A vivid new history of the criminal underworld in the medieval Holy Land The religious wars of the crusades are renowned for their military engagements. But the period was witness to brutality beyond the battlefield. More so than any other medieval war zone, the Holy Land was rife with unprecedented levels of criminality and violence. In the first history of its kind, Steve Tibble explores the criminal underbelly of the crusades. From gangsters and bandits to muggers and pirates, Tibble presents extraordinary evidence of an illicit underworld. He shows how the real problem in the region stemmed not from religion but from young men. Dislocated, disinhibited, and present in disturbingly large numbers, they were the propellant that stoked two centuries of unceasing warfare and shocking levels of criminality. Crusader Criminals charts the downward spiral of desensitisation that grew out of the horrors of incessant warfare--and in doing so uncovers some of the most surprising stories of the time.

Presents a reference guide to terrorism throughout the world, including history, terrorist groups, and notorious acts of terrorism.

A major history of the Crusades that illuminates the strength and sophistication of the Western and Muslim armies. During the Crusades, the Western and Muslim armies developed various highly sophisticated strategies of both attack and defense, which evolved during the course of the battles. In this ambitious new work, Steve Tibble draws on a wide range of Muslim texts and archaeological evidence as well as more commonly cited Western sources to analyze the respective armies’ strategy, adaptation, evolution, and cultural diversity and show just how sophisticated the Crusader armies were even by today’s standards. In the first comprehensive account of the subject in sixty years, Tibble takes a fresh approach to Templars, Hospitallers, and other key Orders and makes the controversial proposition that the Crusades were driven as much by sedentary versus nomadic tribal concerns as by religious conflict. This fluently written, broad-ranging narrative provides a crucial missing piece in the study of the West’s attempts to colonize the Middle East during the Middle Ages. “Now Tibble takes a new approach, one that adds to prior research and may well influence subsequent research. This book is a must read for medievalists.” —R. J. Powell, Choice “A book that welcomes everyone, regardless of the reader’s background in the subject. . . . Crusade historians like to complain that the general public knows nothing about their scholarship. It is books like this that will change that.” —Thomas F. Madden, Reading Religion “The Crusader Armies offers more than the obligatory corrections to the historical ignorance of our age. It is a full-scale reassessment of the warfare, armies, and enemies of the Western Crusades in the Middle East . . . readable, expertly sourced, and well organized.” —Timothy D. Lusch, Chronicles “The Crusader Armies: 1099–1187 is a worthy and sound contribution to the literature on its subject. . . . Steve Tibble paints a compelling picture of continual systemic warfare.” —Laurence W. Marvin, Michigan War Studies Review Selected for Choice's 2019 Outstanding Academic Titles List

Terrorism in the Twenty-First Century helps readers understand terrorism, responses to it, and current trends that affect the future of this phenomenon. Putting terrorism into historical perspective and analysing it as a form of political violence, this text presents the most essential concepts, the latest data, and numerous case studies to promote effective analysis of terrorist acts. Terrorism in the Twenty-First Century objectively breaks down the who-what- why-how of terrorism, giving readers a way both to understand patterns of behavior and to more critically evaluate forthcoming patterns. New to the Ninth Edition: Uses a key contemporary challenge of terrorism—the emerging radicalization via social media platforms—as a thread to link its chapters, especially in terms of domestic terror threats and the rise of the far right in the US and abroad. Discusses the evolving "fifth wave" of modern terrorism, linking and radicalizing groups and individuals in all parts of the globe, recruiting individuals for terrorist acts in their own states and drawing them into international confrontations. Compares the profile of domestic extremists over time up to the Capitol rioters of January 2021. Includes new and updated case studies on a wide variety of terror phenomena including the Covid-19 pandemic, Q’Anon, the Boogaloo Movement, the Proud Boys, and the War on Terror in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria, among several others.

According to the Eliot Ness myth, which has been widely disseminated through books, television shows, and movies, Ness and the Untouchables defeated Al Capone by marshaling superior firepower. In Scarface Al and the Crime Crusaders, Dennis Hoffman presents a fresh new perspective on the downfall of Al Capone. To debunk the Eliot Ness myth, he shows how a handful of private citizens brought Capone to justice by outsmarting him rather than by outgunning him. Drawing on previously untapped sources, Hoffman dissects what he terms a “private war” against Capone. He traces the behind-the-scenes work of a few prominent Chicago businessmen from their successful lobbying of presidents Coolidge and Hoover on behalf of federal intervention to the trial, sentencing, and punishment of Al Capone. Hoffman also reconstructs in detail a number of privately sponsored citizen initiatives directed at stopping Capone. These private ventures included prosecuting the gangsters responsible for election crimes; establishing a crime lab to assist in gangbusting; underwriting the costs of the investigation of the Jake Lingle murder; stigmatizing Capone; and protecting the star witnesses for the prosecution in Al Capone’s income tax evasion case. Hoffman suggests that as American society continues to be threatened by illegal drugs, gangs, and widespread violence, it is important to remember that the organized crime and political corruption of Prohibition-era Chicago were checked through the efforts of private citizens. !--?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /-- Dennis E. Hoffman is an associate professor of criminal justice at the University of Nebraska at Omaha.

This book's major strengths are its content, which is excellent; its organization, which is logical; and the fact that it devotes considerable attention to counterterrorist strategies and operations.