Author: Steven Sora Trade Paperback, 293 pages
Publisher: Destiny Books
Publication date: 2004
List: US$16.95, C$26.95
ISBN: 0892817100 Price & More Info: Click Here
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I remember first reading about the Oak Island mystery (sometimes called "the
money pit") when I was just about becoming a teenager. The idea, at that
time, was that it contained buried pirate treasure -- probably that of
Captain Kidd. I was intrigued, but then moved on to other topics of
interest. Now I'm back to the original mystery, but this time with a
different slant.
Since this book is subtitled "Solving the Oak Island Mystery," you might
expect a majority of it to be devoted to Oak Island. In fact, only about 90
pages are devoted to Oak Island, with the majority of the remainder being
devoted to the background of the Knights Templar, the Merovingian dynasty,
and other interconnected topics.
It, like the book I reviewed previously (The Knights Templar in the New
World), is a fascinating compilation of facts and speculation. It is sure
to inspire others to their own explorations and seekings. However, its use
of the name Knights Templar seems, to me, to be a simple attempt to attract
readers who might otherwise pass it by.
No one knows what the treasure of the Templars actually was. If it was gold
and silver, no one knows how much there was. Many people assume that there
must have been huge amounts of it, but the expenditures for outfitting an
order of knights, building and maintaining castles, seeing to the care of
its older members, and all of the other requirements of the time must have
taken up enormous amounts of money.
If, on the other hand, it was religious icons and relics, its relevance in
the modern world may be questioned. Even as little as 100 years ago,
Christianity had a much stronger hold on society than it does today. While
icons and/or relics would have a certain amount of historical value, their
primary value would be to the church, it would appear.
If, as a final possibility, the treasure consists of lost genealogies which
might prove embarrassing to the Christian religion, it would not be
surprising to find a great deal of effort devoted to concealing them. It is
well written and enjoyable. It is not essential to an understanding of the
Templars, but it is a good summation of the Oak Island mystery.
Reviewed by Mike Gleason
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