383 pages.I'm reading a lot of history now. Mainly medieval, and this is my latest and probably greatest discovery this summer. I have to admit that my understanding of the Crusades before this summer was extremely poor. I was under the delusion that I knew more about the Crusades than I really did, after all I did read Tasso's, Jerusalemme, but apparently epic poems on history rarely relate to facts. Four weeks ago if you were to ask me about Saladin I could maybe say he was a part of the Crusades and that may have been it. My lack of knowledge is embarrassing. As I am going through the Crusades I am finding certain "pilgrimages" that contain more human drama than others, and the Third Crusade is probably one of the best dramas, if I can be so terrible as to suggest one of histories tragic events as entertaining. The characters in this tragedy are Richard III and Saladin. Each of them has qualities that are worth praising. Saladin I feel has many more virtues than the warlike Richard, mainly because I feel more akin to Saladin than the intrusive Crusaders. The struggle between the two knights is a worthwhile read, especially as James Reston does all he can to create tension, and to create a 'novellistic' narrative that reads in the penumbra between history, analysis, and novels.
Next up for history is either the Life of St. Louis or King John.
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