The Templar papers, author and historian Oddvar Olsen has assembled a veritable Who's Who of experts to unravel the mystery.

Delve into the myth and mystery of the Knights Templar with essays by Lynn Picknett, Robert Lomas, Stephen Dafoe, Sandy Hamblett, and other experts. Much has been written about the group of fourteenth-century warrior monks known as the Knights Templar. Some authors, such as Dan Brown in The Da Vinci Code, portray them as folk heroes wrongly accused. Others disagree, saying the Templar story is ultimately one of greed, deception, and idolatry. Just who were the Knights Templar? And what is their legacy? In The Templar Papers, author and historian Oddvar Olsen has assembled a veritable Who’s Who of experts to unravel the mystery. Instead of rehashing previous scholarship, this book delves into new aspects of Templar lore, such as the origins of the order and its supposed survival after 1314. It attempts to answer the following: Were the Templars devil worshippers who venerated a mysterious head? Was the head that of John the Baptist? What exactly did they find in Solomon’s Temple? Did they keep, and later hide, the Holy Grail and the Ark of the Covenant? You’ll also discover the Templar link to Mary Magdalene and the Freemasons, including answers to questions such as: Were Jesus and Mary lovers or, in fact, husband and wife? Did Mary give birth to a child after Jesus’ death? Did Freemasonry originate from the Templars? The Templar Papers offers the inquisitive reader several lifetimes of research and insight. This is a distinctive and truly unique compilation that will stimulate your mind and settle the controversy.

This one-of-a-kind paper-cut book brings space to life! Paper World: Space uses ingenious paper cutouts to reveal the wonders of space, from the planets that make up our solar system to distant galaxies to the moment that started it all, the Big Bang. With detailed art by Gail Armstrong, a fact-filled text, and flaps and die-cuts on every spread, this one-of-a-kind novelty book will appeal to readers of all ages.

An instant New York Times bestseller, from the author of Crusaders, that finally tells the real story of the Knights Templar—“Seldom does one find serious scholarship so easy to read.” (The Times, Book of the Year) A faltering war in the middle east. A band of elite warriors determined to fight to the death to protect Christianity's holiest sites. A global financial network unaccountable to any government. A sinister plot founded on a web of lies... In 1119, a small band of knights seeking a purpose in the violent aftermath of the First Crusade set up a new religious order in Jerusalem, which was now in Christian hands. These were the first Knights Templar, elite warriors who swore vows of poverty and chastity and promised to protect Christian pilgrims to the Holy Land. Over the next 200 years, the Templars would become the most powerful network of the medieval world, speerheading the crusades, pionerring new forms of finance and warfare and deciding the fate of kings. Then, on October 13, 1307, hundreds of brothers were arrested, imprisoned and tortured and the order was disbanded among lurid accusations of sexual misconduct and heresy. But were they heretics or victims of a ruthlessly repressive state? Dan Jones goes back to the sources to bring their dramatic tale, so relevant to our own times, to life in a book that is at once authoritative and compulsively readable.

In 1191, fifteen-year-old Tristan, a youth of unknown origin raised in an English abbey, becomes a Templar Knight's squire during the Third Crusade and soon finds himself on a mission to bring the Holy Grail to safety.

Templars being burned at the stake inspired Dante to write his Inferno in the 1300s, and led to Dan Brown's new novel. Other recent discoveries reveal a deeper and richer story of the Templars, as told here through the lives of extraordinary people who lived during those times. The intriguing mysteries of the Templars are explored and some are resolved, including the source of Templar wealth and power overseen by green-robed clerics. The possible links to other groups such as Hospitallers and Masons are also explored. Attacked by kings and the Vatican in 1307, many of the surviving Templars refused to surrender and chose to live in secrecy. This act of disobedience began rebellious activities that hurried the fall of kings and the splitting of the Catholic Church. Recovered manuscripts and records now bring these people to life-their difficult choices, relationships, defeats and triumphs. These are real people, real events, and fascinating adventures among knights and ladies, combats and courts, younger sons and noble families.

The Templar Papers II is the follow up to the successful The Templar Papers. The second compilation represents the best articles from issues 7-12 of The Temple. To further the questers/students knowledge of the grand order of the Knights Templar; The Templar Antiquities deals not only with the two hundred years of the orders existence but also studies relating to the Templars both before and after 1118 -1307. In error many authors see the Templars as an isolated order; however in this compilation the editor has compiled substantial material to give the reader a broader understanding of the Templars, related subjects and the formation of society as one knows it today.