This book tracks the Knights Templar from their inception as warrior-monks protecting religious pilgrims, to the later fascination with their secret rituals and incredible wealth, which ultimately led to their dissolution and the seizing of their assets. For a certain period, the Templars--the most powerful military religious order of the Middle Ages--secretly guarded the Shroud of Turin. Known in its intimate nature by only a handful of the order's...

"Paul Hegeman highlights the music of renowned Estonian composer Arvo Pärt while attempting to unveil the mystery around the purportedly reclusive writer of such famed works as "Tabula Rasa," "Fratres," "Trivium" and "Für Alina," all stirringly performed here. But Hegeman, who also shot the film (with Auke Dijkstra), eschews a typical biographical recounting of the 83-year-old maestro's prolific life; we learn little of his past, his process or...