If one were looking for a one volume treatise on Crusades or crusades, then this would be a good choice.

My copy of this book is titled "The Crusades: A History of Armed Pilgrimage and Holy War." I do not know why Amazon has an alternative title. The author tries to tie in the notion of a crusade from the medieval times through today. The notion of a crusade is still heard today. As the author has stated in the "Chronology of Jihad and Crusade" section of the book, "The campaigns against the heathen peoples of Europe were justified as defensive wars against a potential threat, in the same way as the American and British governments felt justified in advocating war against Iraq in 2002." page xv. What can I say? My ancestors were the "heathen" on the shores of the eastern Baltic Sea, in the 13th Century. The "Chronology" is nice because the reader has an instant listing of "crusades" official and otherwise.

The author reflects the year 2003. He uses the words "ethnic cleansing" "multiculturalism" and "realpolitik." He has a chapter on "women and feudalism." In a discussion of a musical presentation, given in 1377, "The Conquest of Jerusalem" (which depicted the First Crusade), he states, "the elaborate staging would not have disgraced a Cameron Mackintosh/Lloyd Webber musical." page 223. My first thought was who is Cameron Mackintosh? Is a reader of this book in 50 years going to know either of the two gentlemen?

The book is organized thus: Introduction: What's in a Name?; 1 Beginnings 632-1095; 2 The First Crusade 1095-1099; 3 Life and Politics in a Multicultural World; 4 The Second Crusade: Disaster on the Road to Damascus; 5 Turk and Kurd; Heroes of Islam; 6 Women and an Alternative Feudalism; 7 Loss of Jerusalem and the Third Crusade 1187-1192; 8 The Fourth Crusade: The Latin Conquest of Constatinople and the Scandal of Christendom; 9 Heathen, Heretics and Children; 10 Triumphs of an Excommunicated Emperor; 11 The Failures of a Saint; 12 Acre and After; 13 Chivalry in Action and Nicopolis "The Last Crusade"; 14 The Lingering Decline of a Flawed Ideal; Epilogue: The Aftermath; Appendix I: The Popes, from Gregory VII to Sixtus V; Appendix II: Rulers of the Kingdom of Jerusalem; Appendix III: Ayyubid Dynasty -- Rulers of Egypt; Appendix IV: Byzantine Emperors at the Time of the First Crusades; Appendix V: Ottoman Princes and Sultans 1300-1566; Appendix VI: Western Emperors 1056-1555.

The book has some maps, photographs, notes and bibliography. Time will tell how this book will hold up.

I am quite relieved that I borrowed this book from my local library before deciding whether to purchase it for my own extensive library.

The egregious editing and factual errors (which, in my days in the publishing business, would have led to pink slips!) are unforgiveable.

Avoid this book at all costs!

This is an excellent summary of the present state of European royals at the beginning of the 3rd millenium. Its nice to have information on which Hapsburg has married which Oldenburg and what the present state of the monarchist cause is in various countries in Eastern Europe. Historically the book is somewhat flawed by some sloppy research and/or editing. For example, the chapter on the Belgian Royal Family is fraught with errors. King Albert I is referred to as Alfred at one point, and there are numerous genealogical mistakes (Albert I was nephew, not son, of Leopold II). I don't regret buying the book for its information on present day royals, but I would not rely on it for research on their predecessors.

It can be difficult for Americans to find reliable information on current and former European royal dynasties. The Windsors dominate the scene, obviously, and we monoglots soon discover that English-language media cover other royal families only sporadically.

Then, once every ten years or so, a book comes out that focuses on once-and-maybe-(or maybe not) future sovereign dynasties, like the Greek, Italian, German, or French royal families. These books, however, seem usually to fall into one of two categories: fawning, or sneering ('Look at these losers who think they're still kings.')

Fortunately, Geoffrey Hindley's useful resource falls into neither of these categories. And that makes it well worth the read.

Hindley is an unabashed monarchist, and takes the position -- sadly rare these days -- that monarchs and their dynasties really do have something useful to offer their nations and their people. In a wide-ranging discussion of currently reigning royals, he shows how the various monarchs relate to the day-to-day business of their nation's governments, and measures their degree of influence, or outright power, both in public and behind the scenes.

His coverage of the pretenders is also thorough and informative. He wrestles with the questions of the Russian and French succession, the constitutional position of the never-abdicated King of the Hellenes (aka Greece) and his family, and reports on what may well turn out to have been the first steps toward restoration in Bulgaria.

As other reviews have noted, there are a few minor errors in history and genealogy. But these are more in the nature of typos, not serious flaws in research or argumentation.

The late Austrian writer Erik von Kuehnelt-Leddihn wrote of the natural inability of a North American to take monarchy seriously, either as a system or a philosophy. Yet for millions of Europeans (to say nothing of Asians and Africans), monarchy plays a central role in their history, their present, and most likely their future too. This very useful book helps us understand why, and perhaps makes it a little easier for Americans to overcome our natural barrier to something that is, after all, part of our history too.