"Holy Blood, Holy Grail" by Michael Baigent, et al., New York, Delacorte Press 2004, ISBN 0-385-33859-7 - HC, 489 pp, 8.5" x 5.5"This 2nd book by 3 experienced authors first published Jan. 18, 1982 in England (Feb. 26, 1982 in USA) firstly aired Jan. 17, 1982 on BBC's OMNIBUS where authors' commentary (as panel members) was heavily edited, leading to the the book's stigmatization as "irresponsible"... & "poorly researched" & at this time Bishop Hugh Montefiore labelled it shameless exploitation of sex & sensationalism upon reading only 2 chapters.The book, taken as a whole, makes for difficult reading. Fortunately, it has been divided into 3 major parts: Part I The Mystery, Part II The Secret Society & Part III The Bloodline. Additionally, there are other component sections (contents, appendix, biblio., notes/references, index) which makes it even more scaleable.

I enjoyed reading this book, and found the research fascinating. I found the last part of the book to be too apologetic and repetitive. The Knights Templar were fascinating and mysterious. The theory that the Merovingians were descended from Jesus was unconvincing. The history of the period before, during and after Jesus lived was well presented. I found that I am an Arian Christian, since I do not believe that Jesus was the son of God, born to a virgin and raised from the dead in a literal way. This is ancient sun god religious thought that was appended to the man. So much has been suppressed by the Roman Catholic church that we will never know. This book did a good job of demonstrating how religions relate to politics, power, and cultural control.