Crusades - Terry Jones, Alan Ereira

The Crusades are ancient history, which feels as though it's repeating itself these days. Ever wonder how history will judge the latest 'coalition against terrorism'? The battle of the religions may now be cloaking more mundane economic factors (like oil production), but in this respect we are merely echoing the Crusades again. All of this sounds deadly earnest, (which it is), but this book manages to put things over with a real combination of good humour, understatement and telling analysis. The humour's the thing that grabs you the most. Terry Jones is better known as one of the Monty Python team, but his post-Python projects have been worth ...  Read the complete review

History is not, as Ford so famously asserted, Bunk. This book proves Ford wrong again. I bought it when told to do a project on the Crusades at school around four years ago. Back then, I thought the Crusades were little more than a map of wiggly arrows in a book. However, Jones and Ereira's work has turned me into a great enthusiast of this great period. From the beginning I found this book to be a great and thoroughly absorbing read. There are plenty of facts, yet not too many to bowl over the uninitiated; and since this is closely related to the BBC TV series of the same name, it is pretty much aimed at the novice. Also, it is very well written - a rare treat ...  Read the complete review

I bought this book because I love Terry Jones (purely platonic you understand), I loved the TV programme and I like a bit of History. However, I was a little disppointed. Don't get me wrong, this book is good. But the name "Terry Jones" on the cover makes you think that it is going to be side splittingly funny and it isn't. I know that Tel takes his History seriously, he has written on Chaucer afterall and there is no reason why he can't write a serious book. Not that the book doesn't have humor in it. It is readible and informative, but if you're after Python (that really must piss Tez off by now, when people like me can't take anything ...  Read the complete review