Rating: 
Summary: This book could change the way you think about the world!
Review: If you are stuck in your Columbus discovered America view of the world, Dont read this book. Great book that questions our school book view of history! It will make you think.
Rating: 
Summary: Freemasons, the Templars, and the American Revolution
Review: In "Holy Blood, Holy Grail," Baigent and Leigh connected the secret of the Holy Grail with Freemasonry. In this book, they follow-up on that connection by taking a closer look at how the Freemasons were formed, and why. The funny thing is, there's no way you'll know if this is all made-up or real. Almost every isolated fact in the book is undisputed, but the connections between those facts are disregarded as conspiracy theories. For example, they connect the persecution of the Templars with Robert the Bruce in Scotland. There is *some* connection, but how meaningful is it?As you read this book, you'll either lose your patience with the authors' ability to turn small connections into secret plots, or you'll see a lot of truth in their research. Americans will love the final chapters, in which the authors present an alternative history of the Revolution of 1776 as a rivalry between Masons. Is that really what happened? Probably not, but it's an interesting idea. In the end, this book is little more than a way to make more money from the people who enjoyed "Holy Blood, Holy Grail," but it's easy to read and gives you a lot to think about.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent well informed
Review: It is books like these that keeps one in the light when all the powers that be would like to keep us all in deepest of darkness and night. I consider what I have read to be a warning from the past ..not to be ignored in the future.
Rating: 
Summary: Boring
Review: Lots of info. Very boring. But lots of info
Rating:
Summary: As Strange as Fiction
Review: Readers who found Foucault's Pendulum intriguing will probably be surprised by this non-fiction account of the history of the Templars and early Freemasonry. Many of the characters are the same as those found in the novel, but any expectation that the facts are less bizarre than fiction will meet with disappointment. Friday, October 13, 1307, Phillip IV of France ordered the immediate and surprise arrest of all the Knights Templar in France. His captive Pope, Clement V, subsequently excommunicated them all and dissolved the order. The Grand Master, Jacques de Molay, was roasted alive over a slow fire by the Inquisition. The last Crusade was over, the Holy Land was lost and the Templars, the best fighting force in Post-Crusades Europe were no longer needed. An international Order of warrior monks, the Templars were too powerful, too wealthy and too unpredictable in their future allegiances for Phillip to tolerate. Evidently, the French contingent of the Knights Templar was forewarned. Most escaped France to places unknown on 18 sailing vessels, carrying with them the vast Templar treasure. Leigh and Baigent surmise through exhaustive research that the Templar destination was Scotland, where they secretly carried the order through several violent centuries of intrigue. The authors argue convincingly that Templar intervention was responsible for the victory by Robert Bruce over English forces at Bannockburn on June 24, 1314. Their descendants gradually evolved, these authors suggest, the organization that became Freemasonry. March 20, 1737, Andrew Michael Ramsey, member of the English Royal Society, Rosicrucian and Freemason, delivered a public address (concerning Freemasons and Templars) in France, which stated, in part, "This sacred promise was therefore not an execrable oath, as it has been called, but a respectable bond to unite Christians of all nationalities in one cofraternity." Police in Holland and Sweden had already acted against Freemasons. Within a few days of Ramsey's oration the French police followed suit. April 24, 1738, Pope Clement XII issued a Papal Bull "En enimenti apostolatus specula', forbidding all Catholics to become Freemasons under threat of excommunication. Two years later, in the Papal States, membership in a lodge was punishable by death. The long, winding trail through the centuries with these authors in the facts leading monarchs and church authorities to damn members of the organization to which such notables as George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Sam Houston and countless others is well worth the reading. Baigent and Leigh have done a great job of research and writing.
Rating:
Summary: As Strange as Fiction
Review: Readers who found Foucault's Pendulum intriguing will probably be surprised by this non-fiction account of the history of the Templars and early Freemasonry. Many of the characters are the same as those found in the novel, but any expectation that the facts are less bizarre than fiction will meet with disappointment. Friday, October 13, 1307, Phillip IV of France ordered the immediate and surprise arrest of all the Knights Templar in France. His captive Pope, Clement V, subsequently excommunicated them all and dissolved the order. The Grand Master, Jacques de Molay, was roasted alive over a slow fire by the Inquisition. The last Crusade was over, the Holy Land was lost and the Templars, the best fighting force in Post-Crusades Europe were no longer needed. An international Order of warrior monks, the Templars were too powerful, too wealthy and too unpredictable in their future allegiances for Phillip to tolerate. Evidently, the French contingent of the Knights Templar was forewarned. Most escaped France to places unknown on 18 sailing vessels, carrying with them the vast Templar treasure. Leigh and Baigent surmise through exhaustive research that the Templar destination was Scotland, where they secretly carried the order through several violent centuries of intrigue. The authors argue convincingly that Templar intervention was responsible for the victory by Robert Bruce over English forces at Bannockburn on June 24, 1314. Their descendants gradually evolved, these authors suggest, the organization that became Freemasonry. March 20, 1737, Andrew Michael Ramsey, member of the English Royal Society, Rosicrucian and Freemason, delivered a public address (concerning Freemasons and Templars) in France, which stated, in part, "This sacred promise was therefore not an execrable oath, as it has been called, but a respectable bond to unite Christians of all nationalities in one cofraternity." Police in Holland and Sweden had already acted against Freemasons. Within a few days of Ramsey's oration the French police followed suit. April 24, 1738, Pope Clement XII issued a Papal Bull "En enimenti apostolatus specula', forbidding all Catholics to become Freemasons under threat of excommunication. Two years later, in the Papal States, membership in a lodge was punishable by death. The long, winding trail through the centuries with these authors in the facts leading monarchs and church authorities to damn members of the organization to which such notables as George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Sam Houston and countless others is well worth the reading. Baigent and Leigh have done a great job of research and writing.
Rating: 
Summary: Sketchy
Review: The level of research that had to go into this book is amazing. The problem is that the book fails to make a strong connection between the Knights Templar and Freemasonry. That in itself would not be a problem except that, that connection seems to be the basis for most of the book. John Robinson's "Born in Blood" does a much better job as far a logical argument for this connection. I fail to see this book in any way as some sort of liberal defense of Freemasonry. Also,it overall would seem to apply more to English Freemasonry than American Freemasonry. One would think that an institution that counts among its members men like J. Strom Thurmond and Bob Dole would be attacked by the left instead of being defended by a "liberal" press. Over all I would have given this book a higher rating based on the writing style and research but for the chapter on the American revolution. I must admit that I found the claims that Freemasonry's principles led some of Britain's leading generals to basicly take a dive to be somewhat far-fetched. Still this is an excellent book and should be read by anyone interested on the possible effects of Freemasonry on western history. Pro or con.
Rating:
Summary: Sketchy
Review: The level of research that had to go into this book is amazing. The problem is that the book fails to make a strong connection between the Knights Templar and Freemasonry. That in itself would not be a problem except that, that connection seems to be the basis for most of the book. John Robinson's "Born in Blood" does a much better job as far a logical argument for this connection. I fail to see this book in any way as some sort of liberal defense of Freemasonry. Also,it overall would seem to apply more to English Freemasonry than American Freemasonry. One would think that an institution that counts among its members men like J. Strom Thurmond and Bob Dole would be attacked by the left instead of being defended by a "liberal" press. Over all I would have given this book a higher rating based on the writing style and research but for the chapter on the American revolution. I must admit that I found the claims that Freemasonry's principles led some of Britain's leading generals to basicly take a dive to be somewhat far-fetched. Still this is an excellent book and should be read by anyone interested on the possible effects of Freemasonry on western history. Pro or con.
Rating: 
Summary: Not as advertised
Review: The softbound cover read "The perfect book on the topic for the general reader." I could not agree less. The entire book assumed thorough knowledge of the subject. Very poorly edited for the general reader. For example, on page 41, "Questions remain about how guilty they were of the charges leveled aginst them." WHAT charges? This was typical of the writing.
Rating:
Summary: Dymanic and highly entertaining
Review: The Temple and the lodge is a fascinating study of the foundation of the freemasons. This book investigates the possibility that they are directly descended from the Knights Templer. These fearsome warriors (guardians of the holy grail) were oppressed in the 15th century by the king Louis of France..
The authors suggest that some Templers fled to Scotland where they helped the Scots to obtain their independence from the English. The Scottish at the time under Robert de Bruce were facing certain defeat. The Templers assisted the Scots in their victory at battle of Bannock burn in 1314? It is said that when the English Knights laid eyes on the approaching Templers they turned and fled. Later they were rewarded with sanctuary and eventually some Templers (now posing as freemasons) immigrated to America. Here they helped to create the United States of America
| 
