Author : John Man
Genre : Non-Fiction
What is it about? : Life of Sultan Saladin, focusing mainly on the crusades and the buildup to the Battle of Hattin.
How I came to read it : I had first heard about Saladin while playing the video game “Age of Empires 2” as a kid. It featured a whole level with Saladin as the main character. My interest in him piqued after that but I never actually made an effort to read a book about him. Recently my brother sent me a youtube video clip of the movie “Kingdom of Heaven” which shows a conversation between Saladin and Balien (Defender of Jerusalem) during the Battle of Hattin. This clip roused my interest again and promptly I requested my friend, who is a member of the Vancouver Public Library to get it for me which he did.
Did I like it? : Liked it. But I couldn’t help but compare John Man’s writing with that of William Dalrymple’s. I felt that Dalrymples’s writing has a dreamy quality to it which Man’s writing lacks. On that note, I would suggest any history fan to definitely give Dalrymples’s ‘City of Djinns’ a read. Delhi will never look the same again after that book.
Why/views/summary :
Why should you read it? :
In these times of religious strife the book gives a better understanding of the dynamics of the Crusades and brings forward the story of one of Islam’s most famous and righteous king.