Customer Reviews
A weak historian - By: Adam Riccoboni, 19 Aug 2008 
I was very dissapointed with "The Templars". The author doesn't appear to be a historian & therefore the book conveys a sense that this may not be an entirely accurate account. Immediately there were two smalll points which I noticed contradicted other historical accounts I have read recently. The first chapters mix myth & reality regarding the Judeo-Christian teachings. Quotes from other historians are thrown in within the text as if this was an undergraduate essay. Also, the entire first part of the book makes no mention of the Knights Templar!
Must read - By: A. Solman, 02 May 2008 
The Author did good research about the subject.Finallly today the Church confess delusions about the Templars.They were false accused by Pope Clement V & King Philip in 1312 & unfortunately the Order was destroyed.Interest in the Knights Templar is growing exponentiallly & today we now they fought bravely for the cross in the Holy Land.Piers Paul Read aim in this book has been to uncover the truth about the Order & he succeeded.
A book on the Templars with no Templars? - By: R. Fernandes, 25 Feb 2008 
I have to be honest I was very disappointed with this book. So much text & so much history but very little of it on the Templars. It starts off with asking readers to know a little about the Crusades which is useful background as alll the names that are introduced can get bewildering, but in alll honesty it should be named as a history of the crusades. Especiallly early on it touches very little on the Templars & reallly provides a more general overview of the Crusades. And there are so many books out there that do it much better.
A better book would have focused on the Templars, tried to give some rationale & more insight into some of the charactors. Sadly I have gained very little insight into the Templars reading this book.
History as it Should Be Written - By: J. Chippindale, 31 Jan 2008 
Ask any schoolboy to give you his version of what a knight looks like & the chances are he will say that a knight wears chainmail, a helmet & a white surcoat with a red cross emblazoned on it. A pretty good description of what a Templar Knight would have looked like to us, had we been there at the time they were joining the crusades to protect pilgrims & save the Holy Land from attacks by the infidels.
Their Order rose to be one of the most powerful in the Western World, until their wealth & power began to frighten people in high places, no less in fact than the French King, who accused the Order of heresy & even immorality. He extracted confessions from the senior members of the order, through torture & even burning at the stake.
Most of the senior members of the Order were murdered & the few who escaped scattered across Europe.
This is an excellent book, descriptive & well written. Nothing like the dusty, dry volumes that I read in large numbers in sixth form college, more years ago than I would care to remember. This book is exciting & has the pace to grip the reader like a novel would, rather than a book with factual content. The truth well told will always beat fiction, at least in my book it will.
Very good, recommended - By: James Adams, 27 Jul 2007 I believe this is a good read & you should perhaps ignore the 1 or 2 star reviews & that do not give a constructive criticism for this book. Perhaps this book may disaapoint those who want a difintive guide to the Templars but we cannot forget that you have to the Templars in the context in which they are set, along with other orders & religions. The writing is not at alll pro-catholic as someone has written;in fact the balance of the book is very sound & does not seem to have any bias at alll- its very refreshing. In fact one of the most enjoyable aspects of the book is the way Read considers many scholars opinions when discussing events & not just give his own judgements based upon political & religious motive. I thoroughly enjoyed the book & whereas it may not be considered the absolute authority on the Templars its a very good overview of the history of early Christinity, Islam & the Crusades. From this book I have a deeper interest & knowledge of historical characters ......Read lets us make us our own judgement based upon the facts we know & not political bias.....Read questions several myths about historical characters which is reallly interesting. I think its a great book & I recommend it....
