Customer Reviews

An Illustrated History of the Knights Templar

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James Wasserman needs no credentials beyond his bestselling The Templars and the Assassins: The Militia of Heaven, although he clearly has them in abundance. In this history of the Knights Templar--a group shrouded by equal parts misunderstanding, myth and mystery--Wasserman applies his scholarship with remarkable clarity and brevity. Volumes have been written on the Templars, but here we have a concise, thorough summary in 200 pages. The real treasure, however, is the inclusion of over (by my rough count) 160 full color illustrations of the history, geography and persecution of the Knights Templar. These are lovingly culled from museums, rare books, and contemporary photos of Templar sites in Rome, Jerusalem and France by Steven Brooke and Vere Chappell. The book production is not only tasteful, but beautiful. If you're a fan of the literature, then An Illustrated History of the Knights Templar is a must have. And if you're looking for an overview of what the fuss is all about, then this may be the only book you need. Either way, at this price, the book is a bargain.

Hats off to Mr. Wasserman! I have read over a dozen treatments of the Knights Templar and Mr. Wasserman's books set the standard that I measure the others against. His research is meticulous. His history of the Templars begins with background on the founder and follows through to the fateful Friday the 13th when the Knights were imprisoned and their property seized and the ensuing torture and sham trials endured by these Knights.

"The Illustrated History" offers no fairy tales, myths, or undocumented rumors. This is the history of the Order as documented by them and both their European and Arab enemies.

The term "Illustrated" hardly begins to describe the number (over 160 - about one image per page) of images in this book. I can't imagine the scores of hours it would take an individual reader to research and locate so many images of the Knights Templar, their enemies, their properties, and their battles. This book easily has more images than any ten other books I have read on the Templars. Images range from 13th and 14th century paintings through Paul Kirchner's drawings and Vere Chappell's contemporary photographs of many important sites. Finally, two full page maps put the reach of the Knights and the distances involved in the Crusades into startling perpsective.

Mr. Wasserman offers detailed background on the geopolitical climate in the Holy Lands during the centuries the Templars battled for and protected sacred sites in the name of the Pope. I suspect many readers will see similarities to today's geopolitical struggles in Arabia and Persia.

If I had only one book about the Knights Templar in my library, "An Illustrated History of the Knights Templar" is the one I would want. No one will regret buying this book for themselves or as a gift. Take advantage of amazon and get this book and "The Mystery Traditions" too! I can't believe so much value is so affordable here!

James Wasserman has produced a gem of a book here. He's given us a solid, concise and what's more, nicely readable recounting of Templar history that can inform the novice reader on the subject without losing the interest of even a committed Templar buff. Plus this book is beautiful, chock full of carefully chosen images from many sources and eras that can deepen any reader's understanding and appreciation of the Templars: their times, their story, and the fascination they've exerted across the centuries. Many of the images in An Illustrated History of the Knights Templar, notably some the wonderful photographs of Templar sites, haven't appeared in print before. And, finally, as previous Customer Reviewer properly observed, "the book is a bargain." Give yourself and/or the Templar fan in your life a treat and buy this book.

Plenty of books have been written about the Templar order founded in 1119, but the mystery surrounding them continues. Author James Wasserman is a thirty-year member of the Ordo Templi Orientis, has written other books on the topic, and here provides a history of the Order and its legends and mysteries. From images of Crusades manuscripts to interpretive paintings from the 18th and 19th centuries and modern photos of former Templar places in Europe and Jerusalem, AN ILLUSTRATED HISTORY OF THE KNIGHTS TEMPLAR makes the most of visuals from all centuries and is a recommended pick for any new age collection, even those who already have several books on the topic. Little is duplicated, here.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

This is in my opinion the best, and certainly the most beautiful book on Templar history published to date. I loved Mr. Wasserman's 'The Templars and The Assassins', and he has truly outdone himself with 'The Illustrated History'. The book contains a clear and concise history of the Knights Templar, along with page after page of exquisite photos and artwork that pull the reader right into the historical world of the Templars. This is definitely a must-have for any Templar enthusiast!

Mr. Wasserman has no doubt spent countless hours researching the Knights Templar. He is a member of an occult society (which is somewhat built along the lines of the Templars) and provides interesting insight in to the Templar mystery, but in reality, this is just a picture book surrounding a brief summary of the templar history.

The problem is that pictures, especially where medieval/dark ages history is concerned, are very affected; that is to say that the depictions were created under the watchful eye of a Inquisition that was out of control, a Papacy that was on the defensive following the Templar trial debacle.

Now, had the illustrations been accurate, this may be worth the purchase price, but since the drawings are all based on artistic impression, creative license, political or personal bias, and seperation by time, what you end up with is a book that places pictures in your mind when you should really be taking the information and creating your own ideas, concepts and images with your own mind.

A noble effort and worth the read for any Templar lover, but still just a picture book with some history thrown in for good measure.

If you are a student of the Templars, as I am, you can probably live without this book in your library.

If you are new to the subject, be careful because I would hate for preconceived notions to enter your mind as you are just starting to study a subject that is rich in culture, history, people, geography and politics.

The subject of the Templars, their rise, fall and eventual destruction involves much political, religious, personal and monetary backstory that must be understood to truly appreciate the consequences.

Just be careful as you peruse the pictures, but do take note of the history because Mr. Wasserman is a very good compiler of information on this and many other topics. He is a definitely a talented researcher.

Thank you Mr.Wasserman for this gift to Templar enthusiasts. This addition to his published works cannot go with out notice. It contains a detailed history of the Templars as well as the largest collection of photos, paintings, and etchings, which visually chronicle an amazing section of history.

For those groups that claim descent from these brave Knights, An Illustrated History of the Knights Templar, will serve to benefit their knowledge of this history and enrich their understanding of these group's foundation.

My teenage son loves this book. The layout is good and has shorter excerpts of information with illustrations instead of long boring pages of text. It would also help anyone who has to do a research paper of the subject.

Well illustrated with clear and concise text. Not an in-depth analysis but useful for further reading on closely related topics.

Certainly not what I expected given the credentials of the author. The art-work was excellent but the text was interesting in places and insufficient in others. The History Channel did a far better job of explaining the Templar phenomenon than did this book. His ending was presumptous in his analysis...the Templars were unique and shouldn't be judged with 21st century morality.