In God's Battalions, award-winning author Rodney Stark takes on the long-held view that the Crusades were the first round of European colonialism, conducted for land, loot, and converts by barbarian Christians who victimized the cultivated Muslims. Instead, Stark argues that the Crusades were the first military response to Muslim terrorist aggession.
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Short review: I think this is a good corrective book on the crusades. It is well documented but a bit bias toward the crusaders. I think that he has good points and his set up to the crusades (the first 1/3 of the book) was very helpful. He talked about the political situation and the general economic and intellectual status of Europe.
Full review on my blog at http://bookwi.se/gods-battalions-the-case-for-the-crusades-by-rodney-stark/
