Crusader-period fortifications ranged from modest defensive towers to monumental castles such as Crac des Chevaliers. Scholarship on these structures has expanded despite limited site access and ongoing regional instability. Michael Fulton’s study of Kerak synthesizes archaeological, architectural, and textual evidence to reconstruct the castle’s development from its twelfth-century origins through Ayyubid, Mamluk, and Ottoman rule. His clear analysis, supported by thorough documentation and visual material, offers an authoritative and accessible contribution to the study of medieval fortifications.