great overview but some writing errors, poor proofreading, and always such essays are in need of more footnotes. There were unsupported assertions that had to be assumed to be opinion or else not taken into account as fact. ( )

Excellant summary of Crusader thinking, but stretches to connect that thinking to the modern middle east. ( )

I found myself interacting with this book on a very personal basis. For the past two decades of my life I have lived cross-culturally in close contact with people from the Orthodox Christian perspectives, the Islamic perspectives, and the Jewish perspectives. I note that each of these embody numerous perspectives, each demonstrating their own prejudices. That personal history has challenged me to continuously evaluate my own perspectives, both good and bad. Karen Armstrong's book gave me yet another opportunity to engage in such self reflection. That, in my estimation, is the strength of this book.

Armstrong wrote that she wanted to approach her topic with "triple vision;" that is, examining the topic from the perspectives of Christianity, Islam, and Judaism. This approach is one of the features that attracted me to the book. However, after an initial reading of the book, I was left more with the impression that she had provided this reader with more of a defense of the Islamic perspective than a full scope evaluation of all three perspectives.

As I read this book I found myself wanting more historical background to the complex relationship between Islam, Christianity, and Judaism. To make the Crusades the starting point from which one builds an understanding of Holy War is completely inadequate. By the time of the Crusades, Holy War had some 3,000 years of history (interpretation and application) in Judaism. Armstrong fails to give serious consideration to that history, and instead, all but brushes it aside as the religion of some god bent on brutal conquest.

I would recommend this book for its challenge to us all to examine our perspectives regarding the people and cultures of this world. But read it with caution. Some of the situations she sites as negative examples of various attitudes--especially Christian attitudes--need to be examined more fully. Some of the author's descriptions are simplistic. They serve to prove her point, but the situations themselves often are more multi-facited than the reader of Holy War would think. ( )

A mine of useful information on Muslim-Westernperceptions of each other.

Armstrong moves seamlessly between the past the present to help us understand the roots of an ancient conflict. The real gem for me in this book was how Saladin take a cue from the Crusaders, and learns to invoke his God just as they invoke theirs'. This is required reading for anyone who wants to understand the roots of the current conflicts in the Middle East. (If only the current administration had read this...) ( )