The Shield and the Sword: The Knights of St. John (Classic Military History)

Rating:
Summary: Comprehensive history
Review: From its birth in the first Crusade, through the possession of the isle of Rhodes to its lost of the island against the forces of Suleiman the Magnificent, to making a home on Malta; the great siege of Malta by Suleiman again, Mr Bradford is able to make well researched material interesting. After Malta, the Knights were on top, how they dropped to the bottom as they lost Malta to Napoleon, were they are now in the world as a humanitarian organization.
If you have any interest in this subject, this is a good book. It could have used a few more maps (I read the 1973 hard back version), and three times it seemed the author was taking sides with the Knights on some minor old debate. His book "The Great Siege; Malta 1565" is an excellent book.