Holy War: The Crusades and Their Impact on Today's World

karen armstrong

The New York Times bestselling author of A History of God skillfully narrates the history of the Crusades with a view toward their profound and continuing influence.

" Holy War brings compassion, objectivity, breadth, and imagination to the most urgent crisis of our time." — The Boston Phoenix

In 1095 Pope Urban II summoned Christian warriors to take up the cross and reconquer the Holy Land. Thus began the holy wars that would focus the power of Europe against a common enemy and become the stuff of romantic legend. In reality the Crusades were a series of rabidly savage conflicts in the name of piety. And, as Armstrong demonstrates in this fascinating book, their legacy of religious violence continues today in the Middle East, where the age-old conflict of Christians, Jews, and Muslims persists.

Genres historyreligionnonfictionislamwarchristianitypoliticsworld historymilitary historymedieval

628 pages, Paperback

First published January 1,1988

This edition

Format: 628 pages, Paperback
Published: November 27, 2001 by Anchor Books
ISBN: 9780385721400
ASIN: 0385721404
Language: English

About the author

karen armstrong

Karen Armstrong is a British author and commentator of Irish Catholic descent known for her books on comparative religion. A former Roman Catholic religious sister, she went from a conservative to a more liberal and mystical Christian faith. She attended St Anne's College, Oxford, while in the convent and graduated in English. She left the convent in 1969. Her work focuses on commonalities of the major religions, such as the importance of compassion and the Golden Rule.
Armstrong received the US$100,000 TED Prize in February 2008. She used that occasion to call for the creation of a Charter for Compassion, which was unveiled the following year.