Rating: 
Summary: Not recommended
Review: This books starts by telling you what a visionary Leonardo da Vinci was. It then builds on their assumptions that if he was so brilliant then why does his artwork relay that Jesus was not the son of God but a man of questionable character (this of course is just the authors asumption). The book rambles re-stating the same points. With chapter names like "Sex: the Ultimate Sacrement", "Gospel Untruths" and "John Christ" this book is anything but inspirational.Reading the back of the book and thumbing through the pages, I thought the book would be about the Templars, Freemasonary and a deeper understanding into the christian aspects. Wrong. Though very credible books are quoted in this book - the authors say in the acknowledgements "we must point out that those listed below do not necessarily share our opinions" - I certainly do not share their opinions. If you're looking for a good read on Templars or Freemasons try "Born in Blood : The Lost Secrets of Freemasonry" -- John J. RobinsonBorn or The Temple and the Lodge -- Michael Baigent, Richard Leigh.
Rating: 
Summary: Conspiracy Theory # ?
Review: The book was well-written and does supply some historical detail for thought. That the Freemasons are the theoritical descendents of the Knights Templar is not a new theory; however, the idea that the Priory of Sion, an anti-Semitic group with links to the Nazi Party of Germany, having been the moving force behind the Knights Templar is a little hard to swallow. Why, if I may be so bold, if the doctrinal theory behind the Priory of Sion is Egyptian and Isian, is it anti-Semitic when the Jewish religion has little to do with Egyptian religion? A great deal of time is spent on the different writings involving the quest for the Holy Grail. It has been proven that the King Arthur/Knights of the Round Table/Quest for the Holy Grail is the beginning of the violent anti-Semiticism that eventually led to HaShoah. The author does not attempt to explain this anamoly. Surely, if the basis for these is the Isian religion and the "inner circle" of these groups are in agreement with the Talmud about the reason for Jesus' execution, they would not be persecuting the Jews but joining forces with the Jews against the Church. The authors need to do some explaining along these lines.
Rating: 
Summary: The Templar Revelation: Secret Guardians of the True Identi
Review: I thought it was a great read and very intellectually stimulating. The fact that I come from a liberal city and am now living in the heart of the bible belt makes me crave material such as this. Now I can argue with my fundamentalist friends on a coherent and literal level. The question I kept asking myself through the book was why did the authors choose to ignore Laurence Gardner's Bloodline of the Holy Grail? It seemed to me that he may have answered some of their questions, if in fact he was correct about the dynastic succession and interpretations of the Dead Sea Scrolls.
Rating:
Summary: Rubish, Hearsay and Nonsence
Review: Picknett and Prince are typical of a large group of unqualifed people writing about extreamly complicated issues. They misquote theologians and biblical scholars as to the nature of Jesus as well as present theories from the last century as cutting edge. They go so far as to quote the Nag Hamadi Library, wich is full of texts of a very late date, as being on an equall footing with the Cannonical godspels, and ignor that several scholars both discount the so called "gnostic" gospels and date the synoptics earlyer than they do. Not only that but this book is full of slopy historical scholarship about the mediaeval world. For example, the details of the council of Viene, where the Templars were tried, are glossed over. That the council existed isn't even adressed directly. Rather, they present a picture of rapid and descicive action by both the Papacy and the French Crown. The reality was that the Pope reacted to the arrest of the Templars as a threat to his authority and drug his feet. That the French Kings had long used "hearisy" as a charge to gain power over the Church, and that the loss of the Templars would have put the Papacy in an extreamly difficult possition both militarily and economically are both ignored, if the authors even knew of theses facts. They also miss the facts about the anomosity many in Europe felt towards the Tempalars. It was widely felt that they had "sold Jerusalem" to the Muslems, and had betrayed the Christian Cause. When these things are added to the fact that they treat such odd sources as Masonic Sermons and Occult books as valid sources only goes to underscore their total lack of historical verasity and qualifications to write history.
Rating:
Summary: Masonic mumbo jumbo...........
Review: This book is a lot of fun but generaly contains a series of mis-matched facts and stories. If you liked 'Holy Blood, Holy Grail' then you should enjoy this book too. The conclusion is interesting and very funny. It seems like the authors have strung together all this mysterious secret mens business info to argue the following : 1. Established religion does not care for the modern female and her rights 2. There is a long standing western mystery tradition Both facts that are well known by most people but its seems that Lynn Picknett and Clive Prince had to spend 8 years researching and travelling around Europe before they could discover these profound revelations. Upshot is that its a lot of fun but best read like a Sunday paper - skim through and don't take it too seriously.
Rating:
Summary: Great Historical Mystery
Review: This is one great addition to the genre of historical mysteries (Lost Treasure of the Knights Templar is another). With so few great books on the Templars it was a great find to find both of these this year.
Rating:
Summary: A frustration
Review: By the time I reached page 106 of this book, my frustration with the authors and their suppositions, caused my interest level to drop to zero.
Rating: 
Summary: Correction
Review: No, I haven't read this book yet, though I am familiar with some of the other books cited. I just wanted to clear something up that several reviewers have said. The reason the the authors have misquoted the title of the Holy Blood, Holy Grail is that the original title of that book, when published in England, was The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail.
Rating:
Summary: Pure conjecture
Review: This book began well, particularly with its dissemination of da Vinci's religious art. However, it went rapidly downhill from there as it went of on bizarre tangents regarding Mary Magdelene as some sort of priestess in the Eygptian cult of Isis, with Jesus as one of her acolytes. Its interesting, but where is the evidence to back it up? At no time do they produce any concrete foundations on which to build there argument. There were many times when I could have shredded this book in frustration! Come on Picknett and Prince - treat us as if we have brains!
Rating:
Summary: One of the best
Review: This is one of the best books I've read on this topic. The authors researched extensively themselves as well as unified the works of others. Though their ideas are unorthodox, they are well supported by the evidence. An enlightening experience!
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