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De Re Militari - The Society For Medieval Military History

Schrader has done an excellent job of crafting a single volume history of the Crusader States that covers so much ground in sufficient detail so succinctly. This volume is an ideal introductory work for both the general reader and students looking to get a solid overview of the period and to understand crusader society beyond the commonly presented military paradigm.

Dr Stephen Donnachie, Independent Scholar

Exceptionally informative and an impressive work of meticulous scholarship, "The Holy Land in the Era of the Crusades: Kingdoms at the Crossroads of Civilizations, 1100 - 1300" is an ideal textbook for undergraduates and non-specialist general readers with an interest in the subject, while offering historians and scholars with an introduction to the crusader states with tips for further research.

Read the full review [link=
http://www.midwestbookreview.com/wbw/aug_22.htm#WorldHistory]here[/link]

Midwest Book Review

'In her introduction to The Holy Land in the Era of the Crusades, Helena P. Schrader, author of several historical novels and popular history books, notes that this book “is designed to provide hobby historians with an easy-to-read, affordable overview of the crusader states.” In fact, being broad in its scope, readable, and thoroughly researched, her book goes well beyond this aim. It dispels several of the misconceptions that still so often appear in the more popular accounts of the crusades and the Latin East, and sometimes in academic works as well. The outcome is an attractive and indeed affordable volume that, while certainly an appropriate read for the layman, would also not go amiss as an introduction for students of the field. Most of the books on the crusades that are directed towards the general audience, lean heavily on military aspects and deal almost exclusively with major historical events and the principal and well-known historical figures. Schrader’s book, however, although it does in a lengthy section cover the principal events from the First Crusade to the fall of Latin Syria in 1291, is not, after all, about the crusades. Rather, as the title shows, it is about the Holy Land under Frankish rule, about the kingdom of Jerusalem, and to a degree about the other crusader states. In this regard, this book does a real service, by introducing the broader public to aspects of this important and fascinating historical period that are sometimes distorted, but more often entirely overlooked. For example, Schrader covers such subjects as the judicial system, administration, religious institutions, diplomacy, agriculture, commerce and industry and the arts. Schrader includes with her text useful informative tools, including well-drawn maps, some rather more basic city plans, genealogical tables, a detailed historical timeline, and up-to-date bibliographical material. The outcome is a commendable volume that may correct some misconceptions and is certain to enlighten its readers to aspects of the topic that are less well known.'

Professor Adrian Boas, Founder of the Department for Crusades Archeology at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, and former President of the Society for the Study of the Crusades and the Latin East