God's Battalions

The Case for the Crusades

By: Rodney Stark

Narrated by: David Drummond

In God's Battalions, award-winning author Rodney Stark takes on the long-held view that the Crusades were the first round of European colonialism, conducted for land, loot, and converts by barbarian Christians who victimized the cultivated Muslims.

To the contrary, Stark argues that the Crusades were the first military response to unwarranted Muslim terrorist aggression. Stark reviews the history of the seven major Crusades from 1095 to 1291, demonstrating that the Crusades were precipitated by Islamic provocations, centuries of bloody attempts to colonize the West, and sudden attacks on Christian pilgrims and holy places. Although the Crusades were initiated by a plea from the pope, Stark argues that this had nothing to do with any elaborate design of the Christian world to convert all Muslims to Christianity by force of arms. Given current tensions in the Middle East and terrorist attacks around the world, Stark's views are a thought-provoking contribution to our understanding and are sure to spark debate.

©2009 Rodney Stark (P)2009 Tantor

Critic reviews

"An excitingly readable distillation of the new, revisionist Crusades historiography." ( Booklist)

Excellent & Revealing

This book tells the true history of the many crusades, that they are not teaching in schools, yet should be.

a wonderful quick summary of The Crusades

I have read a previous Rodney Stark book and this one was equally exceptional. As an amateur historian I have found it is shocking how twisted the chronically of History has become in the last hundred years or so. Rodney Stark is a refreshing breath of air. this is a excellent quick read to help a person understand the not politically correct aspect of all of the Crusades. the performance of this audio version was really well done and did not detract from the book.

Excellent narration, but…

The editing was lacking in some places. Misspeaks and redos were left in place, sometimes making for an awkward break in the narration.

Balanced and informative

Great introduction to the Crusades though a tough topic to delve into via audio.

Truth at last

It was great to hear the truth behind the crusades. Thank you Proffesor Stark.

Timely and important

Such a good book! So important to debunk the myths and bigotry of our times through education and open mindedness.

Great review of the Crusades

As usual, Rodney Stark does a superb job telling what really happened in history. An enlightening review of the truth about the Crusades.

Clear, detailed, and persuasive

This book provides an exceptional summary of existing research and expertly rebuts the more recently imagined histories of the crusades.

A lively and useful introduction

"God's Battalions" has the unfortunate subtitle, "The Case for the Crusades." That makes it sound more polemical than it appeared to me as I listened to it. Rodney Stark seems to be arguing, not that the Crusades were a righteous cause, but that the European participants THOUGHT they were a righteous cause, and that we should take their declared motivations seriously. It's not so much pro-Crusades as it is anti-anti-Crusades.

Stark doesn't think the Crusades were a cynical grab for land and power. By analyzing family connections and financial data, he argues that most people who went on the Crusades did so at tremendous cost, sometimes bankrupting themselves in the process, for little or no material gain. He concludes from this that they truly felt they were participating in a "higher cause."

Stark's strong suit is using sociological and economic data to fill in the historical picture. Surprisingly, he manages to do this without turning the book into a dry thesis: he sticks to a strong narrative line, filled with battle descriptions, anecdotes, and extensive quotes from letters and other contemporary documents. Most of all, he tries to be specific: which families were involved, which groups participated in pogroms, which factions (Christian and Muslim) set off the conflict, when did accusations of conquest and colonialism first arise.

The narrative is crafted into a compact and comprehensible outline that makes the book a useful introduction to the subject. Of course, I have to admit, in saying that, that this IS the first book I've read on the subject. I was drawn to it by the liveliness of the writing (and the excellence of David Drummond's narration) more than anything else. Even if Stark's analysis fails to stand up over time, he has included a wealth of information in a concise and very well-organized format.

enjoyable listening, well-written

Would you listen to God's Battalions again? Why?

yes. I think the authors case is well-built overall. It's another area where the rhetoric of modernity had me blinded a bit. Stark is a good myth buster.

What did you like best about this story?

Much less like a textbook and much more like an enjoyable read. The author goes through all five crusades breaking down some of the biases which we moderns have picked up. Interacts with 19th and 20th century arguments.

I found myself very much agreeing with the author's perspective from my limited study of the time.

What does David Drummond bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

very nice job of clear reading.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

sure, but it's not exactly a suspenseful thriller.

Any additional comments?

I think many historians in the years to come will see that Stark is basically right in much of his perspectives. It's good to know that the dark ages weren't really so dark. this work was also very balanced and showed some of the horrors of war and siege warfare.