Count Bohemond

Count Bohemond by Alfred Duggan, 281 pages

Eldest son of the Norman adventurer who conquered Apulia, Bohemond, Count of Taranto, is the "mightiest of the mighty Hautevilles", a physical giant whose strength is matched only by his ambition.  While his father's title may have fallen to a more politic half-brother, Bohemond dreams of the riches and recognizes the vulnerability of the emperor in Constantinople.  Yet when the Pope calls the knights of Christendom to come to the aid of that emperor and to fight for the Holy Sepulchre, Bohemond eagerly joins the Crusade.  In his pursuit of victory and glory, however, his fellow Crusaders and their Greek allies soon prove nearly as great an obstacle as the Turks.

Count Bohemond is not a particularly deep book, but it is a well-written, solid entry into the genre of historical biographical novels suitable for teenage boys that is exemplified by I, Claudius.  An excellent introduction to the complexities of the First Crusade packaged within a dramatic narrative.