Rating: 
Summary: Good book but a little dry
Review: This is a great book about the Templar but it is dry.
Rating:
Summary: Pleasant And Informative
Review: This is a well written, highly readable book. Those who are interested in either the Knights Templer, the Medeival era, or Masonry will find something to enjoy. Like most books on the orgins of Masonry, what you believe is open to debate. The authors paint a fairly convincing portrait in defense of their theory, but even if you do not entirely concur with their conclusion it is still pleasant to spend an afternoon listening to their arguments. If you are new to reading about this subject, though, I would recommend Born In Blood by John J. Robinson first. It is far and away the best on the subject.
Rating: 
Summary: Not a worthy successor to Holy Blood Holy Grail
Review: This is another offshoot of the commercially successful predecessor. The book traces the history of the knights templar and their supposed transformation into free masons. Much of the discussion focuses on free masonry, including its role in the American Revolution. I found the factual support lacking and the prose quite uninspired.
Rating: 
Summary: Good, but not as inspired as their earlier works
Review: Unfortunately these authors set such a high standard from their previous books that it was inevitable that they should fall a little short with this delivery. Essential reading though it still remains, if you are interested in Masonic History, I found it a little dissappointing. A book that blends ALL this information, is the truly inspiring "THE Autobiography of Jesus of Nazareth and the Missing Years " by Richard G. Patton. Patton appears to have taken all the work that Baigent and Leigh have done and then set it around the real human being that was Jesus. Where Baigent and Leigh leave you thirsting for the prime motivator of all this information, Patton convincingly supplies the figure around whom all this controversy first started. This book is drier than their previous works, but essential reading if you want the full picture of that time.
Rating:
Summary: NOVUS ORDO SECLORUM
Review: When I bought THE TEMPLE AND THE LODGE I thought I would read about the Templars and the Masonic order and I did. However, I did not know I would discover so much of interest about US history. Baigent and Leigh provide a great amount of information about the origins, experiences and demise of the Knights Templar including their battles in the Holy Land and the persecution and destruction of their order by King Phillip of France. The authors also provide a cogent argument for the involvement of the remnants of the Templar order in the battle of Bannockburn which freed the Scots from England. And, Baigent and Leigh discuss the rise of the Freemasons and their connections to the White-Robed Knights. However, one of the more interesting parts of this book is the story of the founding of the US (shift from British colony to Republic) which took place under the guidance of Freemasons such as George Washington and Benjamin Franklin. Was the Revolution a Masonic plot? Baigent thinks not, but he does point to British officers and their men who were Masons (Howe, Cornwallis, etc) who might not have put their hearts and souls into a fight with fellow American Freemasons. He also notes Freemasons came from all over Europe to assist the colonists-France (Lafayette), Germany (von Steuben), Poland (Pulaski), etc. Baigent points out quite correctly that the ideas of European thinkers such as Locke, Hume, Adam Smith, and the French philosophers are incorporated in the Constitution. He also suggests that most of these thinkers were Freemasons or men who moved in Masonic circles. Masonic notions such as the "separation of church and state" are at the heart of the Constitution. "In God We Trust" (found on the one dollar bill) was not the motto of the men who drafted the Constitution. Their motto was "Novus Ordo Seclorum" (also found on the one dollar bill above the pyramid-a symbol of Freemasonry). Novus Ordo Seculorum refers to the "new secular order" the founders thought they were establishing. They recognized the tyranny of religion and wanted it kept arms length from the public arena. Novus Ordo Seculorum was pushed aside in the 20th century-may it be restored in the 21st.
Rating:
Summary: NOVUS ORDO SECLORUM
Review: When I bought THE TEMPLE AND THE LODGE I thought I would read about the Templars and the Masonic order and I did. However, I did not know I would discover so much of interest about US history. Baigent and Leigh provide a great amount of information about the origins, experiences and demise of the Knights Templar including their battles in the Holy Land and the persecution and destruction of their order by King Phillip of France. The authors also provide a cogent argument for the involvement of the remnants of the Templar order in the battle of Bannockburn which freed the Scots from England. And, Baigent and Leigh discuss the rise of the Freemasons and their connections to the White-Robed Knights. However, one of the more interesting parts of this book is the story of the founding of the US (shift from British colony to Republic) which took place under the guidance of Freemasons such as George Washington and Benjamin Franklin. Was the Revolution a Masonic plot? Baigent thinks not, but he does point to British officers and their men who were Masons (Howe, Cornwallis, etc) who might not have put their hearts and souls into a fight with fellow American Freemasons. He also notes Freemasons came from all over Europe to assist the colonists-France (Lafayette), Germany (von Steuben), Poland (Pulaski), etc. Baigent points out quite correctly that the ideas of European thinkers such as Locke, Hume, Adam Smith, and the French philosophers are incorporated in the Constitution. He also suggests that most of these thinkers were Freemasons or men who moved in Masonic circles. Masonic notions such as the "separation of church and state" are at the heart of the Constitution. "In God We Trust" (found on the one dollar bill) was not the motto of the men who drafted the Constitution. Their motto was "Novus Ordo Seclorum" (also found on the one dollar bill above the pyramid-a symbol of Freemasonry). Novus Ordo Seculorum refers to the "new secular order" the founders thought they were establishing. They recognized the tyranny of religion and wanted it kept arms length from the public arena. Novus Ordo Seculorum was pushed aside in the 20th century-may it be restored in the 21st.
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