Two major influences have drawn the British people to the holy land over the centuries- the translation of the Bible into English and the imperial need to control the routes to India and, more recently, to the oil of the middle east. These two magnets- the bible and the sword- have drawn countless pilgrims, crusades, missionaries, merchants and explorers to the land of the land of the ancient Hebrews.

‘In her metier as a narrative popular historical writer, Barbara Tuchman is supreme’ Chicago sun-times.