This book is an excellent place to get a good history of these groups; it is generalenough for the beginning student but without enough specifics and references for an advanced one.
Likewise, many myths and falsehoods regarding both these notoriously secretive (and muchmaligned) groups are challenged, thus providing a clear and balanced picture of them that is bothrefreshing and rare.
This book is highly recommended to anyone of a discerning nature who is boredwith the usual sensationalized misrepresentations that so often has plagued these two organizations.
Admittedlythis is a lot of material to pack into fewer than 300 pages of actual prose and sometimes the goingis thick. Wasserman knows a vast amount about his subject and is beyond eager to share it. But inthe end this surfeit of information works for us; a reader comes away with an appreciation of thecomplex religious history behind a part of today's Islamic politics. We also learn what there is tobe known of the Templars: a chilling tale of battle, faith, greed, betrayal and suffering takingplace against a backdrop of the medieval Papacy and royal courts.
I'm oversimplifying in a bigway here but underlying thesis of the book is that the roots much of contemporary Westernesotericism can be found in the exposure ot the Christian Knights Templar to Islamic mysticism asembodied by the Assassins as well as to Gnostic esoteric tradtions. During the Crusader centuriesthese three great schools came together to create the basis of what the author calls the WesternMystery Tradition.
James Wasserman, who apparently is an occultist of considerable reputation,comes across as a very clean and scrupulous writer. He says flat out whether he is speculatingabout something or referring to source material and what that source material is. The guy has majoropinions about a number of things, some of them pretty controversial, but you know it when he'sairing them.
This was a fine, thoughtful, and thought provoking book about a complex period andalien religious/philosophic traditions. It proved fascinating. I hope Wasserman writes more aboutall this and soon.