This book presents a lively & compelling account of how the crusades really worked, & a revolutionary attempt to rethink how we understand the Middle Ages. The story of the wars & conquests initiated by the First Crusade & its successors is itself so compelling that most accounts move quickly from describing the Pope`s calls to arms to the battlefield. In this highly original & enjoyable new book, Christopher Tyerman focuses on something obvious but overlooked: the massive, all-encompassing & hugely costly business of actually preparing a crusade. The efforts of many thousands of men & women, who left their lands & families in Western Europe, & marched off to a highly uncertain future in the Holy Land & elsewhere have never been sufficiently understood. Their actions raise a host of compelling questions about the nature of medieval society. How to Plan a Crusade is fascinating on diplomacy, communications, propaganda, the use of mass media, medical care, equipment, voyages, money, weapons, credit, wills, ransoms, animals, & the power of prayer. It brings to life an extraordinary era in a novel & surprising way.