While purported to give an honest reckoning of Reynald de Chatillon, it appears throughout the book that the author is attempting to instead write a veiled hagiography. Filled with justifications and excuses, this work's redeeming quality is the vivid picture it paints of the Crusades and the Latin Kingdom. However, if you're looking for straight history, I would recommend going elsewhere.

Recommended for those who would like a good romp through the Latin Kingdom, but don't care too much for its historical validity. ( )

Well written and researched, as for the Historic accuracy I am afraid I don't know enough about the period to comment. Engaging and entertaining from the first page this is an always absorbing interesting read. At times exciting and occasionally it reads like fiction.
Recommended. ( )

I thoroughly enjoyed this book as it attempts to discover the real Reynald of Chatillon. Often portrayed as one of the worst villains of the Medieval age I think this goes some way to providing greater balance to his story, though I feel that the truth remains somewhat obscure. Thoroughly entertaining book. ( )

Enjoyable reading. Presents a counter-case to the usual portrayal of Reynald de Chatillon (a Frankish crusader of the mid-late 12th century) as one of period's primary villains. Depicted in the Ridley Scott film KINGDOM OF HEAVEN (played by Brendan Gleeson), Reynald is an impious warmonger guilty of uniquely brutal, evil treatment of prisoners, civilians, and fallen foes. In Lee's treatment, he's portrayed as a significant political and military figure though not the especially evil character depicted in the film. Probably the truth falls somewhere in between. I am not a period scholar, so I'm not attesting to this as a historical document, but it is comprehensively sourced and though I detect trace amounts of pro-Western bias in the author's telling, it's not so overblown as to make the entire depiction incredible. Like any history-lite, which is what this is, you have to take it with a grain of salt. If you're interested in seeing the major figures of that era in the Middle East dealt with in more depth and more historical accuracy than the film, this book may interest you. It's heavy on political intrigue, battles, and tactics which is appropriate to the era and the class and type of person Reynald was. ( )

Great book about the man who may have been the archetypal crusader, infamous in his day, but largely forgotten, in the West anyway. Its a different story in the Islamic world, where Raymond de Chatillon is remembered as a brutal and amoral thug, the worst of the crusaders. Lee start his account by recounting the story of a parcel bomb which in 2010 was to be planted aboard a jet and detonated over Chicago. Astonishingly, the parcel was addressed to Reynald, who had been dead for over 800 years. This demonstrates as effectively as anything how fresh the memory of the crusades remains in the Muslim world. Lee takes a long-overdue look at this much-maligned individual, and finds he was far from being just a brutal killer and truce-breaker as the Muslims depicted him, but a great warrior, effective ruler and a major player in the politics of the Holy Land between the Second & Third Crusades. Reynald was a constant thorn in the side of the great Islamic warlord Saladin, who swore several times that he would kill him, and after finally capturing him at the disastrous battle at the Horns of Hattin, executed him ostensibly because of his crimes against Islam, but really because he was simply too dangerous to the Muslim cause to keep alive. Despite their hatred for him, he was admired by the Muslims for his bravery and skill as a warrior. This is a terriffic read, not only because it restores the reputation of one of the great crusaders, but gives a great picture of the ups & downs of the wars between Christianity and Islam. Highly recommended. ( )