Talisman: Sacred Cities, Secret Faith
by Graham Hancock & Robert Bauval
Doubleday, 2004
Brief Review by Travis Simpkins
Begun in the early 1990's and published in 2004, Talisman: Sacred Cities, Secret Faith by Graham Hancock and Robert Bauval offers an in-depth and open look at a hidden subject. The content of the book was expanded in 2011 and re-released under a new title, The Master Game.
In essence, this well-written volume attempts to "trace the course through history of two interrelated underground religions, Gnosticism and Hermeticism." Ever subdued and reemerging, the theory suggests this hidden faith and it's mystic teachings were protected and passed down to the present day by way of Ancient Egyptian astronomer priests, Gnostic and Hermetic sages, Cathars, the Knights Templar, Renaissance scholars, the Rosicrucians, the Illuminati and the Freemasons. Well known historic leaders, intellectuals and innovators played key roles in the secret enlightenment, including Alexander the Great, Napoleon Bonaparte, the Medici Dynasty, Dr. John Dee, Giordano Bruno, Count Alessandro di Cagliostro, Sir Christopher Wren, Albert Pike, Benjamin Franklin, George Washington and other American Founding Fathers.
Examining how this secret religion and it's Masonic symbols and ideals have shaped the modern world, great emphasis is placed on the street design and monument placement in major cities and their alignment with the stars. Ancient Egypt seems to be an ever-present reference point. Aerial views of Paris and Washington, DC show intriguing similarities with proposed plans of post-fire London, as well as with ancient cities like Rome, Heliopolis and Alexandria.
The bulk of the book is fascinating and by no means anti-Masonic, presented as an open-minded academic and intellectual journey down the paths of possibility that interweave through Masonic history. Overall, the tome lays out an original idea, and is a free-thinking and enjoyable 500-page sojourn.
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| Talisman. Sacred Cities, Secret Faith. Graham Hancock and Robert Bauval: Benben Stone |
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| Talisman. Sacred Cities, Secret Faith. Graham Hancock and Robert Bauval |
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| Talisman. Sacred Cities, Secret Faith. Graham Hancock and Robert Bauval: Isis |
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| Talisman. Sacred Cities, Secret Faith. Graham Hancock and Robert Bauval: Giordano Bruno |
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| Talisman. Sacred Cities, Secret Faith. Graham Hancock and Robert Bauval: Piazza San Pietro |
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| Talisman. Sacred Cities, Secret Faith. Graham Hancock and Robert Bauval: Jacques De Molay |
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| Talisman. Sacred Cities, Secret Faith. Graham Hancock and Robert Bauval: Paris |
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| Talisman. Sacred Cities, Secret Faith. Graham Hancock and Robert Bauval: Great Seal |
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| Talisman. Sacred Cities, Secret Faith. Graham Hancock and Robert Bauval: Fountain |
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| Talisman. Sacred Cities, Secret Faith. Graham Hancock and Robert Bauval: Freemasonry |
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| Talisman. Sacred Cities, Secret Faith. Graham Hancock and Robert Bauval: Freemasonry |
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| Talisman. Sacred Cities, Secret Faith. Graham Hancock and Robert Bauval: Luxor |
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| Talisman. Sacred Cities, Secret Faith. Graham Hancock and Robert Bauval: Paris |
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| Talisman. Sacred Cities, Secret Faith. Graham Hancock and Robert Bauval: New York |
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| Talisman. Sacred Cities, Secret Faith. Graham Hancock and Robert Bauval: London |
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| Talisman. Sacred Cities, Secret Faith. Graham Hancock and Robert Bauval: Glass Pyramid, Paris |
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| Talisman. Sacred Cities, Secret Faith. Graham Hancock and Robert Bauval: Napoleon |
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| Talisman. Sacred Cities, Secret Faith. Graham Hancock and Robert Bauval: Washington, DC |
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| Talisman. Sacred Cities, Secret Faith. Graham Hancock and Robert Bauval: George Washington |
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| Talisman. Sacred Cities, Secret Faith. Graham Hancock and Robert Bauval: Washington, DC |
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| Talisman. Sacred Cities, Secret Faith. Graham Hancock and Robert Bauval: George Washington Masonic Memorial |
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| Talisman. Sacred Cities, Secret Faith. Graham Hancock and Robert Bauval: George Washington |
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| Talisman. Sacred Cities, Secret Faith. Graham Hancock and Robert Bauval: House of the Temple |
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| Talisman. Sacred Cities, Secret Faith. Graham Hancock and Robert Bauval: Egyptian Room |
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| Talisman. Sacred Cities, Secret Faith. Graham Hancock and Robert Bauval |
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| Talisman. Sacred Cities, Secret Faith. Graham Hancock and Robert Bauval |
