From: danny@cs.su.oz.au (Danny Yee)
Date: Sun, 06 Aug 1995 17:06:53 +1000
Subject: Book Review - Arab Historians of the Crusades

     title: Arab Historians of the Crusades
    edited: Francesco Gabrieli
      from: the Italian [E.J. Costello]
 publisher: Dorset Press 1989 [1957]
  subjects: history, Palestine
     other: 362 pages, index

_Arab Historians of the Crusades_ presents an Islamic view of the
medieval European invasion of Palestine, from the First Crusade through
to the liquidation of the last Christian strongholds by the Mamluks.
Short excerpts from nineteen historians are pieced together to produce
a connected narrative for the major military and diplomatic events,
and portraits of the major leaders.  There are brief biographies of
the historians at the beginning of the volume, short introductory
paragraphs head each major section, and there is the occasional
explanatory footnote; otherwise the passages are allowed to speak
for themselves.  They have been chosen for accessibility and interest,
and the result is surprisingly readable (with the possible exception
of the passages from Imad Al-Din, who, even allowing for the double
translation, must be the most prolix writer I have ever encountered).
_Arab Historians of the Crusades_ is recommended reading for anyone
interested in a different perspective on the Crusades.

--

%T	Arab Historians of the Crusades
%E	Francesco Gabrieli
%F	E.J. Costello
%M	Italian
%I	Dorset Press
%C	New York
%D	1989 [1957]
%O	hardcover, index
%G	ISBN 0-88029-452-3
%P	xxxvi,362pp
%K	history, Palestine

Danny Yee (danny@cs.su.oz.au)
6 August 1995

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