Saladin by Anne-Marie Edde (nonfiction)

This is a hefty tome, full of learned research and exciting exploits.  I've read quite a bit about the Third Crusade, but didn't know a thing about it from Saladin's perspective.  I learned a lot, and then Edde bogged me down in a lot of analysis of rather esoteric subjects, especially in later chapters like "The Gaze of the Other" and "Between Image and Reality."  I enjoyed the book very much until the author became wordy, and even repeated herself.