The prominent British historian Ernle Bradford, a specialist in the Mediterranean, vividly and clearly described in his book the history of the knights of the Sovereign Military Order of St. John of Jerusalem, Rhodes and Malta. Beginning with the founding of the order by Brother Gerard during the Crusades, the author traces its ups and downs over the many centuries of its existence, telling how the order wandered around the world after being expelled from Jerusalem, then from Rhodes and Malta. The order's military prowess reached its highest point when the knights achieved a stunning victory over the Turks, living up to their title as the Shield of Europe. Napoleon expelled the knights from their last island home - Malta. It would seem that the order was over. But no. The Order of St. John, like a Phoenix, was reborn from the ashes and continues to exist to this day.