God's war

This is an excellent overview of the entire crusading movement, and Tyreman has done a very good job with a very difficult task. Even at almost 1000 pages, he is barely scratching the surface of such a long and involved period of history. For those who want an introduction to the Crusades, this might be a little heavy-going, but for a deeper understanding or for working at an undergraduate level, God's War is a fantastic resource, if perhaps too long to prescribe as an undergraduate textbook.

For the major (numbered) crusades through to Louis IX's misadventures in Egypt, Tyreman takes a two-chapter approach, the first giving context, and the second examining the events and outcomes of the conflict. This ensures the reader is grounded in the wider events of the period - the Crusades did not happen in isolation, and events throughout Europe and, later, throughout Asia, combine to influence crusade momentums and outcomes. Smaller crusade movements get a more cursory treatment, I suspect due to length constraints than any comment on their importance within the wider movement; the insightful evaluation of motives and outcomes is no less for these ‘lesser' crusades.

Thoroughly researched and riddled with citations, with the delightful addition of academic snark, I highly recommend.