Rating: 
Summary: A Surprising Disappointment
Review: I've known generally about Richard I, Saladin, and the Third Crusade for years, and thought this book would fill in the gaps by focusing on this extraordinary adventure and its two legendary protagonists. Up to a point, it was informative, although Mr. Reston's flip and jazzy tone began to jar upon me fairly early on. I suppose he's trying to make history "interesting" - but this period is, without having to be stylistically cute.What really bothers me about this book is that it purports to tell both sides of the story - the Crusaders who thought they were "saving" the Holy Land, the Muslims who believed equally passionately that they must defend it - and manages, instead, to portray this marvelously complicated piece of history as a black-and-white case of good vs. evil. And quite clearly, the European Crusaders are the bad guys, Saladin and the Arabs the good guys. That's a valid point of view - heaven knows, there are (sadly) a lot of books which try this simplistic approach the other way around - but this book is attempting to present itself as history. In any history, when the author's own private feelings and agenda are so clearly displayed that the facts become twisted, you haven't got history - you've got an editorial. I not only cannot recommend this book, I'm really irritated with it and with those that don't see that Reston is not being objective one little bit. To illustrate the point, let me contrast some descriptive words and phrases Mr. Reston uses repeatedly to describe the two sides. I got fascinated at what he was doing and started jotting them down mid-way through the book. Europeans: Strutted, boasted, ferocious, dispute, confused, greedily, besotted, inept, hypocritical, homosexual, cunning, squabbles about money, preposterous greed, stubborness, slaughtered, vainglory, whining, atrocious, bruality. Arabs: Devout, generosity, serenely, calm, purity of motives, peaceful, bravery, vigilance, estimable, distinguished, courageously, stouthearted, dignity, pride, valor, magnificence. PUH-LEEZE. I personally find it horrible to read about what passed for Christianity during the Crusades. I've always thought Saladin was a remarkable and fascinating leader and never much cared for Richard Lion Heart. But to turn Richard I into nothing more than a blustering, brutal homosexual braggart (Reston dwells on his supposed sexuality as established fact again and again) while Saladin's behavior is ever learned, tolerant and serene, just insults my intelligence. Life is never that simple and history is never that two-dimensional. Read this book for the facts of the Crusade and for its many fascinating quotations from the Koran, and try to ignore the agenda - but it isn't easy.
Rating: 
Summary: The Third Crusade in all of its Glory and Infamy
Review: Warriors of God, by James Reston, Jr., is, as goes the subtitle, the story of Richard the Lionheart and Saladin in the Third Crusade. The author has picked two fascinating medieval heroes at the pivotal moments in their career and, from there, the story almost writes itself. The abundant use of Moslem sources makes this book a refreshing and different read from other accounts of the various Crusades available. The most interesting fact to learn for this reader is just how little both sides understood about the other, particulary the Crusaders charging in from the West in search of glory. It would have been helpful if the author had been a little more skeptical in treating the comtemporary accounts but he was not writing as an historian so he could pick and choose among the various sources those which would move the story along and provide the most interesting details. It is a good book that will probably frustrate the historian but will be a pleasure for the those seeking an historical adventure.
Rating:
Summary: A highly polished little gem.
Review: If Reston's short history of the third crusade was made mandatory reading for high school juniors I can guarantee that the number of college history majors would double. While substantial "artistic liberties" are taken by the author he does at the same time do a good job keeping the complex storyline going in the right direction and maintains its historical integrity. The book is exciting to read and splendid in its objectivity toward all of the players concerned. The Holy Land sucked Richard The Lionharted into its quagmire almost a thousand years ago and has the same unfortunate force on the Western World to this day.
Rating: 
Summary: So Passed Those Years and Men . . . .
Review: "Warriors of God" is a compelling narrative that draws the reader into the Third Crusade and the lives of its two great leaders, Richard the Lionhearted and Saladin. Reston's story is spiced with the words of poets and bards, and it breathes life into a fascinating and all but forgotten time. I have not read a great deal about the Crusades, so it is difficult for me to judge how historically accurate Reston's book is. But I can say that "Warriors of God" is very entertaining, that the story is often moving, and that the characters are fascinating. Saladin was a remarkable leader who united Egypt and Syria and captured Jersualem for Islam. Equally striking, according to Reston, he was a relatively decent man in a brutal time--he preferred bargaining to killing and went out of his way to avoid destroying the people that he defeated. Legend has it that he sent King Richard two fine Arabian horses when Richard lost his mount in a battle with Saladin's troops--after all, a King should not be on foot with his men! Whether or not the legend is true, it says something that it was apparently repeated and believed. King Richard was cut from a much rougher mold. He was a charismatic but tough leader, and he was not above killing prisoners to make a point. But for all his hardness, he lost his nerve and the Third Crusade when he was on the verge of capturing Jerusalem. After he withdrew from the Holy Land, he embarked on an odyssey, spending a year as the captive of the Holy Roman Emperor and finally returning to England in time to save the country from his brother, John. The focus of the book is on King Richard and Saladin, but the minor characters are intriguing in their own right. One of these was Sinan, the "Old Man of the Mountain," who ruled the cult of the Assassins. Reston calls him brilliant, ruthless, mystical and ascetic, "with eyes as fierce as meteors." Sinan's followers owed him unquestioning obedience and would regularly kill at his command. "Once, to prove the devotion of his followers to a Crusader leader, Sinan had given a fleeting hand signal to two fidai high in a tower at Kahf, whereupon the two leaped to their death in the ravine below." Not a person to be taken likely, and a reminder that sometimes the past is not all that different from today. Reston tells us that shortly after Saladin died on March 4, 1193, his scribe Beha al-Din wrote "so passed those years and men, and seem, both years and men, to be a dream." In "Warriors of God," Reston has done done a good job of bringing those years and men to life for the modern reader. If you enjoy "Warriors of God," you might also want to take a look at Reston's "The Last Apocalypse," which is an equally entertaining book about Europe at the turn of the first millennium AD.
Rating:
Summary: A Well Told Account of the Third Crusade
Review: Not many history books deserve to be called 'page turners,' but Warriors of God certainly qualifies. The author used some of the dramatic elements of fiction in his writing, without sacrificing historical accuracy. (The only bias I could find in the book was anti-French!) Saladin and Richard are are fully developed individuals, and Mr. Reston often imagines what they might have been thinking during a given situation. This is not the realm of the historian, but it did not detract from the history. He often quotes from the Koran and the Bible, which is entirely appropriate concerning a time period based, at least on the surface, on religious differences. The book is also spiced with Mr. Reston's wry wit. I found this to be an engaging story and part of the important historical context for today's world of tension in the Middle East.
Rating:
Summary: The movie version of the Third Crusade
Review: This is essentially not history; it is a melodrama based, more or less loosely, on the Third Crusade. Its Saladin and Richard are the characters a novelist would have them be -- tailored to fit his plot line, thinking the thoughts he wants them to think, driven by the desires and emotions he wants them to have. Any relationship between these shallow, crudely-drawn characters and the real thing is not only accidental but unimportant. The point of the book is to teach the reader that there were good guys and bad guys and that we (the West) were the bad guys, while throwing in sex and violence in the bargain. And so it presents a simplified, technicolor version that leaves out the historical doubts, factual uncertainties, and other shades of grey that make for good history but bad B movies. Who were the good guys and who the bad? Read Runciman's books (his Volume 3 covers the Third Crusade) -- they present history and let you decide for yourself.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent primer for the Crusades
Review: Warriors of God is not an extensive study of the Crusades but can serve as an excellent primer for those of us wishing to delve into the subject. James Reston Jr. turns a topic that is complex (and sometimes tedious) into a pleasant reading experience.
His use of Christian and Muslim texts lends a broader view of the conflict and time period. The author's inclusion of the state of 13th century western European politics (church and monarchy) provides important depth to the story. It also will lead most readers to wonder "This was civilization?"
Rating:
Summary: not a history not fictiom not a great book
Review: I would not particularly recommend this book. It is billed as a history but it is not. Yes it is probably factually correct, but its presentation is shall we say weird. I think the author thinks he can write history with the flair and style of Churchill, something at which he fails. There are no footnotes or backing for statements that need it and certainly some of his opinion comes across as nothing more than that. For example I do not know if Richard the Linohearted of France and Philip of France were homosexual lovers but the presentation of this affair is not contextual and makes little sense. There is less context for their sudden rivalry. Finally, while Mr. Reston tries, he does not give particularly adequate background on the happenings in Europe.
Rating:
Summary: A highly polished little gem.
Review: If Reston's short history of the third crusade was made mandatory reading for high school juniors I can guarantee that the number of college history majors would double. While substantial "artistic liberties" are taken by the author he does at the same time do a good job keeping the complex storyline going in the right direction and maintains its historical integrity. The book is exciting to read and splendid in its objectivity toward all of the players concerned. The Holy Land sucked Richard The Lionharted into its quagmire almost a thousand years ago and has the same unfortunate force on the Western World to this day.
Rating:
Summary: Very good
Review: History at its best! The triangle of Phillip, RIchard and Saladin is a story that everyone should know. All three could be ruthless, crazy and oddly devoted (well except for Phillip of France). First time readers of the Crusdaes will learn why there are still hostilities in the Middle East. It also makes it easier to understand why Muslims would be greatly offended by saying that the USA was on a "Crusade to end terrorism" (note to George W. Bush - you may want to brush up on your history!) How factual is this book? well it is hard to say, but it seems to collaborate with everything else I have read about the Richard, Phillip and Saladin. Was Richard and Phillip homosexual lovers... where is the evidence... well from all accounts it seems like their undergoing the crusading vow was their direct punishment from the Pope. Whatever their relationship it is both clear that enjoyed each others company while young but hated each other during their time spent during their crusading alliance. Also, all of Da Vinci Code buffs out there... this makes a decent follow-up (although there are several books on the Templers that may prove to be more entertaining to you). Reston sets a very nice pace throughout the work, and is able to buid suspense. I think that this is one of the rare works taht has the ability to transcend the genre of history and become enjoyed by all readers.
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