In April 1204, the armies of Western Christendom wrote another bloodstained chapter in the history of holy war. Two years earlier, aflame with religious zeal, the Fourth Crusade set out to free Jerusalem from the grip of Islam. But after a dramatic series of events, the crusaders turned their weapons against the Christian city of Constantinople, the heart of the Byzantine Empire and the greatest metropolis in the known world.The crusaders spared no one in their savagery: they murde...

The Second Crusade (1145-1149) was an extraordinarily bold attempt to overcome unbelievers on no less than three fronts. Crusader armies set out to defeat Muslims in the Holy Land and in Iberia as well as pagans in northeastern Europe. But, to the shock and dismay of a society raised on the triumphant legacy of the First Crusade, only in Iberia did they achieve any success. This book, the first in 140 years devoted to the Second Crusade, fills a major gap in our understanding of the Crusad...

From an internationally renowned expert, here is an accessible and utterly fascinating one-volume history of the Crusades, thrillingly told through the experiences of its many players—knights and sultans, kings and poets, Christians and Muslims. Jonathan Phillips traces the origins, expansion, decline, and conclusion of the Crusades and comments on their contemporary echoes—from the mysteries of the Templars to the grim reality of al-Qaeda. Holy Warriors puts the past in a new perspective ...

This gripping account follows the crucible of a young marine unjustly tried and convicted by General Court Martial only to be awarded full honorable discharge and medical retirement for combat distinction and wounds sustained in combat. After two years in Marine Prison, ten months isolated in complete solitary confinement with no fresh air or sunlight, he fought back against the cover-up reaching The Pentagon and the controversial Bush Administration during the height of The I...

This new and considerably expanded edition of The Crusades, 1095-1204 couples vivid narrative with a clear and accessible analysis of the key ideas that prompted the conquest and settlement of the Holy Land between the First and the Fourth Crusade.This edition now covers the Fourth Crusade and the Sack of Constantinople, along with greater coverage of the Muslim response to the Crusades from the capture of Jerusalem in 1099 to Saladin’s leadership of the counter-crusade, c...

The Second Crusade (1145-1149) was an extraordinarily bold attempt to overcome unbelievers on no less than three fronts. Crusader armies set out to defeat Muslims in the Holy Land and in Iberia as well as pagans in northeastern Europe. But, to the shock and dismay of a society raised on the triumphant legacy of the First Crusade, only in Iberia did they achieve any success. This book, the first in 140 years devoted to the Second Crusade, fills a major gap in our understanding of the Crusad...

The essential guide to the entire process behind performing a complete characterization and benchmarking of cameras through image quality analysisCamera Image Quality Benchmarking contains the basic information and approaches for the use of subjectively correlated image quality metrics and outlines a framework for camera benchmarking. The authors show how to quantitatively compare image quality of cameras used for consumer photography. Thi...

Comprehensive yet practical, this book is the first of its kind to focus exclusively on both major and minor conditions affecting the pediatric cervical spine. Written by eminent orthopedic and spinal surgeons, it provides a systematic approach based on traditional categories: anatomy, pathology, imaging, and both surgical and non-surgical treatment strategies. Utilizing the most up-to-date evidence, the subject is approached in three main sections. The basic science of the pediatric cervi...

The essential guide to the entire process behind performing a complete characterization and benchmarking of cameras through image quality analysisCamera Image Quality Benchmarking contains the basic information and approaches for the use of subjectively correlated image quality metrics and outlines a framework for camera benchmarking. The authors show how to quantitatively compare image quality of cameras used for consumer photography. Thi...

This book is about abiotic selection in Earth surface systems. It demonstrates that seemingly purposeful or goal-oriented phenomena in Earth's processes actually emerge from selection dynamics. While many think of selection in the context of biological evolution, it extends to abiotic processes crucial in understanding Earth's function and evolution. The author delineates four forms of geophysical selection: gradient, resistance, network, and thermodynamic. These selections manifest in var...

General scientific laws guide and constrain how landscapes evolve, but because local geographical and historical contingencies are so important, there are infinite possible evolutionary pathways and outcomes. Nevertheless, certain patterns, structures, and relationships recur repeatedly that tend to maximize efficiency. But no laws determine that this should happen, and landscapes have no goals or intentionality. How does nature keep producing relationships, structures, and patterns that m...

When Jonathan Talat Phillips experiences a devastating loss as a countercultural media activist, he unwittingly starts on a mystical journey marked by underground ayahuasca ceremonies, kundalini awakenings, prankster spirit guides, extraterrestrial encounters at the Burning Man festival, and miraculous energy healings that reshape his skeptical worldview. Along the way, he chronicles the rise of an international movement that is trailblazing visionary ways to address our current planetary ...