God’s Armies: Crusade and Jihad: Origins, History, Aftermath

In this readable, although not groundbreaking, survey of the history of military interaction between the Middle East and Western Europe, Lambert (Christians and Pagans), formerly a professor of theology and medieval history at the University of Bristol, provides a chronological overview of the development of Islam, starting with a brief biography of Mohammed, before focusing on the crusades and papal history in Western Europe. He touches on the development of the caliphate and the succession of Islamic leadership after the death of Mohammed. He mentions the various groups that sought to interpret Mohammed’s original vision, including Sufism, and the ninth-century split in Shiism. His consideration of jihad is interesting but not very detailed. The bulk of the volume is focused on Islamic history—presumably the least familiar to the audience of nonspecialists Lambert anticipates—but he also retells the story of the Crusades from 1095 to the fall of Acre in 1291. The coverage of the crusader period is the most detailed, and Lambert touches only briefly on the Ottoman Empire and Suleiman the Magnificent, moving through the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries in a single chapter. The book would have benefited from a reduction in scope; the amount of material is simply overwhelming. Despite this, readers will find a reasonably good introduction to the topic, and Lambert’s suggested “further reading” will be of great use to those looking to dig deeper. Agent: George Lucas, Inkwell Management (Oct.)