Brendan’s Alternate Tagline for The House of War:
(Afraid to say anything that might get me cancelled.)
Quick synopsis:
A look at some of the major battles of Christians and Muslims from history.
Fact for Non-History People:
Muslims back in the day referred to places where Islam did not dominate as the “House of War.”
Fact for History Nerds:
The Plague of Justinian killed between 15 and 100 million people in the Mediterranean.
My Take on The House of War:
I can think of very few things more difficult than trying to write a book which is effectively Christians vs. Muslims. Simon Mayall tried it and it turned out great in his book The House of War!
Let’s get the big question out of the way first. Who is Mayall pulling for in this book? Great news, he is team no one! Joking aside, Mayall puts on a masterclass in not taking sides. He writes an overview of the religions starting from the beginning (which is a great place to start) that wouldn’t irk anyone on either side of the theological debate except the people you really should not be hanging out with. The House of War then looks at various battles in history where Muslims and Christians did battle. Obviously, today we know many of these wars had nothing to do with religion in the slightest. However, Mayall doesn’t get caught up in semantics and minor debates. Sure, the crusades had very little to do with religion, but for the men on the ground an indulgence was not nothing.
The problems I always run into with books like this are twofold. First, there is the issue of what I call “name vomit.” This is where you have to introduce so many people and places to set the stage every chapter because you jump around in time. Second, there are the extensive backgrounds themselves just to set up the stakes of the upcoming battle. While both issues are present in Mayall’s narrative, I have to say he minimized them. More importantly, when he gets to the actual fighting, the storytelling is exceptional. I highly recommend it.
(This book was provided as an advance copy by Netgalley and Osprey Publishing.)
Verdict:
Very good history. Buy it here!
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