The Book of Contemplation (Kitab al-itibar) is the entertaining and informative memoir of a Muslim warrior, Usama ibn Munqidh, during the early crusader era. Usama, who was also a poet and a writer, dictated the narrative at age ninety. Because his life spanned much of the early Crusades, he was an eyewitness to many of the events. Sections of Usama’s Book of Contemplation include his observations of the European crusaders, and some of them are presented here as a selection titled “A Muslim View of the Crusaders,” in which Usama relates both positive and negative views of the crusaders.