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Originally Posted by kindlekitten
*shrug* out of 52 reviews 10 were 3 star and below. that's actually pretty good for a book of this nature. when I recommended it, I was quickly scanning my mental files for a good/quick overview of a period of history that you were obviously struggling with. I wasn't trying to give you the top of the academic list.
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Thank you for your concern, but if I am struggling it is to gain a better in-depth understanding of a period I already know something about, not to get an oversimplified judgment possibly tinted by a religious bias.
I noticed before that the most useful reviews on Amazon are the ones with the lowest rating, because they can tell me immediately if a book has problems that will be show stoppers for me. It was true in this case, although the 5 star reviews were also informative. When I read history books, I am not looking for gripping tales of adventures, I am looking for considered and (as far as possible) objective research presented in a form I can understand and enjoy.
Both the good and the bad reviews mentioned the lack of footnotes. I don't think it would have occurred to me to judge a book by whether or not it has footnotes, but in the case of a history book, the presence of footnotes and a bibliography suggests that the authors has sources to back his assertions, so presumably he has made some serious research. I don't necessarily want to read all the boring details of this research, but I would much rather have some external references and hints of proof, rather than a gripping tale about knights and Saracens that I have no means of verifying.
Also, a couple of the negative reviews mention factual errors and an anti-catholic bias of the book.
Plus, I have to admit that the fact the book is actually about the knights templar does nothing to reassure me. I suppose there must be some serious and objective books written on that subject, but I would not bet on it, and I am not sure this is one of them.