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Historical God Wills It!: An Illustrated History of the Crusades by W.B. Bartlett $19.95 / Sutton Publ. / 2000 W.B. Bartlett's suspenseful narrative of the Crusades is a real delight. Whether Bartlett adds anything to existing scholarship on this topic is uncertain, but he writes with such authority and enthusiasm that the reader is immediately charmed. Such chapters as "Signs of Strain" and "Debacle on the Nile" demonstrate the exuberance with which this writer approaches his subject. Political intrigue, military campaigns, ambition, fanaticism, and barbarism all find a place here. Of course, it could be said that the times were so momentous that the Crusades could not be anything but exciting, but Bartlett brings the account to such life that it is as if we were reading about contemporary geopolitics. First, the stage is set for the Crusades by describing the rise of the Turkish empire, the decline of Byzantium, and the state of western European Christendom at the close of the 11th century. The Crusades are then explored, starting with the abortive Peasants Crusade, and followed by the more successful First Crusade as well as the next two centuries of ceaseless struggle as alliances shifted and control of the region changed hands again and again. Bartlett relates not only the military encounters but also the political atmosphere surrounding the events, including the complications which arose from marriage alliances. This engaging history of the Crusades is supplemented with a generous number of illustrations and gorgeous color plates of various significant sites, including the al-Aqsa Mosque, the Dome of the Rock, and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. In the final analysis, God Wills It! is a thoroughly enjoyable book. —Charles Rammelkamp

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