A nineteenth century French priest discovers something in his mountain village at the foot of The Pyrenees which enabled him to amass and spend a fortune of millions of pounds. The tale seems to begin with buried treasure and then turns into an unprecedented historical detective story - a modern Grail quest leading back through cryptically coded parchments, secret societies, the Knights Templar, the Cathar heretics of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries and a dynasty of obscure French kings deposed more than 1, 300 years ago. The author's conclusions are persuasive at the core is not material riches but a secret - a secret of explosive and contraversial proportions, which radiates out from the little Pyrenees village to all the way to contemporary politics and the entire edifice of the Christian faith. It involves nothing less than the Holy Grail. (19950823)
The Holy Blood And The Holy Grail
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Michael Baigent, Henry Lincoln, and Richard Leigh, authors of The Messianic Legacy, spent over 10 years on their own kind of quest for the Holy Grail, into the secretive history of early France. What they found, researched with the tenacity and attention to detail which befits any great quest, is a tangled and intricate story of politics and faith that reads like a mystery novel. It is the story of the Knights Templar, and a behind-the-scenes society called the Prieure de Sion, and its involvement in reinstating descendants of the Merovingian bloodline into political power. Why? The authors of Holy Blood, Holy Grail assert that their explorations into early history ultimately reveal that Jesus may not have died on the cross, but lived to marry and father children whose bloodline continues today. According to the authors, their point here is not to compromise or to demean Jesus, but to offer another, more complete perspective of Jesus as God's incarnation in man. They claim that the power of this secret, which has, they say, been carefully guarded for hundreds of years, has sparked much controversy. For all the sensationalism and hoopla surrounding The Holy Blood and The Holy Grail and the alternative history which it outlines, the authors are careful to keep their perspective and sense of scepticism alive in its pages, explaining carefully and clearly how they came to draw such combustible conclusions. --Jodie Buller
Review
'One of the most controversial books of the 20th Century' (U.P.I )
'Their quest for knowledge possesses all the ingredients of a classic 19th-Century mystery novel... a book that will be hotly denounced and widely read' (Financial Times )
'A book that cannot easily be dismissed' (Neville Cryer, The Bible Society )
'Has all the ingredients of an international thriller...incredible' (Newsweek )
'It makes compulsive reading' (Times Educational Supplement ) --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.
'Their quest for knowledge possesses all the ingredients of a classic 19th-Century mystery novel... a book that will be hotly denounced and widely read' (Financial Times )
'A book that cannot easily be dismissed' (Neville Cryer, The Bible Society )
'Has all the ingredients of an international thriller...incredible' (Newsweek )
'It makes compulsive reading' (Times Educational Supplement ) --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
50 of 51 people found the following review helpful
By WhiteCrane
VINE™ VOICE
Format:Paperback
Whether you believe the premise of the book or not(and I don't),it's a fantastic read. I hope this new edition sells well after being mentioned in Dan Brown's bestselling Da Vinci Code.
More facts have come out about the truth(or lack of it) about the secret society supposedly protecting an earth shattering secret,but I still recommend buying the book because it's very well written unlike many of this genre. It contains references the reader can check.
The book will introduce many accepted facts about the knights templars,early history of christianity,merovingians and carolingians and the cathars which you can learn while taking with a pinch of salt the controversial stuff.Thats what I did and it stimulated my interest in these subjects,something that wouldn't have happened if I just had dry boring history books. By making it almost an exciting detective story it stimulates the readers interest and keeps you turning the page.
Brilliant.
More facts have come out about the truth(or lack of it) about the secret society supposedly protecting an earth shattering secret,but I still recommend buying the book because it's very well written unlike many of this genre. It contains references the reader can check.
The book will introduce many accepted facts about the knights templars,early history of christianity,merovingians and carolingians and the cathars which you can learn while taking with a pinch of salt the controversial stuff.Thats what I did and it stimulated my interest in these subjects,something that wouldn't have happened if I just had dry boring history books. By making it almost an exciting detective story it stimulates the readers interest and keeps you turning the page.
Brilliant.
40 of 43 people found the following review helpful
By S. Lindgren
VINE™ VOICE
Format:Paperback
To an extent. Some of what is contained in this book is documented historical fact, and as a professional historian, I'm always delighted when material is presented in a fashion that interests a wider audience. I view this sort of thing as the written equivalent of a cinematic 'historical' epic. Is is particularly accurate? No. But it doesn't pretend to be either -the authors do stress that many of their conclusions are conjecture, no more. What it is, is entertaining, and will introduce people who might never otherwise have taken an interest in history to, to take a single example, the Crusades. And that's fine by me -it might well prompt them to take a greater interest in history in the future.
There are inumerable problems of course. For each of the documented facts, there are at least a dozen erroneous ones. Much of the source material utilised is questionable at the very best. And yet I still find myself unable to condem them, as I would with many other books, for, as I mentioned above, they stress the fact that their conjectures lack proof. The book itself is actually well written for what it is; unusual for a book with several authors, it is sensibly set out, the style[s] is / are fluid and readable, and it's good fun.
Some suggest this book is blasphemous. Fair enough, that's their opinion, though I don't share or even understand it. As far as I know, there is nothing in the Bible, or accepted Christian doctine, that states that Jesus could, or perhaps I should say, 'should' not, have been married. I don't believe it (part of me would like to), but I fail to see what is so very wrong about the idea. He was supposed to be a Man as well as the Son of God -that was the whole point insofar as I am aware. Still, if you are going to be upset by it, don't bother to read. Save yourself the money, the time, and the raised blood pressure. The rest of you -give it a try. Something to look at on holiday, provided that you go in with a mind open enough to accept a new idea, and sceptical enough to appreciate the limitations.
There are inumerable problems of course. For each of the documented facts, there are at least a dozen erroneous ones. Much of the source material utilised is questionable at the very best. And yet I still find myself unable to condem them, as I would with many other books, for, as I mentioned above, they stress the fact that their conjectures lack proof. The book itself is actually well written for what it is; unusual for a book with several authors, it is sensibly set out, the style[s] is / are fluid and readable, and it's good fun.
Some suggest this book is blasphemous. Fair enough, that's their opinion, though I don't share or even understand it. As far as I know, there is nothing in the Bible, or accepted Christian doctine, that states that Jesus could, or perhaps I should say, 'should' not, have been married. I don't believe it (part of me would like to), but I fail to see what is so very wrong about the idea. He was supposed to be a Man as well as the Son of God -that was the whole point insofar as I am aware. Still, if you are going to be upset by it, don't bother to read. Save yourself the money, the time, and the raised blood pressure. The rest of you -give it a try. Something to look at on holiday, provided that you go in with a mind open enough to accept a new idea, and sceptical enough to appreciate the limitations.
55 of 62 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
I read this book ten years ago and loved it. I read the Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown in half a day over the Christmas Holidays, only because so many people recommended it, all of which had never read the Holy blood. If they had have done they would have found the Da Vinci Code tedious and derivative. It was an okay yarn, but nothing special. To anyone who has read the Da Vinci Code and has been intrigued, read this book. To the reviewer who could not believe it was a best seller - everyone I knew read this at least 10 years ago and made their friends read it too - so it really was!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars
Over rated
I bought this as we are spending a couple of weeks in Cathar Country this year and I thought it would provide some interesting background, particualry regarding Rennes le... Read more
Published 2 months ago by ESW
5.0 out of 5 stars
well worth a read
unless you are a history buff the first half of this book is pretty boring, the second half is all disputing our religous teachings, these I think have to be true otherwise they... Read more
Published 3 months ago by R. Turner
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Holy Blood and The Holy Grail
I had purchased this book (in hardback) some years earlier, and enjoyed it. The updated version was very welcome and just as pleasing.
Published 4 months ago by nicholas preece
5.0 out of 5 stars
excellent so far
I was amazed at the speed at which this book arrived and the content is as i expected. i am not too far through the book yet but it is coming up to my expectations. Read more
Published 15 months ago by With Magic
5.0 out of 5 stars
I've read it at last!
I have been meaning to read this book for years and retirement has now given me the opportunity. I enjoyed it. Read more
Published 17 months ago by Mr. Alasdair B. Gordon
5.0 out of 5 stars
Historical breadth and insight.
This book allows the reader to gain an insight into the broad sweep of history of Christian Europe. It provides an introduction to many important chapters in our history which are... Read more
Published 17 months ago by P. Teddie Sawyer
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wonderful
Regardless of one's opinion, facts cannot be argued with, and this book is a vast catalogue of facts and well researched history. Read more
Published 19 months ago by T. J. Walton
5.0 out of 5 stars
Life-changing (bear with me while l explain why)
This was the book that changed my life! Bear with me while I explain why...
No, I don't believe its central theme, that Jesus has a descendent waiting to lead a world... Read more
No, I don't believe its central theme, that Jesus has a descendent waiting to lead a world... Read more
Published 21 months ago by Jemma S
5.0 out of 5 stars
Holy Blood addicted
This book, is going to be one of my all time favorites on the subject. Like it says on the back cover, you can't put this book down. Read more
Published on 9 Dec 2010 by Gilles Mehlinger
4.0 out of 5 stars
A wierd read
A great book that went into great detail it worried me about how much more could be discovered. However a quick internet search proves that much of what the book is based on is... Read more
Published on 23 July 2010 by Calum
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