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 a hundred and fifty thousand 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 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 reader 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.

拉尔斯•布朗沃思 Lars Brownworth,英语世界公认“会讲故事的卓越历史作家”，著名播主、作家、教师，创立了历史播客“拜占庭十二帝”。2004年，苹果公司开创了一种可下载、可共享的音频产品，即后来众所周知的“播客”（podcast）；拉尔斯•布朗沃思的 “拜占庭十二帝”作为历史播客的定调之作，被苹果公司同步推出，在国际范围内赢得了无数的听众。目前，布朗沃思一直更新着他的历史播客，并且在美国一所教会大学担任历史系主任。

《纽约时报》赞誉布朗沃思是一位杰出的历史普及作家。著有畅销历史作品《诺曼风云：从蛮族到王族的三个世纪》《维京传奇：来自海上的战狼》和《拜占庭帝国：拯救西方文明的东罗马千年史》。书中的笔法延续了他播客中引人入胜的叙事风格和性格鲜明的人物描写，都曾登上《纽约时报》畅销书榜单。