A brief note:  Since I think it’s important to take a holistic, macroscopic approach to subjects as multi-layered as these, I’ve taken the liberty of including not only pro-Masonic books, but anti-Masonic ones as well.  I do this for two reasons:  1) I think it’s important for members of the Brotherhood to be intimately familiar with some of the most recent criticisms laid against them, and 2) To consider all sides of an argument requires great patience and wisdom, two virtues most Masons aspire to attain, and 3) I believe one can always learn something of value from one’s critics.  Including a book on the list does not necessarily mean I endorse its views; it simply means I consider it to have some historical significance to the subject of Freemasonry.

            The list follows . . . .

1)English Freemasonry in its Period of Transition A.D. 1600-1700 by Francis de Paula  Castells.  This important 1931 book should be of especial interest to members of University Lodge #394, as it was written by the man who established the very first Masonic Lodge in the Philippines despite great resistance and hardship.  Most mainstream historians believe that Freemasonry came into existence in the early 1700’s.  This book demonstrates that the early 1700’s do not mark the birth of Freemasonry at all, but merely the beginning of its latest incarnation.

2)Brother of the Third Degree by Will L. Garver.  Published in 1894, this book (ostensibly a work of fiction, though based on some modicum of truth) tells the first person account of a man named Alphonso Colono and his struggles navigating a course through the first three degrees of Freemasonry.  Of interest for its facts and suggestions about the Masonic rites and rituals of the time period.

3) Freemasonry of the Ancient Egyptians by Manly P. Hall.  Hall was one of the most knowledgeable Masonic scholars of the 20^th century with over 150 books to his name.  This particular volume makes the convincing case that the origins of Masonic ritual can be traced at least as far back as Ancient Egypt.  “That the gods of Egypt were elements of a profound magical system and possessed a significance far different from that advanced by modern Egyptologists is certain.  The various deities of the Nile valley were elements of an elaborate metaphysical system, a kind of ceremonial Cabbala.”—Manly P. Hall

4) The Lost Keys of Freemasonry by Manly P. Hall.  At the age of twenty-two, long before he had ever been initiated into the Craft, Hall wrote this inspirational interpretation of the symbols inherent in the first three degrees of Freemasonry.

Return to Top

5) The Secret Destiny of America by Manly P. Hall.  One of my favorite books on the list, this book meticulously details the crucial role that Masonry played in the establishment of the United States of America.  If you have any interest in learning the true history of this country, beyond the half-truths you’re told in school, this is definitely the book to get.  A MUST-HAVE!

6) The Secret Teachings of All Ages by Manly P. Hall.  Originally titled An Encyclopedic Outline of Masonic, Hermetic, Qabbalistic and Rosicrucian Symbolical Philosophy:  Being an Interpretation of the Secret Teachings Concealed Within the Rituals, Allegories and Mysteries of All Ages, this exhaustive tome was first published in 1929 (its title later being shortened for obvious reasons).  Hands down, this is the most significant book on the list.  If there could ever be a Rosetta Stone written for popular consumption, this is definitely it.  For a concise overview of the great philosophical systems of the world and the role the Mystery Schools have consistently played in their development and perpetuation, this is the volume to read.  A MUST-HAVE!

7) Freemasonry and Catholicism by Max Heindel.  Though the ostensible purpose of this book is to chart out the similarities and differences between Freemasonry and Catholicism, its greatest value can be found in Chapters Two, Three, and Four which contain the most elegant and gripping interpretation of the Hiram Abiff legend I’ve yet come across.

8) At the Sign of the Square and Compasses by Geoffey Hodson.  A fascinating explication of Masonic rites from a Co-Masonic and Theosophical viewpoint.  (Co-Masonic lodges, which have been quite prevalent in Europe since the late 1800’s, have been growing in numbers in the United States since the early 1990’s.  Such lodges regularly initiate both men and women.)  Hodson is an expert in what C.W. Leadbeater would call “the Occult School” of Masonry. 

9) Gnosticism:  New Light on the Ancient Tradition of Inner Knowing by Stephan A. Hoeller.  As Robinson demonstrates in his book Born In Blood (see below), what we know as modern day Freemasonry probably grew out of the remnants of the Knights Templar.  Knight & Lomas, in their book The Hiram Key (see below), further demonstrate that the Knights Templar were probably followers of Gnosticism, an early Christian sect later declared heretical by the Roman Catholic Church.  As a result, I’ve included on the list the latest and most comprehensive overview of the history of Gnostic beliefs written by a scholar who is not only a Gnostic Bishop but also a 32^nd degree Freemason.

10) Secret Societies and Psychological Warfare by Michael A. Hoffman II.  This is the wild card in the deck.  Originally published in 1989, later updated in 2001, this book is the most curious and eccentric of the anti-Masonic books included on this list.  Highly influential among certain circles, I include it here for the sake of completism.  The part about the “hu-pigs” is the best.

11) The Hiram Key:  Pharoahs, Freemasons and the Discovery of the Secret Scrolls of Jesus by Christopher Knight and Robert Lomas.  Published in 1996, this is one of the best books on the history of the Brotherhood to appear in the past ten years.  Both excellent scholars, and Masons themselves, Knight & Lomas set out to research the hidden history of the Brotherhood, only to find themselves uncovering the true story of Jesus Christ.  They make an excellent case that Jesus and his brother James practiced the rites of Freemasonry.  Ultimately, they track down the corpses of Jubela, Jubelo, and Jubelum and Hiram Abiff himself.  A MUST-HAVE!

Return to Top

12) Jack the Ripper:  The Final Solution by Stephen Knight (no relation to Christopher).  This book caused quite a storm in the United Kingdom when it was first published back in 1976.  It contends that the Ripper killings were committed by a high-ranking Freemason named Sir William Gull, the personal physician to the Queen.  This basic premise was later used in a 2001 film entitled From Hell, starring Johnny Depp and Heather Graham.  Though I can’t vouch for the book’s historical accuracy, it does raise some intriguing questions worth considering seriously.

13) Ancient Mystic Rites by C.W. Leadbeater.  This book begins with an explication of the various “schools” of Masonry (i.e., “The Authentic School,” “The Anthropological School,” “The Mystical School,” and “The Occult School”), then proceeds to compare and contrast the various Mystery Schools of Egyptian, Cretan, Jewish, Greek, Roman, and European cultures, emphasizing the bonds that tie them all together.  The final chapter contains a brief history of the Co-Masonic Order.

14) The Hidden Life in Freemasonry by C.W Leadbeater.  A companion title to the above volume, this book seeks to emphasize the occult aspects of the Brotherhood from a Theosophical and Co-Masonic perspective.

15) Freemasonry and the Birth of Modern Science by Robert Lomas.  This is the newest book on the list, and also one of the most important.  In this convincing work of historical research, Lomas sets out to prove that in the late seventeenth century Freemasonry, supported by Charles II, was the guiding force behind the birth of modern science under the cover of Sir Robert Moray’s Royal Society, also known as the “Invisible College.”  As the jacket copy states: “At a time when superstition and magic governed reason, the repressive dogma of Christian belief silenced many, and where post-war loyalties ruined careers, these men forbade the discussion of religion and politics at their meetings.”  Thus was born the need for the formation of the Royal Society, whose members dared to operate in secret outside such strictures, and as a result gave birth to modern, experimental science.  A MUST-HAVE!

16) The Secret Architecture of Our Nation’s Capital by David Ovason.  To quote Publisher’s Weekly:  “In this audacious, erudite study, Ovason sets out to prove that Washington, D.C. was designed and built largely by Masonic architects and that they imprinted the beliefs of their brotherhood on the city’s layout.”

Return to Top

17) Morals and Dogma by Albert Pike.  The most well-known book about Freemasonry among Masons themselves, it is probably also the least read.  Impressively researched, beautifully written, this massive tome draws on sources far-flung to create a compendium of occult and philosophical thought that carefully explicates the underlying symbolism of each of the thirty-two degrees of Scottish Rite Freemasonry.

18) Born In Blood by John J. Robinson.  As mentioned above, this book attempts to prove that Freemasonry (as we know it today) grew out of the dying remnants of the Knights Templar after the vast majority of them were literally burned at the stake by the Catholic Church for holding beliefs that threatened the authority of the Roman Catholic Church.  The surviving Templars managed to save their rites and rituals from becoming totally extinct by going underground, then re-emerging later as the secret society known as the Freemasons.  A MUST-HAVE!

19) The Deadly Deception by Jim Shaw and Tom McKenney.  Another anti-Masonic book, the last on our list, co-written by a man who attained the 33^rd degree of the Scottish Rite before becoming a Born Again Christian and repudiating Freemasonry entirely.  I recommend taking a look at this book, if only to gauge the author’s reaction to Masonic ritual from a Born Again perspective.

20) The Illuminoids:  Secret Societies & Political Paranoia by Neal Wilgus.  This is a fun one.  Written in an easy, conversational manner, Wilgus traces the influence of secret societies throughout history.  When it was first published in 1978, Robert Anton Wilson (co-author of The Illuminatus! Trilogy) called this book, “. . . a damned fine piece of original and fearless historical research . . . .  Wilgus is to be commended for his wit and skepticism in a field too often dominated by humorless fearmongering.” If you’ve got a long plane ride or a free Saturday afternoon ahead of you sometime soon, I encourage you to track down a copy of this book through Amazon or Ebay and take a look at it.  Includes a mind-numbing, breathless chronology in the back that’s worth the price of admission alone.

21)A New Encyclopedia of Freemasonry by A. E. Waite.  An essential reference work that defines some of the most basic concepts of the Craft. 

22) In God’s Name by David Yallop.  A serious study, written by a mainstream reporter,  that investigates the death of Pope John Paul I.  I recommend this book for the excellent information it provides on the P-2 Masonic Lodge in Italy, perhaps the most infamous Masonic Lodge in Europe (despite the fact that it wasn’t even an official Lodge).  The P-2 Lodge was infiltrated by a criminal conspiracy led by a man named Licio Gelli who used the Lodge as a base of operations from which to stage a coup d’Etat against the government of Italy.  This was quite a huge scandal in the 1980’s and swept across the headlines in Europe like wildfire, though the case remains little known here in the United States.  For more information on the P-2 scandal, see Penny Lernoux’s 1984 book In Banks We Trust.

Return to Top