| Question Title | Posted By | Question Date |
|---|---|---|
| Crusades Book recommendation | Marie | Wednesday, April 25, 2007 |
Question: Hi, I'm interested in obtaining a book about the Crusades for my son. It's about the 3rd or 6th. I'm not sure. It's the one with Salidin. We watched Kingdom of Heaven (movie) and it seemed sympathetic to the Muslims and I thought it portrayed the Christians as more war mongering than the Muslims. I thought buying a Catholic history book would provide better perspective and would be more accurate. In searching the web and bookstores, I had trouble determining a reliable source. Will you please recommend one to me? Thanks, Marie |
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| Question Answered by Mr. Brian Schnelle
Dear Marie, Thank you for posting. Unfortunately, as you have experienced, the crusades are often portrayed as a bleak episode in catholic history, when nothing could be further from the truth. You don't mention how old your son is, but he probably wouldn't enjoy slogging through the very accurate, but dry scholarly text of say Phillip Hughes History of the Church. The best alternative I could think of would be "Triumph", by H. W. Crocker III. This is an excellent 2000 year history of the Church written in a captivating style, which keeps the reader interested. It is also in print and readily available from many sources. If memory serves there is some fairly extensive information on Saladin and the kidnapping of his sister. The following is a link to a review of this book by a trusted source: http://www.catholiceducation.org/directory/Core_Subjects/History The truth about the crusades is important information for a young Catholic to aquire, I commend you for making your son's formation a priority. Blessings,Brian |
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