Seven Myths of the Crusades

"This book is an effort to explode (or at least modify) seven popular myths or misconceptions of the Crusades. Despite the seemingly ever-expanding outpouring of first-rate books on the Crusades that has taken place over the past half century, including some fine surveys intended for general audiences, distortions of the crusades seem to be proliferating in all the popular media. These include pseudo-documentaries for TV, big- and small-budget movies, novels, mainstream news reporting, editorials, political speeches by highly visible and influential politicians, the sermons and writings of radical clerics and zealous laity of all three Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam), and textbooks prepared for collegiate and high school students enrolled in Western civilization and world history courses"--