An interesting look into an historical castle. Good pictures, lots of information, great for those interested in history, castles, and the crusades.

This is an interesting read! I am very much interested in crusader and Templar history so this read was very intriguing and informative to me. There is LOTS of information so there’s much to learn! It was well researched and starts you off from its earliest start until the present time. I really enjoyed the read! Thank you #NetGalley, author, and publishers for the opportunity to read and review with my honest thoughts and opinions. I appreciate it so much.

In this fascinating case study of a medieval castle, Michael Fulton introduces readers to the long history of Kerak, a castle located in what is now Jordan. Tracing its long medieval history, Fulton explores the history of this castle in the context of the Crusades, the Middle Ages, and the longer history of the region. Fulton emphasizes the military history of this castle, given his focus on the Crusades, and does so in a way that feels natural, relevant, and understandable. Bringing in a variety of historical figures to contextualize and expound upon Kerak’s history, Fulton masterfully places this architectural and historical case study into a larger international history framework. Fulton’s prose and organizational structure of this book is particularly well done, focusing on key and minor events in a chronological order. By going beyond the title of the book (and focusing on the Crusades), Fulton includes descriptions of Kerak Castle and its history before and after these main events, expanding the narrative in an incredibly useful way and further contextualizing the history of Kerak Castle. Fulton’s latest book is an excellent historical, architectural, and military case study of a critical location during the Crusades of the Middle Ages in the modern Middle East.

True confession, I requested this book in hopes there would be pictures! Haha! And thankfully, I was rewarded at the end, with a good selection of them. I think it could have been even better if the pics were interspersed throughout the read (and who knows how it will be upon publication - the joys of an eARC!)--but I'm happy they were there at all; it truly brought the castle and its history to life.

I've visited israel a couple times and seen its own share of remnants from the Crusader period; I appreciated the opportunity to learn about a different, though no less contentious, area in the region. I'll be curious to look up more on Kerak in my own leisure hours.

I received an eARC of the book from the publisher via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley, Dr. Michael S. Fulton, and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review! I found this book to be very informative! It is well-researched and well-written, which is the perfect combination for a book of this nature.

The title, Crusader Castle: The Desert Fortress of Kerak, caught my attention. I found myself intrigued and wanting to learn about this "crusader castle" that I'd never heard of before. If you find yourself similarly interested, I do suggest you give this a read. This book is definitely for anyone with an interest in medieval castles and their history. I also think if you like history in general, or even something more niche like learning about how and why a castle would change over time, this will be an enjoyable read.

I thought Crusader Castle was very comprehensible, and this is coming from someone who, as I said, had very little knowledge on the topic prior to picking up this book. I think what I liked best about this book (besides the fact that I love maps and it does include a couple of very helpful ones) was honestly how well it did at holding my interest. I'm not sure if I'll ever get to visit Kerak in person, but if I do make that trip happen it'll be because of how fascinating I found Dr Fulton's book the entire time I was reading it!