I was quite dissappointed in Madden's book. Though it was filled to the brim with facts and figures, for me, it was about as exciting as reading stereo instructions.
Some parts are better than others. The sections about the second and third crusades were filled with facts that was sometimes hard to understand. But other times, he provides very insightful commentary about the people and their medieval world. I still find it a relief to find a source that tries to understand how the crusades fit into that world.