Pretty good digest of all things Templar. Covers not just the Holy Land stuff but Spain and Portugal as well as the Order’s role as financiers and bankers.

Debunks all the usual rubbish related to conspiracy theories, freemasonry, Mormons, etc. Has a perticular scorn for [a:Dan Brown|630|Dan Brown|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1399396714p2/630.jpg] and points out how unoriginal the novel [b:The Da Vinci Code|10452159|The Da Vinci Code|Dan Brown|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/book/50x75-a91bf249278a81aabab721ef782c4a74.png|2982101] really is.

Good reference for films, novels, further reading, places, etc.

Haag is sympathetic to the Western causes and the Knights’ themselves and points out the intolerance and rapaciousness of both the Muslims and Christians. As usual the Jews get screwed by everybody. ( )

I have been interested in the history of the Knights Templar for years and have read many books about them, both fiction and non-fiction. A friend recommended The Templars – History and Myth, by Michael Haag, and I found this to be the most comprehensive and interesting book on the topic. Just as the author states – it covers from the building of Solomon’s Temple to the Freemasons, a guide to Templar history, culture and locations.

I learned a lot from this book about the Templars, the vast history that led to their existence, and their legacy. I liked that the author offered different accounts of what was recorded at the time. I also enjoyed his style of writing, which helped me understand the considerable amount of information provided, and made it easy to imagine the places and people.

I greatly appreciated the chronology at the end, the extensive reference list, and his opinions on many of the fiction and non-fiction books and movies on the subject. I have just finished reading one of his fiction recommendations which I thoroughly enjoyed.

Because of the amount of information contained in this book, I will be making time to read it again. ( )

A comprehensive book of all things Templar, an absorbing readable history, legends and myths, and their appearance in book and film.
Enjoyable and easy read. ( )

This is not a book for heavy-duty historians of the Crusades. That's fine. That's not what it's for. This is for people who have heard about the Templars and would like to know the factual story without the fiction. Especially good for anyone taken in by pop-culture interpretations and revisionist history. ( )

If you are new to Templar history, if you've just become fascinated by them and are looking for a good starter book, then I highly recommend. If you know a bit about them already, then this might come across as just a simple rehashing of facts you probably already know. A rehashing that might be great for a high school kid, but leaves an adult wanting more.

I gave it three stars because I've read other books on the Templars and the crusades and while this was decent, I've already been exposed to it and it offered nothing new and the format, as I mentioned above, a bit young. Nothing wrong with that, but not what I was hoping for.

Like I said though, if you are new to this interest, if you are looking for some actual fact instead of holding up Dan Brown's books as true facts, please give this book a read. It is a good starting place. ( )