The Real History Behind the Templars

I found parts of this book helpful and interesting. However, as a historian, The author should stick to the historical fiction/romances that she is known for. On the negative side, there is much repetition of material copied from chapter the chapter. In several cases the same material appears in three different chapters possibly four. It reads as though the chapters were written as separate essays and then stuck together in a book without any attempt at editing out extraneous material. Being a Freemason myself I can say with certainty that her material on the Freemasons contains numerous errors The book while interesting is not in the same class as a true book of history such as Raymond Ibraham's The Sword and the Scimitar, which covers much of the same material but in a sound academic manner. I grade this book a C+ as history.

I love the fact that this book avoids the speculation and looks at the Templar history as seen through the written accounts of the day as well as other archeological and historical evidence available. It's a very interesting read.

I have read many of Sharan Newman's historical novels and love her engaging style, vivid characters, and sturdily researched history. Still, I hesitated at buying a nonfiction work, worrying that it might be a bit to dully academic. Not to worry. Sharan Newman's nonfiction reads as engagingly as her fiction. She uses an interesting technique of addressing the various aspects of the subject in separate chapters, so you don't really follow a timeline (although she uses many aids for you to keep track of the sequence of events), but are allowed to view the subject from various viewpoints. I love her statements in the beginning about her footnotes. She allows that they're necessary if readers want to check up on her facts or pursue further lines of inquiry. But she also suggests that if you're just reading her work for pleasure and your own edification, you can just trust her and zip through. How refreshing! I do admit to reading quite a few of the notes (the ones in languages I know, that is), but only because they fleshed out some point or other. I had read - and enjoyed - Holy Blood Holy Grail (by Baigent, Leigh, & Lincoln) years ago, but didn't get caught up in the Da Vinci Code, because it stuck me it was covering pretty much the same material. Sharan Newman's book soundly tromps on both of those books without being overly negative. I'm so glad I read this book, because it enriches my reading of other novels placed around this time, such as Bernard Cornwell's Grail Quest Series.

Provides details and facts behind the individuals and organizations associated with the Templars. Facts are footnoted to original sources, not other fiction, and give the reader a greater understanding of the Templars and the distorted conspiracy myths surrounding the order.

While I have not read this book yet, I have all of the other books by this author and have found them interesting and enjoyable and I expect the same from this book.

What with The DaVinci Code and all, the poor old Templars have more fallacies spread around about them than just about any other group of which I can think. Ms. Newman does a wonderful job of describing the situation behind the founding, the life, and the death of the Poor Knights of Christ of the Temple of Solomon, the Templars. She takes a terribly complex subject and subdivides it into manageable portions with the inter-relationships denoted in bold-faced type. This makes her history accessible to a reasonably educated reader who may not have a degree in Medieval History. I found her work to be very accurate if, at times, a bit flip and very easy to follow.