The Crusades: A History from Beginning to End

By: Henry Freeman

Narrated by: Jimmy Kieffer

Much has been written and much has been omitted when it comes to the Crusades, especially in modern parlance. Many talking heads in recent times have conjured up the specter of the Crusades as if it should be a source of great shame and disgust for Western civilization. And with even President Obama drawing odd parallels in light of the beheadings of ISIS, many are wondering once again what all of this "Crusades talk" is all about.

Inside you will hear about....

• "Backing Up Byzantium"
• "All-Out Holy War"
• "The Kingdom of Heaven"
• "The King’s Crusade"
• "The Self-Defeating Crusade"
• "The Final Crusades"
• "The Post-Crusade World"

The Crusades took place over 1,000 years ago, and yet we currently live in a modern-day world of unspeakable terror. Islamic extremists are disrupting the entire planet, murdering, raping, and enslaving everyone they encounter. Committing brutalities on a scale that rivals some of the worst abuses of the dark ages, and yet people still point to the Crusades as if it is supposed to mean something. Ok, that’s fine. If detractors wish to point their finger and call out history, let’s find the truth, and let’s find out what really happened.

©2016 Henry Freeman (P)2018 Henry Freeman

Not up to Audible's usual standards

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

More of a professional historical approach, less overt anti-Muslim bias. The introductory rant about Isis was unnecessary.

What do you think your next listen will be?

Something in the history category.

What do you think the narrator could have done better?

The narrator is a good reader, but as Horace said in Ars Poetica: "The workmanship exceeds the material."

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from The Crusades: A History from Beginning to End?

I am wondering if anyone at Audible read this book !!

Courageous

A very concise history of not only the actual Crusades but of the Turkish activities and jihad against Europe, giving brief accounts of The Holy League's defense of Europe by Christians in all desperation to prevent the fall of Europe to the onslaught of Turkish Moslems.

Unfortunatrly, it is poorly written, poorly worded, vague, rushed and almost dismissive of Christian faith. It hits the highlights, but misses some obvious opportunities to include necesssry and informative detail.

The take aways:
Christians = Goodies
Moslems = Baddies
Crusades = justified
So, get over it, learn History, stop whining and apologizing.

All in all, a concise intense, interesting listen. Recommended if you want the abridged Cliff's Notes version of the Crusades.

Great for a general overview,

Great general overview. I guess I was looking for more details, like the actual preaching of the crusades, and the reasons why so many were willing to go (feudalism ending, the church granting dispensations, etc.). Left out too much. Might be a good jr. High school book.

superficial apologetics

an agenda driven overview which omits inconvenient facts and ignores the real complexity and historical view and understandings of the period in favour of cheap propaganda