How to Plan a Crusade Lib/E: Religious War in the High Middle Ages

A spirited and sweeping account of how the Crusades really worked-and a revolutionary attempt to rethink how we understand the Middle Ages The story of the wars and conquests initiated by the first Crusade and its successors is itself so compelling that most accounts move quickly from describing the pope's calls to arms to the battlefield. In this highly original and enjoyable new book, Christopher Tyerman focuses on something obvious but overlooked: the massive, all-encompassing, and hugely costly business of actually preparing a crusade. The efforts of many thousands of men and women, who left their lands and families in western Europe and marched off to a highly uncertain future in the Holy Land and elsewhere have never been sufficiently understood. Their actions raise a host of compelling questions about the nature of medieval society. How to Plan a Crusade is remarkably illuminating on the diplomacy, communications, propaganda, use of mass media, medical care, equipment, voyages, money, weapons, wills, ransoms, animals, and the power of prayer during this dynamic era. It brings to life an extraordinary period of history in a new and surprising way.

About the Author :
Christopher Tyerman is professor of the history of the Crusades at the University of Oxford; fellow and tutor in history at Hertford College, Oxford; and lecturer in medieval history at New College, Oxford. He has written extensively on the Crusades in British publishing, including God's War: A New History of the Crusades and The Debate on the Crusades. He is also the editor of the Penguin Classics edition of the Chronicles of the First Crusade. Clive Chafer is a professional actor, director, producer, and theater instructor. Originally from England and educated at Leeds and Exeter universities, he has performed and directed at many theaters in the San Francisco area, where he makes his home, and elsewhere in the US. In 1993 he founded TheatreFIRST, Oakland's professional theater company, where he served as artistic director until 2008.

Review :
A quirky niche book that descends into obscure, even humdrum areas and makes them interesting...A pleasure. -- " New York Times Book Review" An impressive and lively book, laced with wry asides and enough surprising details to pique the general reader. -- " Guardian (London)" Fascinating not just for what it has to tell us about the Crusades but for the mirror it holds up to today's religious extremism. -- " Mail on Sunday (London)" His deeply researched study is dedicated to exploring the relationship between human reason and religious war in all its aspects-justification, propaganda, recruitment, finance, logistics-to show us how 'reason made religious war possible.' -- "London Review of Books" Intriguing. Recommended for scholars and medieval history aficionados. -- "Library Journal" Tyerman provides a compelling, vivid sense of a lively, pragmatic, driven, and highly organized society. -- "Kirkus Reviews"