When the Muslims captured Jerusalem in 1187, Christian rulers across Europe responded to the call. While they raised funds and mustered armies, priests preached that killing "infidels" was morally proper and that crusaders would be guaranteed a place in heaven. Lionhearts is the story of the Third Crusade (1189 to 1192), which sent thousands of men into a holy war. Geoffrey Regan details the day-to-day life of the common crusader--long sieges, marches through swamps, lost supplies, and occasional fierce battles--and the political squabbles between leaders sworn to fight together. Though Regan is a fine military historian, Lionhearts is, at its center, really a rose-colored dual biography of the Third Crusade's two main antagonists: Richard the Lionhearted and Saladin.
