In Distant Lands
A Short History of the Crusades
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In Distant Lands
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Narrated by:
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Joe Barrett
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By:
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Lars Brownworth
About this listen
In the late fall of 1095, Pope Urban II gave a speech in Clermont, France, and set all of Europe into motion. As many as 150,000 people eventually responded to the call, leaving everything they knew behind to undertake what appeared to be a fool's mission: marching several thousand miles into enemy territory to reconquer Jerusalem for Christendom. Against all odds they succeeded, creating a Christian outpost in the heart of the Islamic world that lasted for the better part of two centuries.
Perhaps no other period in history is as misunderstood as the Crusades, and in this fast-paced account Lars Brownworth presents the entire story, from the first clash of Christendom and Islam in the dusty sands of Yarmouk to the fall of the last crusader state. Along the way he introduces the listener to an exotic world peopled by mighty emperors, doomed Templars, grasping generals, and ambitious peasants. Some of the most famous names of the Middle Ages - Richard the Lionheart, Saladin, Eleanor of Aquitaine, and the legendary Prester John - illuminate this era of splendor, adventure, and faith.
©2017 Lars Brownworth (P)2017 TantorWhat listeners say about In Distant Lands
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- David Emery
- 03-05-2024
Excellent no-nonsense account of the crusades
The reader has a nice droll turn when appropriate, and reads quickly, making this account move along at a good pace. Recommended.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Mitchell
- 29-12-2020
An unbiased overview (Tldr at the bottom)
Lars Brownworth has straight up become one of my favourite authors. His books on the Norsemen and Normans were both fantastic and interesting reads/listens but this book outdoes it. I went from knowing fragmented pieces of information about a controversial and heavily demonised topic, to a whole interesting panorama of the middle ages. If you do end up picking this up I'd suggest getting his book on the Normans or listening to his podcast on them, if only for the information on Frederick Barbarossa the 2nd and the Emperor Alexios.
You only need to listen to the conclusion of this book to see the unbiased nature of the work, it feels as if he didn't even consider the idea of sides and instead wrote an informed history based on the predecessors and events leading up to the crusades (and after). The narration was somewhat mildly jarring for the first 5 minutes as I recently came off his previous book but after that adjustment I really enjoyed it. The narrator gives a certain emotion to the words that reading does not allow while also having a neutral relaxing tone of voice and due to being an audio/visual learner it greatly helped my comprehension and retainment of the events written.
If you've at any point been interested in this time period this book will serve you well. I'd love to see Lars tackle the Republic of Venice as his descriptions of Enrico Dandolo has gotten me hungry for more of it.
Tldr; Lars writes in a way that very few history authors do. I don't know how he does it but every book he has written has been entertaining as apposed to draining. If you're interested in the middle ages then this book is a must. It's an unbiased overview, a panorama of the crusades.
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2 people found this helpful