Really great with disappointing ending, March 16, 2008
Chris Kuzneski
I agree with the thrust of the other reviewers, to wit, there is a lot of cleverness in this book, but ultimately it disappoints at the very end (GREAT book, the last page is a flop).
However, as I was desperate for a read at Fort Bragg this past week, and I read the book all the way through, it merits both a review and a passing comment.
First, the author has done his homework and also provides an epilog that points at several books I link to below. That raised him from three to four stars in my estimation. This was a great book right up to the end when it wimped out with a one-paragraph flop of a conclusion.
Second, I am persuaded that religions as now organized are a form of organized crime, and that we would all do better going with unitarian communitarian approaches in which we deal direct with God on a personal basis, and direct with one another on a community basis. With a handful of exceptions (Rabbi Lerner, Archbishop Tutu) most church “officials are in my view santimonious frauds, and any fictional book that helps portray that is inherently useful.
The author himself recommends the following books:
Holy Blood, Holy Grail Illustrated Edition: The Secret History of Jesus, the Shocking Legacy of the Grail
The Templar Revelation: Secret Guardians of the True Identity of Christ
Rosslyn: Guardian of the Secrets of the Holy Grail
Jesus and the Lost Goddess: The Secret Teachings of the Original Christians
Curiously, he does not mention The Da Vinci Code or the Gospel of St. Thomas (not a book, search for it).
I also recommend:
Founding Faith: Providence, Politics, and the Birth of Religious Freedom in America
The Left Hand of God: Taking Back Our Country from the Religious Right
American Fascists: The Christian Right and the War On America
DVD Gandhi (Widescreen Two-Disc Special Edition)
