Arguably one of the most provocative, puzzling, and misunderstood organizations of medieval times, the legendary Knights Templar have always been shrouded in a veil of mystery, while inspiring popular culture from Indiana Jones to Dan Brown. In The Templars, author Michael Haag offers a definitive history of these loyal Christian soldiers of the Crusades—sworn to defend the Holy Land and Jerusalem, but ultimately damned and destroyed by the Pope and his church. A bestseller in the United Kingdom—the first history of the enigmatic warriors to include findings from the Chinon Parchment, the long-lost Vatican document absolving the Knights of heresy—The Templars by Michael Haag is fascinating reading.

The Templars: The History and the Myth: From Solomon's Temple to the Freemasons

Biographies & Memoirs

Haag, Michael

Leaders & Notable People

Harper Paperbacks

From Michael Haag, bestselling author of The Templars: The History and the Myth, comes The Tragedy of the Templars, an exciting new look at the rise of Templar power and the saga of their destruction. Founded on Christmas Day 1119 in Jerusalem, the Knights Templar was a religious order dedicated to defending the Holy Land and its Christian pilgrims in the decades after the First Crusade. Legendary for their bravery and dedication, the Templars became one of the wealthiest and most powerful bodies of the medieval world—and the chief defenders of Christian society against growing Muslim forces. In The Tragedy of the Templars: The Rise and Fall of the Crusader States, Haag masterfully details the conflicts and betrayals that sent this faction of powerful knights spiraling from domination to condemnation. This stirring and thoroughly researched work of historical investigation includes maps and full-color photographs of important cultural sites, many of which doubled as battlefields during the Crusades.

The Tragedy of the Templars: The Rise and Fall of the Crusader States

Arts & Photography

History & Criticism

From Michael Haag, the international bestselling author of The Templars: The History &amp; the Myth and The Tragedy of the Templars, comes a fascinating account of one of the most mysterious and controversial figures in religious history.
Mary Magdalene is a potent and enigmatic figure. In the gospels she finances Jesus’ mission in Galilee and is the only person with Jesus at his crucifixion, burial and resurrection—the critical moments that define his purpose and give rise to a new religion.
Yet in the sixth century Mary Magdalene fell foul of a profound argument in which the established, ritualized and hierarchical Church required that God be worshipped through itself, whereas everything about Mary Magdalene suggests a more immediate and personal experience of the divine. Pope Gregory reduced Mary Magdalene from an independent visionary to a sinner and a prostitute while making Jesus’ mother Mary, who is a nonentity in the gospels, into a creature of the Church, hailing her as the epitome of all things feminine and holy.
In The Quest for Mary Magdalene, historian Michael Haag presents Mary Magdalene as the woman at the center of Jesus’s life, a visionary and a radically independent woman. He explores how she has been used and abused and reinterpreted in every age, and he examines what she reveals about men and women, Jesus and God.

QUEST FOR MARY MAGDALENE

HarperPB

This book is a literary, social, and political portrait of Alexandria at a high point of its history. Drawing on diaries, letters, and interviews, Michael Haag recovers the lost life of the city, its cosmopolitan inhabitants, and its literary characters. Located on the coast of Africa yet rich in historical associations with Western civilization, Alexandria was home to an exotic variety of people whose cosmopolitan families had long been rooted in the commerce and the culture of the entire Mediterranean world. Alexandria famously excited the imaginations of writers, and Haag folds intimate accounts of E. M. Forster, Greek poet Constantine Cavafy, and Lawrence Durrell into the story of its inhabitants. He recounts the city’s experience of the two world wars and explores the communities that gave Alexandria its unique flavor: the Greek, the Italian, and the Jewish. The book deftly harnesses the sexual and emotional charge of cosmopolitan life in this extraordinary city, and highlights the social and political changes over the decades that finally led to Nasser’s Egypt.

Alexandria: City of Memory

History

Ancient Civilizations

Yale University Press

A luminous portrait of the now-vanished cosmopolitan city and those who inhabited it during the first half of the 20th century  This book is a literary, social, and political portrait of Alexandria at a high point of its history. Drawing on diaries, letters, and interviews, Michael Haag recovers the lost life of the city, its cosmopolitan inhabitants, and its literary characters. Located on the coast of Africa yet rich in historical associations with Western civilization, Alexandria was home to an exotic variety of people whose cosmopolitan families had long been rooted in the commerce and the culture of the entire Mediterranean world. Alexandria famously excited the imaginations of writers, and Haag folds intimate accounts of E. M. Forster, Greek poet Constantine Cavafy, and Lawrence Durrell into the story of its inhabitants. He recounts the city’s experience of the two world wars and explores the communities that gave Alexandria its unique flavor: the Greek, the Italian, and the Jewish. The book deftly harnesses the sexual and emotional charge of cosmopolitan life in this extraordinary city, and highlights the social and political changes over the decades that finally led to Nasser’s Egypt.

Arts & Literature

The Durrells of Corfu

Memoirs

Bolinda Audio

Simon Nye's TV series, The Durrells, is based loosely on Gerald Durrell's Corfu Trilogy and in particular his much-loved bestseller, My Family and Other Animals. These books in turn are based somewhat loosely on actual events. The real-life Durrells went to Corfu at the urging of Lawrence Durrell, who was already living on the island with his wife, Nancy Myers. Their intent was to keep the family together as his mother, Louisa, was drinking heavily and recovering from a breakdown; 'We can be proud of the way we brought her up', Larry said, only half-jokingly, of the family's subsequent Corfu sojourn.Michael Haag's book covers the background to the Durrell family's years in Corfu, including their time in India, where all the children were born, and where their father, a brilliant civil engineer, had died. It recalls the real-life characters the Durrells encountered on Corfu, notably the biologist and poet Theodore Stephanides, and the taxi driver, Spiros Halikiopoulos. And Haag tells the story of how the Durrells left Corfu, including Margo's return intent on joining the Greek resistance, and Leslie's romance in England with the family's Corfite maid and friend, Maria Kondos. Further chapters cover what happened to the family in later life; here, Lawrence and Gerald Durrell's biographies are well known, but little has previously been written of Margo, Leslie and Louisa. Haag has fascinating stories to tell of them all.

Explore the land of the Pharaohs with Cadogan's passionate and informative guide. Whether you are wanting to relax along Egypt's coastline or immerse yourself in the country's fascinating history, Cadogan is the only companion you'll need.

AA/Thomas Cook Travellers Egypt (AA/Thomas Cook Travellers)

Travel

Africa

Thomas Cook Publishing

In the course of its long and remarkable development, Egypt has helped lay the foundations of Western civilization and become a cornerstone of the Islamic faith. The Timeline History of Egypt gives you a concise overview of the entire five-thousand-year span, with a continuous timeline that takes you from the period before the pharaohs to the present day. Featuring sidebars ranging from the Great Pyramid of Cheops to Nasser's revolution, and including such topics as irrigation, monasticism, the Suez Canal crisis and Egyptian cinema, plus dozens of illustrations and quotations, the Timeline History of Egypt is a convenient and vital reference to this ancient country.

The Timeline History of Egypt

Barnes & Noble 2005

a great travel guide for Egypt and a most need on during the present time.

Passport's Illustrated Travel Guide to Egypt (Passport's Illustrated Travel Guides)

Politics & Social Sciences

Von Haag, Michael

Sociology

Passport Books

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Haag, Michael. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Haag, Michael

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Haag, Michael. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

The Templars: The History and the Myth: From Solomon's Temple to the Freemasons

The Tragedy of the Templars: The Rise and Fall of the Crusader States

QUEST FOR MARY MAGDALENE

Alexandria: City of Memory

Alexandria: City of Memory

The Durrells of Corfu

The Durrells of Corfu

AA/Thomas Cook Travellers Egypt (AA/Thomas Cook Travellers)

The Timeline History of Egypt

Passport's Illustrated Travel Guide to Egypt (Passport's Illustrated Travel Guides)