presenting, as it does, both the extraordinary and less well known participants for whom this peculiar drama was the stuff of everyday life. (May) Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

Library Journal