A scathing and brilliant revisionist history, Defending the Holy Land is the most comprehensive analysis to date of Israel's national security and foreign policy, from the inception of the State of Israel to the present. Book jacket.
"A fresh and highly accessible history of the Holy Lands during the Middle Ages, revealing a rich and diverse culture and the fight to save Jerusalem from the Crusaders"--
Has God brought the Jewish people back to Palestine? How can both Jews and Christians be God's chosen people? How many covenants are there in the Bible? Do all Christian Zionists accept dispensational teaching? Does the God of Israel ever change his promises? These are some of the questions that must be faced in the light of current attacks on Christian Zionism by some evangelical writers. David Pawson believes that Christians need very clear biblical understanding before making political pronouncements about conflict in the Middle East.
In 1071 Muslim Turks crushed the Byzantine Emperor's Anatolian army at Manzikert. The Crusades, the West's response to this catastrophe, are well known as are the names of the European nobles who fought in them. The names and deeds of many of the Crusaders' opponents in the Holy Land are often unfamiliar to Western readers.
A new look at the crusaders, which shows how they pursued long-term plans and clear strategic goals Medieval states, and particularly crusader societies, often have been considered brutish and culturally isolated. It seems unlikely that they could develop "strategy" in any meaningful sense. However, the crusaders were actually highly organized in their thinking and their decision making was rarely random. In this lively account, Steve Tibble draws on a rich array of primary sources to reassess events on the ground and patterns of behavior over time. He shows how, from aggressive castle building to implementing a series of invasions of Egypt, crusader leaders tenaciously pursued long-term plans and devoted single-minded attention to clear strategic goals. Crusader states were permanently on the brink of destruction; resources were scarce and the penalties for failure severe. Intuitive strategic thinking, Tibble argues, was a necessity, not a luxury.
This text examines the nature of war in the period 1000-1300 A.D. and argues that is was primarily shaped by the people who conducted war - the landowners.
The Case for Israel is an ardent defense of Israel's rights, supported by indisputable evidence. Presents a passionate look at what Israel's accusers and detractors are saying about this war-torn country. Dershowitz accuses those who attack Israel of international bigotry and backs up his argument with hard facts. Widely respected as a civil libertarian, legal educator, and defense attorney extraordinaire, Alan Dershowitz has also been a passionate though not uncritical supporter of Israel.
Peter Leithart weighs what we've been taught about Constantine and claims that in focusing on these historical mirages we have failed to notice the true significance of Constantine and Rome baptized. He reveals how beneath the surface of this contested story there lies a deeper narrative--a tectonic shift in the political theology of an empire--with far-reaching implications.
In this World War II military history, Rommel's army is a day from Cairo, a week from Tel Aviv, and the SS is ready for action. Espionage brought the Nazis this far, but espionage can stop them—if Washington wakes up to the danger. As World War II raged in North Africa, General Erwin Rommel was guided by an uncanny sense of his enemies' plans and weaknesses. In the summer of 1942, he led his Axis army swiftly and terrifyingly toward Alexandria, with the goal of overrunning the entire Middle East. Each step was informed by detailed updates on British positions. The Nazis, somehow, had a source for the Allies' greatest secrets. Yet the Axis powers were not the only ones with intelligence. Brilliant Allied cryptographers worked relentlessly at Bletchley Park, breaking down the extraordinarily complex Nazi code Enigma. From decoded German messages, they discovered that the enemy had a wealth of inside information. On the brink of disaster, a fevered and high-stakes search for the source began. War of Shadows is the cinematic story of the race for information in the North African theater of World War II, set against intrigues that spanned the Middle East. Years in the making, this book is a feat of historical research and storytelling, and a rethinking of the popular narrative of the war. It portrays the conflict not as an inevitable clash of heroes and villains but a spiraling series of failures, accidents, and desperate triumphs that decided the fate of the Middle East and quite possibly the outcome of the war.