Otto Rahn led a life of incredible adventure in the South of France in the early 1930s. The Hessian language scholar is said to have found runic Grail tablets in the Pyrenean grottoes, unearthed as a result of his phenomenal scholastic detective work in decoding the hidden messages within the medieval Grail masterwork Parsifal. The fabulous artifacts identified by Rahn were believed by Himmler to include the Grail Cup, the Spear of Destiny, the Tablets of Moses, the Ark of the Covenant, the Sword and Harp of David, the Sacred Candelabra and the Golden Urn of Manna. There are those who believe that Rahn was a Nazi guru who wielded immense influence on his elders and “betters” within the Hitler regime, persuading them that the Grail was the Sacred Book of the Aryans, which, once obtained, would justify their extreme political theories and revivify the ancient Germanic myths. But things are never as they seem, and as new facts emerge about Otto Rahn a far more extraordinary story unfolds. Is it possible that—far from being an SS adept—Otto Rahn was a key defender of freedoms in a time of immense chaos and cruelty, in short a modern day Argonaut who sought the Golden Fleece to rekindle the dimming Light of humanity?

OTTO RAHN AND THE QUEST FOR THE HOLY GRAIL: The Amazing Life of the Real “Indiana Jones,” by Nigel Graddon. 384 pages. 6x9 Paperback. Illustrated. Appendix. Index.