Begun in the early 1990's, some of the research conducted by Graham Hancock and Robert Bauval for The Master Game: Unmasking the Secrets Rulers of the Wold was previously released in an earlier book titled Talisman. The Master Game is a bulked-up and more comprehensive work, expanding and updating the material for a 21st Century perspective.
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 first 90% 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. The last chapters, however, deal with the modern Israeli/Palestinian conflict and tend to delve deeper into the realm of conspiracy views. Overall, the tome lays out an original idea, and is a free-thinking and enjoyable 600-page sojourn.
Egyptian Pyramids- Giza: The Master Game. Graham Hancock
Hermetic Alchemy: The Master Game. Graham Hancock
Isis Unveiled - Louvre: The Master Game. Graham Hancock
Alexander the Great: The Master Game. Graham Hancock
The Knights Templar: The Master Game. Graham Hancock
Temple Mount - Jerusalem: The Master Game. Graham Hancock
Sir Christopher Wren: The Master Game. Graham Hancock
The Structure of Freemasonry: The Master Game. Graham Hancock
Count Cagliostro: The Master Game. Graham Hancock
Count Cagliostro: The Master Game. Graham Hancock
The Coronation of Napoleon Bonaparte: The Master Game. Graham Hancock
Loge Bonaparte: The Master Game. Graham Hancock
Napoleon Bonaparte Enthroned: The Master Game. Graham Hancock
Paris, France: The Master Game. Graham Hancock
Washington, DC: The Master Game. Graham Hancock
The Statue of Liberty: The Master Game. Graham Hancock
Washington, DC: The Master Game. Graham Hancock
Benjamin Franklin, Freemason: The Master Game. Graham Hancock
George Washington Masonic Ceremony: The Master Game. Graham Hancock
George Washington, Freemason: The Master Game. Graham Hancock
George Washington Masonic Memorial: The Master Game. Graham Hancock
IM Pei - Pyramid, Louvre: The Master Game. Graham Hancock
Albert Pike, Scottish Rite Freemason: The Master Game. Graham Hancock
House of the Temple. Washington, DC: The Master Game. Graham Hancock
Missing Obelisk. Luxor, Egypt: The Master Game. Graham Hancock
Obelisk. Paris, France: The Master Game. Graham Hancock
Washington Monument: The Master Game. Graham Hancock
Harry S. Truman, Freemason: The Master Game. Graham Hancock
Robert Bauval: The Master Game. Graham Hancock
Pyramids. Egypt. Millennium: The Master Game. Graham Hancock
Robert Bauval, Zahi Hawass and Graham Hancock: The Master Game. Graham Hancock
Graham Hancock: The Master Game. Graham Hancock
Robert Bauval and Isis: The Master Game. Graham Hancock
"The Adoration of the Mystic Lamb" by Jan van Eyck, better known as the Ghent Altarpiece, was completed in 1432 and has not had much peace in it's subsequent 583 years. It has been looted, burned, smuggled, forged and thankfully, rescued. In Stealing the Mystic Lamb: The True Story of the World's Most Coveted Masterpiece, Noah Charney takes an insightful and expert look at "the illicit whirlwind tour of Jan van Eyck's masterpiece, which is, in itself, a journey through the history of art theft." The text examines the origins, subjects, innovations and creative process involved in the Ghent Altarpiece, which is considered to be the stylistic bridge between Medieval and Renaissance painting. Much attention is given to the artist himself, Jan van Eyck, and the mysteries surrounding him. However, most of the well-written tome is dedicated to the various misfortunes that have befallen the Lamb. The altarpiece escaped destruction at the hands of torch-wielding Protestants, was looted by Napoleon, dismembered and sold to the Germans, hidden during World War I, had a panel stolen and ransomed in 1934, was looted by the Nazis in World War II and rescued by the Allies (The Monuments Men) in the Alt Aussee salt mine in 1945. With the exception of the one stolen panel (or perhaps not), the altarpiece is whole again and back in it's home at Sain Bavo Cathedral. Charney takes great care in his writing, providing equal balance between the acts of theft and efforts of recovery. Wonderful portrayals of the people, both good and evil, offer a greater depth to the story. Beyond a straightforward historical book, the pages offer a picture of the humanity and obsessive desire that have pervaded and surrounded this great masterpiece since it's creation.
The Ghent Altarpiece by Jan van Eyck (open): Stealing the Mystic Lamb. Noah Charney
The Ghent Altarpiece by Jan van Eyck (closed): Stealing the Mystic Lamb. Noah Charney
Noah Charney in Ghent: Stealing the Mystic Lamb. Noah Charney
Jan van Eyck: Stealing the Mystic Lamb. Noah Charney
detail Ghent Altarpiece: Stealing the Mystic Lamb. Noah Charney
Napoleon Bonaparte: Stealing the Mystic Lamb. Noah Charney
Stolen Judges panel, 1934: Stealing the Mystic Lamb. Noah Charney
Judges panel, replacement?: Stealing the Mystic Lamb. Noah Charney
Adolf Hitler: Stealing the Mystic Lamb. Noah Charney
The Ghent Altarpiece in Alt Aussee salt mine WWII: Stealing the Mystic Lamb. Noah Charney
The Ghent Altarpiece in Alt Aussee salt mine WWII: Stealing the Mystic Lamb. Noah Charney
The Ghent Altarpiece in Alt Aussee salt mine WWII: Stealing the Mystic Lamb. Noah Charney
The Ghent Altarpiece in Alt Aussee salt mine WWII: Stealing the Mystic Lamb. Noah Charney
George Clooney- Ghent Altarpiece- The Monuments Men: Stealing the Mystic Lamb. Noah Charney
Saint Bavo Cathedral, Ghent: Stealing the Mystic Lamb. Noah Charney
The Ghent Altarpiece: Stealing the Mystic Lamb. Noah Charney
The Lamb of God, the Ghent Altarpiece by Jan van Eyck: Stealing the Mystic Lamb. Noah Charney
Noah Charney: Stealing the Mystic Lamb. Noah Charney
