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Title: The Templars and the Assassins: The Militia of Heaven by James Wasserman ISBN: 0-89281-859-X Publisher: Inner Traditions Intl Ltd Pub. Date: 15 May, 2001 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $16.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.62 (16 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: Glad I looked twice
Comment: This book was sitting on a table surrounded by post 9/11 geopolitical armchair analysts' books and I am so glad I bothered to pick it up. The amount of scholarly work and lack of bias are evident in Wasserman's assessment of the historical implications of Christianity and Islam's births and growths. This thesis, the influence that the East has had on the West is one that is often scoffed at, today. This book is rife with factual details that condense to form a sensible puzzle in contrast to other books who push a reader into adopting an extreme position (that of the expert author's). It was especially refreshing to read a book that complies so well with the blade of reason. Highly recommend this book to any individual who bothers to question.
Rating: 4
Summary: Mystic Warriors
Comment: If I could rate this book with whole and decimal stars, a 3.8 would be my honest evaluation. If I'd given it a three star rating, it would lower the overall average. That wouldn't be fair, because the book deserves to be read. My enthusiasm for the Crusades was sparked by reading Zoe Oldenbourg's masterpiece, plus Hilaire Belloc's history of "The Crusades." I've read other histories, about the people, the groups, and events of the era, mostly with a diminishing sense of return. "The Templars and the Assassins" is divided into four parts. The part to whole combinations, or deducing the whole into parts makes for a challenging exercise. Whether read in part or whole, the book is a useful compendium of a still vibrantly relevant area of study.
Once the reader becomes familiar with the chess board and the game pieces that is the Crusades as a historical subject, there seems to be a infinite number of variations for interpretive or speculative play. The first part helped me fill a gap I'd discovered in my thinking: how Western culture transformed into its feudalistic setting after the fall of the Roman empire. The first part was also helpful in preparing my sense of appreciation for the social dynamics leading to these series of wars. Part Two I found the most valuable of all. I must confess I have been my own victim of stereotype about Islam. I accept responsibility for my unfocused view of the Prophet and his influential teachings. The author, James Wasserman, offers a detailed, well-written account of Islam, its sects, controversies and orders. While reading this section, I could recall the messy world of politics and religion that one seems to find everywhere.
The rise and fall of the Templars is a drama all it's own. I found it still most disheartening to watch these "Poor Knights" crushed under the heel of the "new" Inquisition as it was brought into prominence as a totalitarian-like social force. The author is quite familiar with his material; if you haven't read about the Templars and their story yet, this is as good place as any to start. In Part Four, the Conclusion was, for me, the most thought provoking. Wasserman stated, "the long term survival of the memory of these two rather obscure groups [Templars and Assassins] points to various archetypal levels at which they affect the psyche." It is the archetype of the Mystic Warrior, I think, that permeates this "survival of the memory." Every late childhood and adolescent reader can identify with this Mystic Warrior as he or she appears in literature or movie form. What does the Warrior teach us within the context of education and learning? The Mystic Warrior, at least as found in the Grail Romances or as illustrated by Sir Walter Scott in his Waverley novels, demonstrates important virtues "honor, chivalry, self-sacrifice, redemption, patriotism, courage, and integrity (c.f, P. 271)." These are the kind of values to nurture and encourage, especially in these troubled times.
Rating: 5
Summary: Wasserman is an expert on an obscure subject.
Comment: This book very well delineates the history of both the Assassins and the Knights Templar, with appropriate references. Wasserman's voice is mature, eloquent, and authoratative without being arrogant.
This book is an excellent place to get a good history of these groups; it is general enough for the beginning student but without enough specifics and references for an advanced one.
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Title: The Assassins: A Radical Sect in Islam by Bernard Lewis ISBN: 0465004989 Publisher: Basic Books Pub. Date: 26 November, 2002 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
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Title: The Assassin Legends: Myths of the Isma'Ilis by Farhad Daftary ISBN: 1850439508 Publisher: I.B. Tauris Pub. Date: July, 1995 List Price(USD): $24.50 |
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Title: The Templars: The Dramatic History of the Knights Templar, the Most Powerful Military Order of the Crusades by Piers Paul Read ISBN: 0306810719 Publisher: DaCapo Press Pub. Date: 09 October, 2001 List Price(USD): $18.00 |
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Title: The Warriors and the Bankers: A History of the Knights Templar from 1307 to the present by Alan Butler, Stephen Dafoe ISBN: 0968356729 Publisher: Templar Books Pub. Date: 13 October, 1998 List Price(USD): $9.95 |
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Title: The Templars and the Grail: Knights of the Quest by Karen Ralls ISBN: 0835608077 Publisher: Quest Books Pub. Date: May, 2003 List Price(USD): $22.95 |
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