This is a comprehensive account of the eight religious wars between the Christian West and the Muslim East that dominated the Middle Ages. Calling themselves "pilgrims of Christ," thousands of Europeans from all stations in life undertook the harsh and bloody quest to reclaim Jerusalem, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, and Christ's tomb for Christendom. Robert Payne brings to life every step of the Crusaders' thousand-mile journey: the deprivation;...

Contains translations of forty short stories written by Russian author Anton Chekhov, representing the full span of his career, and includes a biographical introduction.