Description: With period illustrations from manuscripts from the Crusades, interpretive romantic paintings from the 18th and 19th centuries, and contemporary photos by Steven Brooke and others of former Templar strongholds in Europe and Jerusalem, Wasserman provides a fascinating history of the Order and the many mysteries and legends that still surround it.
Brief description: James Wasserman (1948-2020) was the author of several books, including The Templars and the Assassins, The Secrets of Masonic Washington, The Mystery Traditions, An Illustrated History of the Knights Templar, and The Temple of Solomon. A longtime student of the occult, the United States Constitution, and the writings of the Founding Fathers as well as a member of the Ordo Templi Orientis since 1976, he lived in New York City.
Review Quotes: "James Wasserman has gathered the most beautiful, authoritative, and complete collection of Crusader and Templar images available anywhere. But this is not just a picture book. Wasserman's text also gives us an exceptionally clear, historically accurate, and esoterically true account of the history of this most mysterious of medieval knightly Orders. His sense of the way in which Templar esotericism fuses Judaic, Islamic (Ismaili), and Christian elements is a welcome and convincing alternative to the usual conditioned view that sees the three great religions separate and opposed."-- "Christopher Bamford, author of An Endless Trace: The Passionate Pursuit of Wisdom in the West"