Knights Templar: A Secret History (Dark Osprey)

Interesting reading. I’ve studied much on this subject. While, do to the secrecy of the Templars, any analysis will involve a certain amount of speculation I felt this had more speculation than fact. It did, however, provide some facts I hadn’t previously considered but, over all, had far more speculation than the facts would support.

I purchased it as a gift for an adult who is interested in all things K.T. He liked the information contained within it, although both he and I have pondered at length about the interesting conclusion at the end. We continue to wait, ,watch and ponder.

This little journal styled book has a fancy tour of history of the Knights Templar planned for reader. Of course the history mixes fact and fiction liberally. While some dates and people were covered, I would have liked a bit more detail on both places and events. As a resource for games and stories this tome was not as useful for me as others have been. Still the historical time line has some value for an adventurer!

This is an excellent blend of fact and fiction. Graeme Davis is at the top of his game with this one. A perfect companion to Ken Hite's "Nazi Occult" book. So far, the Osprey Dark series has exceeded my expectations.

Nothing much didnt already know not what thought would be like but good if you are totally clueless about topic

The Knights Templar: A Secret History sets out to give a brief history of the Templars. Starting with history and moving into theory, the book mostly succeeds, but unlike other Osprey publications, the latter half seems to rely mainly on one scholar. This is not a total failing. I'm just used to more source material being drawn from in Osprey publications.Drawing mainly on the work of Dr. Emile Fouchet, the origins and timeline of the Templars are traced from 1119 AD to the present. Also discussed is their rise and fall in popularity, mainly by defying the Catholic church. The Holy Grail is discussed as well as the theories about where it might be. As the Templars were driven into hiding in Europe, the book moves into the shadowy history, with the Templars coming to America to help the colonies. Then back to Europe where their machinations seem to be behind the scenes until the present day.There are some great conspiracy theories in here and there would seem to be a grand war happening between the Templars and the Masons. The unification of parts of Europe seems to fit in with the Templar goals. It's all a bit spooky and I did end up enjoying the book. There is a timeline of Templar history and a bibliography. Intriguing and concise.I was given a review copy of this book by Osprey Publishing and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for letting me review this book.

Knights Templar: A Secret History is not another rehash of the scholarly history of the Knights Templar like you’ll find in many books. It’s also not an in-depth retelling of conspiracies relating to the Knights Templar. Instead, it is a discussion about the Templars history as documented an undocumented regarding a series of events directly and indirectly related to them and the people they’ve influenced throughout the ages. But it goes much further than the regular timeline of the Templars, touching base on how the fingers of the organization influenced the world during their active times and after they were disbanded. It talks about their possible secrets and explores a lot of the theories that have been made about the Templars and their activities throughout time. This is presented in a factual manner, whether it is actually fact or not, based on the research performed by a man author Graeme Davis followed professionally, Dr. Emile Fouchet. Presented in this book is the idea that the Knights Templar, and their predecessor followers, have influenced the world for many centuries.If taken at face value, Knights Templar: A Secret History seems like a book full of conspiracy theories. If you continually read between the lines and understand the context in its presentations, you’ll realize that it’s a collection of theoretical and scholarly possibilities that connect the dots between information found within many sources and the minds of those in the know. By presenting the information in a single location, the research notes of Dr. Fouchet, one can begin to paint a picture of the Knights Templar and how their influence extended much farther than previously believed, or at least previously told by historical references. This is not another Da Vinci Code, it is much more factual and based on concepts that many may have believed in, but have never been able to deem as factual. This is in opposition to other sources that have simply created fictional information, based on fictional conspiracies, that ultimately lead to more fiction. Whether or not the information presented therein is factual can be determined by the reader, but it definitely opens the eyes to some interesting information.Knights Templar: A Secret History is the most interesting retelling of the Knights Templar history I’ve seen, along with providing information that I haven’t seen otherwise. Much of this has been speculated in other locations (if you Google Knights Templar, you’ll quickly find out what I mean), but this is the first time that I’ve seen the dots connected so flawlessly (or at least presented in a flawless manner). One thing that makes it so interesting is how simply the story is told. The book avoids delving into the nitty-gritty details of the Templars, and keeps the reader moving on an imaginary timeline to keep the Templars’ history moving at a great pace. In other words, you don’t get bogged down in facts that overwhelm the senses. It is a book to be read, not just referenced and used for research. I should also note that as a fan of Graeme Davis, his writing is always smooth and this book does not read like a stuffy research book.It’s probably worth noting, as a standalone fact, that the Knights Templar timeline within the book starts at 1099 and ends in 2012. With all points connected in-between explaining how certain events in the past have influenced events nearer to the present.

There are all sorts of legends and known and forgotten history surrounding the Knights Templar, who continue to have an influence in the world today. Certainly, there have been volumes written about them since the Foruteenth Century, continuing to this day. Secret ritual, secret treasure and forbidden associations abound. Author Davis covers a tremendous amount of ground in not a lot of pages and does so in an informative manner. He includes other groups, such as the Cathars, who have been allied with the Templars. Great illustrations in a wonderful addition to the Osprey line of titles.

An intriguing book in the 'Dark Osprey' series, with some nicely put together mock-conspiracy theories, illuminated with some rather fine illustrations. The downside is that there is an awful lot of 'genuine' rubbish written about the Templars in books and online without adding to it with cod-histories like this, especially given Osprey's established reputation as a publisher of real history. Looking at some of the reviews here and elsewhere, it appears some people unfortunately do not seem to realise this is essentially a work of fiction leavened with a little fact.

It's a big, coloured picture book, with great images and informative, especially for the beginner in this field.

Excellent

A gift and informed a very good read.

I have never read such a load of rubbish.I gave up after 20 pages or so and feel it is time I will never recover.Tin foil hat time methinks.