michael j cooper michael j cooper

The Rabbi's Knight


The Rabbi's Knight

"With terrific insights from Kabbalah, the appearance of famous historical characters and unexpected twists and turns that keep you hooked, The Rabbi's Knight is an exciting and historically fascinating read."
   —Andrew Kaplan, bestselling author

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Read more praise
Read an excerpt
Listen to Michael's presentation at The Common Wealth Club
The Rabbi's Knight on The Big Thrill
The Rabbi's Knight in East Bay Times
The Rabbi's Knight in The Orinda News (p. 12)
References & further reading

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Praise

“The wonderful breadth of the tale, the language, the time period are all captured… we tread the streets of Jerusalem, stand before the campfires, and engage in hand to hand combat as our hero holds steadfast to all that is right. A compelling read. Best book of the year by far.”
   —Suspense Magazine (Read the full review)

"I found The Rabbi's Knight fascinating as a historical novel, thrilling in the twists and turns of the story, and delightful in the manner in which important aspects and concepts of Kabbalah are presented to a general readership."
   —Ronit Meroz, Ph.D., Department of Hebrew Culture Studies—Division of Kabbalah and Hasidism, Tel Aviv University

"By sheer coincidence, I had just finished Thomas Asbridge's general history of the Crusades when I discovered Michael Cooper's The Rabbi's Knight. Here is a well-written historical adventure story set in the twilight of the Crusades, but with an intriguing Jewish twist. In this unusual tale, a war-weary Knight Templar, Jonathan St. Clair, joins forces with the noted Rabbi Samuel of Baghdad on a quest to decipher an ancient inscription and uncover a hidden secret of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. With terrific insights from Kabbalah, the appearance of famous historical characters and unexpected twists and turns that keep you hooked, The Rabbi's Knight is an exciting and historically fascinating read."
   —Andrew Kaplan, bestselling author of two great thriller series: The Homeland novels and the Scorpion series in addition to the international best sellers: War of the Raven and Dragonfire

"This stunning mix of history, theology and mysticism makes for an amazing novel."
   —Rabbi Gordon Freeman, Ph.D., Rabbi Emeritus, Congregation B'nai Shalom

"The Rabbi's Knight is both a saga and a journey that takes the reader from a place of seeming incongruity, scheming conflicts, even treachery, to the recognition of a shared vision. The divisiveness of different religious traditions is pitted against the quest for a common good, an "Upper Jerusalem," that remains out of reach, but still within sight."
   —John W. Bennison, Rel. D., Leader Pathways Faith Community

"The Rabbi's Knight is a superb historical thriller with Knights Templar, Medieval Jewish scholars, and Moslems cartographers working together to unlock the secrets of Jerusalem's Temple Mount. The unfolding story sweeps you away...this riveting and beautifully written book is well worth reading.
   —Edward G. Abinader, MD, Emeritus Professor of Cardiology, Medical Faculty Technion, Haifa, Israel

"Writing historical fiction . . . requires attention to detail and fact that allows the text to be true to the period and setting. The Rabbi's Knight is a remarkable example of how this is done effectively . . . a wonderful, exciting, and most entertaining story."
   —Rabbi David Zisenwine, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus of Education, Tel Aviv University. Chair of the Israel Jewish Educational Research Association

"The Rabbi's Knight is a brilliant read, with such a fascinating and well researched historical context, combining faith, mystery, romance and suspense in a delightful package."
   —Richard Meryon, Former executive director of Christian Viewpoint for Men, instructor of engineering at The Britannia Royal Naval College, and CEO of The Garden Tomb, Jerusalem, Israel

"The Rabbi's Knight is a suspenseful historical novel . . . may be placed in an extensive Anglophone literature about the Holy Land, including Walter Scott's Ivanhoe and Herman Melville's Clarel: A Poem and Pilgrimage in the Holy Land. More than a good read, The Rabbi's Knight intriguingly insinuates a way out of the current cycle of violence in Israel-Palestine."
   —Beverly R. Voloshin, Ph.D., Professor of English, Department of English Language and Literature, San Francisco State University