Saladin in his Time

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Saladin in his Time
P.H. Newby
1983

The Summary
Saladin in his Time is, simply, a narrative of the life of Saladin, a prominent and active military commander who brought Egypt, Palestine, Arabia, and Mesopotamia under his sultanate.

The Good
P.H. Newby's narrative is fairly informative.  Providing an amazing array of details about Saladin's life, as well as offers a descriptive portrayal of the areas he both visited and attempted to consolidate under his rule.

Saladin in his Time, however, also sheds light onto the activities of European crusaders who set out for the Latin Kingdoms of Palestine during the Second and Third Crusades.  Not only does this narrative provide insight into the motivations of crusaders, but provides accounts of their movements, achievements, and most significant activities.

The Bad
In this book, the author appears to have his own agenda, in which he places Saladin firmly in the role of a hero.  In fact, he appears to treat Saladin as a victim of the disunity between regions under his control.  Rather than attributing certain failures to a mistake on Saladin's part, Newby presents excuses for certain failures that actually divert blame from Saladin.

While informative, this narrative seems single-minded in its pursuit to make Saladin a heroic historical figure.

The Ugly
Saladin in his Time is neither explicit in its language, nor particularly violent (that is, detailed about violent events in history).  While acceptable for a broad audience, regardless of age, and fairly interesting, Newby's narrative is pretty - well, boring.  It's informative, perfect for scholar, but a bit dry otherwise.