Dungeon, Fire and Sword: The Knights Templar in the Crusades Paperback – April 16, 2009

This is a fascinating history of an incredible time which I did not fully understand until this reading. This text is very well written with a colorful narrative that takes the reader back to the crusader period. It is high adventure of the highest rank and a much easier read than “Holy War” by Karen Armstrong. This book allows the reader to contemplate the story of the crusaders and the human stupidity, deception, fraud, treachery, cruelty, and barbarism that took place during this time. The book is written in three parts in chronological order commencing in the middle of the 11th century transversing to the beginning of the 14th century.Part one deals with the political and ecclesiastic upheaval of the 11th century with the call for the 1st Crusade by Urban II which stimulates the formation of the Kingdom of Jerusalem and the Knights Templar. This is the beginning of the most powerful period for the pope in christian history. The second portion of the book and the most extensive brings the reader through the ongoings in Outremer for the next two hundred years resulting in the eviction of the Latin Christians at the the end of this session. I very much enjoyed the chapter regarding Reynald de Chatillon's arrival in the Holy Land and his initial exploits in Antioch and then in Outrejordan. This part of the book becomes very complicated due to the shifting of adversaries among Shiites, Sunnis, and Christians. The reader needs to re-read several sections to understand the transitions. After traveling to many of the places in this book and hearing pieces of this story the image of this period and the inner workings of this story becomes much clearer with John Robinson's chronological narrative. However, reader beware the cast of characters can be overwhelming.Part Three of the book deals with the end of the formal crusading period, conversely with the group that was assigned to protect Christian pilgrims, The Knights Templar, and ultimately the power of the pope. Ironically, the Templar destruction takes place in the same place where they were conceived two centuries prior, Western Europe, France. In the telling of this incredible story of the Crusades in the Levant the author gives a perspective of the people who populate this restless region and who figure so prominently in today's headlines. I recommend this book for the novice and mature historian alike, it is a great read!

This is a good book. It's readable, and yet gives a good history of the knights templar. It does not go down the rabbit holes that so many books about this order find interesting. If you're looking for a book that glasses over the warts in history, this will not be the book for you.

I enjoyed it but you have to be really into Templar lore to get through this fact filled and well documented book.

This is the definitive history of the Knights Templar. Start with this book as your solid foundation and you won't be taken in or led astray by any other volume, movie or television series that comes along claiming to be 'history'. Robinson is solid if a bit typical is his history, peppering this book with names and towns and dates but it's necessary considering the enormity of the Crusades. I suggest reading this with a pad of paper to jot down names and the towns/battles the names go with. I even went so far as to draw a rough timeline to better fix in my mind the order of events. It sounds tedious, but I think it's essential in order to grasp the enormity of the Crusades and the Templar's place in it. Robinson maintains a good neutral narrative between the Muslims and Christians, favouring neither but still telling the story of both.

This, just like the rest of his books, is fantastic. He does a great job of putting together a very detailed and flowing narrative of the Crusade. He is not partial to any group or person. He points out the facts for all the players from the research he gathered and doesn't slant the story to make one group come off more favorable. I have read other books that have a definite slant towards one object or another.From the books I have read (several) his feel more like a complete story.

This is an amazing book that gave me, for the first time, a sense of how the crusades so affected the region we now call the middle east and forever altered relationships between Christians and Muslims. I ended up reading this simultaneously with The Game of Thrones and found it ironic how intriguing imaginary and real human interactions can be, particularly those that so paralleled each other. It is astounding how destructive grappling for power, domination and influence has been in our past. Robinson shows us a brutal and vivid truth that takes away the glamour of what we often think of when we imagine this time period. This book is terrific for anyone who loves a well portrayed history. It is not for the faint of heart.

I am extremely impressed by the way Robinson conveyed the history of those tumultuous times in such a captivating manner. This work is rich in facts: both large and small, and all interesting. Aside from Templar history, I really appreciated Robinson's ability to clearly explain the major and minor players and the political machinery and machinations of all sides involved (Muslim factions, Hospitallers, Vanetians, the Popes, etc etc). Reading this work is a real learning experience, and Robinson's great writing is far from dry. After reading this book I will surely continue to read Robinson's other works.

This was a hard book to read. It didn't hold my attention for long periods, but I finished it.I have always wanted to know the beginnings of the Templars. It slam dunks the church's leadership's throughout early years (lot's of greed and corruption as I read it).