Dan Jones is the New York Times bestselling author of The Templars, The Plantagenets, Wars of the Roses, and Magna Carta. He wrote and presented the popular Netflix series Secrets of Great British Castles and appeared alongside George R.R. Martin in the official HBO film exploring the real history behind Game of Thrones. He is the historical consultant to Knightfall, an A&E drama on the legend of the Templars produced by Jeremy Renner.
"When it comes to rip-roaring medieval narratives, Jones has few
peers, and in The Templars he finds the perfect subject. The
warrior monks have always appealed to conspiracy theorists, and
although Jones strips away the myths, he has great fun recounting
their bloodthirsty crusading exploits." -- The Sunday Times,
History Book of the Year "Dan Jones gives no credence to the
conspiratorial fantasies that have been spun around the Templars
over the years . . . His aim is to present a gripping historical
narrative, and in this he succeeds . . . Religions collide and
atrocities abound. Cries of 'Allahu akhbar' pierce the din of
battle. The power of states is threatened, or seen to be
threatened, by unaccountable forces with global tentacles.
Information is unreliable and easily manipulated, allowing
conspiracy theories to take root and spread." - Cullen Murphy, The
Washington Post "Dan Jones has created a gripping page-turner out
of the dramatic history of the Templars, from their spiritual
warrior beginnings until their tragic destruction by the French
king and the pope. It is genuinely moving and a chilling
contemporary warning about the abuse of power through persecution
and lies."
-- Philippa Gregory, author of The White Queen "They combined the
warrior code of aristocratic knights with the poverty and religious
devotion of monks. ...In Jones's bravura account, this tension
between aristocratic killer and humble monk shadows the Templar
story. Jones's fast-paced history is laced with tales of blood and
bravery, disaster and victory. . . . Drawing on Christian and
Muslim sources, he carries the Templars through the crusades with
clarity and verve. This is unabashed narrative history, fast-paced
and full of incident." - The Sunday Times "Gripping... Jones tells
the story of the Templars with energy and verve, regalling readers
with well-chosen details and anecdotes. The Templars became poster
boys of the early middle ages, famed for their piety and their
military prowess. It was an intoxicating combination... The
author's ambition, he says, is 'to write a book that will entertain
as well as inform.' He has done precisely that." - Peter Frankopan,
The Telegraph
"Business chiefs listen up, especially in the world of big tech
where egos are becoming rather inflated . . . There's a vital
message for those who get too powerful tucked into this new book:
One day you'll draw the ire of someone more powerful, and they will
attempt to destroy you. The caution, although not explicit, comes
in the epic story of the warrior monks known as the Knights Templar
whose activities have given rise to much speculation and theories,
some reasonable and some absurd. Expert history writer Dan Jones
digs deep for the facts and chronicles their history... Jones
recounts the gruesome battles in the Holy Land where the warriors
fought to either take or hold key positions. If you have any
illusion that war was ever glamorous, then these passages should be
a quick antidote." - Simon Constable, Forbes "The story of the
Templars, the ultimate holy warriors, is an extraordinary saga of
fanaticism, bravery, treachery and betrayal, and in Dan Jones they
have a worthy chronicler. Templars is a wonderful book!"
-- Bernard Cornwell, author of The Last Kingdom "This is a
fascinating story of fanaticism, set in a land still known for its
brutality and strife. Jones is an entertainer, but also a fine
historian who knows how to render serious scholarship into
accessible prose. Seldom does one find serious history that is so
easy to read." -- The Times (London) "A fresh, muscular and
compelling history of the ultimate military-religious crusading
order, combining sensible scholarship with narrative swagger,
featuring a cast of exuberantly monstrous sword swingers spattering
Christian and Islamic blood from Spain to Jerusalem."
-- Simon Sebag Montefiore author of Jerusalem: The Biography
"In this thrillingly lucid account, Dan Jones demystifies the
Templars in a story spanning hundreds of years and countless
rulers, knights and archbishops, a seemingly disproportionate
number of whom ended up beheaded . . . Anyone who has read Jones's
earlier medieval chronicles will know what to expect here:
fast-paced narrative history depicted with irresistible verve,
bloody battle scenes and moments of laugh-out-loud wit. There are
contemporary parallels, too, with the Templars eventually being
laid low by the medieval equivalent of a kind of 'fake news':
anti-Templar propaganda spread by the church. This is another
triumphant tale from a historian who writes as addictively as any
page-turning novelist."
--The Guardian "Thank God this book is sane... Jones tells the
engrossing story of an ascetic order of warrior knights chiefly
dedicated to the defense of pilgrims on the road to Jerusalem...
Templars is based on a wide-ranging and thorough research and
relies overwhelmingly on primary sources... It reads like a
morality tale."
- Robert Irwin, Literary Review "An up-close look at the legendary
band of Crusaders. Jones examines the storied Templars, an
organization of quasi-monastic warriors who rose to fame and power
in the midst of the Crusades, only to rapidly collapse in
questionable scandals . . . A meaty, well-researched history
replete with primary source quotes [and] accessible to general
readers. An exceptional introduction to the Templars."
--Kirkus Reviews (starred) "With engaging liveliness . . . Jones
chronicles the Templars' actual record of great military
achievement, fiduciary responsibility, exceptional faithfulness,
and lasting cultural significance."
--Booklist Praise for Dan Jones's The Plantagenets: "A real life
Game of Thrones, as dramatic and blood-soaked as any work of
fantasy . . . Fast-paced and accessible, The Plantagenets is
old-fashioned storytelling and will be particularly appreciated by
those who like their history red in tooth and claw." --The Wall
Street Journal "The Plantagenets is rich in detail and
scene-setting. . . . The Plantagenets' saga is the story of how
English monarchs learned, or failed to learn, how to be kings, and
how the English people, commoners and barons alike, learned how to
limit their powers." --USA Today "Jones has brought the
Plantagenets out of the shadows, revealing them in all their epic
heroism and depravity. His is an engaging and readable account . .
. researched with exacting standards. [A] compelling reading."
--The Washington Post "Outstanding. Majestic in its sweep,
compelling in its storytelling, this is narrative history at its
best. A thrilling dynastic history of royal intrigues, violent
skullduggery, and brutal warfare across two centuries of British
history."
--Simon Sebag Montefiore, author of Young Stalin "Some of the
greatest stories in all of English history . . . rich in pageantry
and soaked in blood."
--Lewis Lapham, Lapham's Quarterly "Dan Jones's epic portrait of
the medieval royals is a timely reminder that things haven't always
been so rosy for those on the throne." --GQ Praise for Dan Jones's
The Wars of the Roses: "Exhilarating, epic, blood-and-roses history
. . . Thrilling. There is fine scholarly intuition on display here
and a mastery of the grand narrative; it is a supremely skillful
piece of storytelling." --The Sunday Telegraph "An engrossing read
and thoroughly enjoyable." --The Spectator "If you're a fan of Game
of Thrones or The Tudors, then Dan Jones' swashbucklingly
entertaining slice of medieval history will be right up your alley.
. . . Every bit as entertaining and readable as his previous
blockbuster The Plantagenets." --Daily Express "Jones is a born
storyteller, peopling the terrifying uncertainties of each moment
with a superbly drawn cast of characters and powerfully evoking the
brutal realities of civil war." --The Evening Standard "Jones tells
a good story. That is a good thing, since storytelling has gone out
of favor among so many historians. . . . His delightful wit is as
ferocious as the dreadful violence he describes."--The Times
(London) Praise for Dan Jones's Magna Carta: "Lively and
excellent."
--The New York Times "Excellent and very well crafted."
--The New York Review of Books "Dan Jones has an enviable gift for
telling a dramatic story while at the same time inviting us to
consider serious topics like liberty and the seeds of
representative government."
--Antonia Frasier
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