Shadow of Solomon [Hardcover]

Laurence Gardner (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1, 2005

For Freemasons, Dan Brown readers, and others who might wonder what secrets lie behind the mysterious and influential fraternity, "The Shadow of Solomon" is the definitive insider's account of the startling truth behind Masonic history - and the centuries long search that the fraternity has undertaken to find its own lost secrets. What is it that makes the story of Freemasonry so wrapped in mystery and so compelling? So who are the Freemasons and what is their history and purpose? Laurence Gardner, bestselling author of "Bloodline of the Holy Grail" and a past Grand Lodge of England master mason for 20 years, opens the door on the inner sanctum of the masonic Temple. Here, he presents the culmination of years spent in ancient archival research, with the result that the key Lost Secrets of Freemasons and the elusive Lost Word that will unlock those secrets, are revealed. The Freemasons are often said to be the world's most influential secret society and the story of this enigmatic fraternity is wrapped in mystery and intrigue. Their involvement in shaping political world events has stretched over centuries, even to the extent that Masonic principles lie beneath the establishment of the United States and it's constitution - all themes explored by "The Da Vinci Code" author, Dan Brown. In "Shadow of Solomon", Gardner presents a fascinating historical detective trail that leads from the most ancient records of the fraternity to modern times. Gardner's indepth research exposes the conflicts and intrigues that have guarded the real secret of Freemasonry for centuries - a secret which has potentially shattering implications for what we think we might know about history and cutting-edge science.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Praise for Bloodline of the Holy Grail: "This book, provocative as it may be, is not a work of fiction, but the product of years of painstaking research. Committed Christians will find it casts fascinating light on the origins of their beliefs." Daily Mail

About the Author

Laurence Gardner, a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, is a historian, lecturer and broadcaster. Distinguished as the Chevalier de St. Germain, he is attached to the European Council of Princes as the Jacobite Historiographer Royal. He is a Knight Templar of St. Anthony and Prior of the Sacred Kindred of St. Columba.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 416 pages
• Publisher: Element (August 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0007207603
• ISBN-13: 978-0007207602
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.3 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 2.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,663,795 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Bland, April 26, 2006

By 

alistair w "AliWiseman" (Leiden Netherlands) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Shadow of Solomon (Hardcover)

If you have read any of my other reviews you'll know i've read quite a lot of Mr Gardner's work. This isnt one of his best. It is basically a history of freemasonary and how it came about.

There's nothing mystical about it, lots of facts and figures.. but thats about it. These dont really give much of an insight either! I got the impression that the Masons were just being painted as no-one special save for their skills in practical stuff such as building.

Having read other things about Masons, this is really not very interesting at all. It states there are only 3 degrees, which is the accepted answer rather than the actuality. (Allegedly!) In fact, rather than anything ground-breaking going on it has the feel that the exact opposite is being expressed with the aim to rid the world of any ideas of mysticism and hidden goings on!

I suppose if you want to read about dates and similar, and be told that all the aura surrounding Free Masons is just that... an aura which is of no real substance... then you'll enjoy this. Loking for more... I'd say look elsewhere.

29 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars rich and researched...., August 28, 2005

By 

James F "James" (Sydney, Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Shadow of Solomon (Hardcover)

Having only just come out earlier this year, it may have missed the renewed surge interest in Knights Templar and the Masons... but still a good read for those who want substance in their books..

For those brothers of the craft this book will be a timely reminder of what is established fact about our order and what we assume to know... in a time with Knight & Lomas' over-speculative thrilling tails of Hiram Key and exploring other Masonic Legends... The Shadow of Solomon is written WAY more neater and way more research than Hiram Key (though I thought Hiram Key was a fantastic book indeed and would still reccomend it), Shadow of Solomon is dense with facts, dates, names and places including dozens of colour prints of art relating to the foundation of the craft, and indeed a intriguing history of upper-europe society and politics of the 1700 and 1800s.

For those not into Holy Blood & Holy Grail or Hiram Key type books which seems to be this market, Shadow of Solomon is NO Da Vinci Code, it is well researched non-fiction book, the dense text is probably both it's good point downfall and a reader can get lost and exhausted just in the sheer use of dates and names in the first few chapters relating to the establishment of the Royal Society and other parent societies to what we now know as freemasonry.

I am mid way in the book now and enjoying immensely will add to this hopefully as it comes to a close

enjoy!

24 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Don't waste your money, October 17, 2005

By 

A. Mason - See all my reviews

This review is from: Shadow of Solomon (Hardcover)

Poor scholarship made worse by poor writing.

Everything Laurence Gardner says is presented in more coherent form in other books, and his "Lost Secret" is a huge let down once you get to it. He meanders his way through every crackpot theory about the origins and secrets of Freemasonry, accepting some and supposedly disproving others, all the while taunting us with the idea that he has discovered some lost "secret". (At the end of the book you discover that, apparently, the Freemasons once knew how to transmute gold and other metals into some other element, but lost this knowledge during the Glorious Revolution of 1688! - and to fully understand what he is talking about, you would have to buy one of his other books).

Don't bother with this one.