# Suggest some good books on Freemasonry? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 27, 2007, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-some-good-books-on-freemasonry/420737 "2007-09-27T21:34:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2007, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-some-good-books-on-freemasonry/420737/1 "2007-09-27T21:34:31Z")
My boyfriend just made master mason, and I can’t afford to get him the ring he has on hold (well, that and I’m not sure what I’d tell the jeweler to tell him), so I thought maybe I’d get him something really good on the book front. I guess I’d take fiction or non-fiction, although I know he’s read _The Man Who Would Be King_. If there was a really good history that wasn’t all Time Life, that’d be good - rigorous but also good reading. I don’t want anything that purports to “tell secrets” or anything, I think he’d find that tacky. Plus, he’s supposed to know them already. Also, nothing eye-rolling and Dan Brown-ish. We’re armchair historians and we don’t like crap. Any ideas? ---
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2007, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-some-good-books-on-freemasonry/420737/2 "2007-09-27T22:24:07Z")
I’ve got nothing scholarly for you, but masons figure prominently in Alexandre Dumas’ novel “Joseph Balsamo”, a historical romance and first book in the “Memoirs of a medical doctor” series. The plot of Joseph Balsamo is intrigue at the court of Louis XV of France, where Joseph Balsamo aka Count of Cagliostro tries to manipulate powers at court from behind the scenes to discredit the monarchy and bring about a republic. In the humorous vein, there’s Foucault’s Pendulum by Umberto Eco, which elegantly (IMHO) skewers overly credulous members of secret societies with occult beliefs. It is slightly “Dan Brown-ish” in tone though. Then there’s always the Stonecutters episode of the Simpsons. And the Architect sketch from Monty Python. Upon reflection, sorry, I got nothin’. ---
**Author:** ![CateAyo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/50afbb/32.png) [@CateAyo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CateAyo)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2007, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-some-good-books-on-freemasonry/420737/3 "2007-09-27T23:09:21Z")
Anything by Albert Gallatin Mackey is legitimate. See, for example, > **[Online Bookstore: Books, NOOK ebooks, Music, Movies & Toys](https://www.barnesandnoble.com/)** > > Barnes & Noble’s online bookstore for books, NOOK ebooks & magazines. Shop music, movies, toys & games, too. Receive free shipping with your Barnes & Noble Membership. I was gifted a leather bound “The History of Freemasonry” when I rose to Master. Hawk ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2007, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-some-good-books-on-freemasonry/420737/4 "2007-09-27T23:41:03Z")
Robert Anton Wilson’s [Historical Illuminatus Chronicles.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Historical_Illuminatus_Chronicles) In 18th-Century Naples, young Sigismundo Celine goes through several Masonic initiation rituals; the meaning and purpose of each are interpreted. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2007, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-some-good-books-on-freemasonry/420737/5 "2007-09-27T23:59:51Z")
[QUOTE=CateAyo] Anything by Albert Gallatin Mackey is legitimate. See, for example, [http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/results.asp?ATH=albert+mackey&z=y](http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/results.asp?ATH=albert+mackey&z=y) I was gifted a leather bound “The History of Freemasonry” when I rose to Master. Hawk [/QUOTE] Wikipedia says he was at the Grand Lodge here in South Carolina! Do you think the BF would like a 19th century edition of one of his books? (Is his “Manual of the Lodge” appropriate as a gift from a non-Mason? I mean, it can’t be too secret if you can buy it on Amazon, can it?) ---
**Author:** ![Bobotheoptimist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/919ad9/32.png) [@Bobotheoptimist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bobotheoptimist)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2007, 12:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-some-good-books-on-freemasonry/420737/6 "2007-09-28T00:21:19Z")
Some of my favorites - _The Craft and Its Symbols_ by Allen Roberts. This was given to me by the Lodge when I was raised. Primarily for family members to learn a little about us. _The Temple and the Lodge_ by Baigent and Leigh. One (or both) of these fella’s sued old whatsisface _Da Vinci Code_ author. Pretty much should be viewed as fiction, although they take themselves more seriously. _Born in Blood: The Lost Secrets of Freemasonry_ by John J. Robinson. Several steps above _Temple and Lodge_, IMHO. A lot of speculation, but not as sensational. And, of course, _Morals and Dogma_ by Albert Pike. Written in the rambling prose popular in the 19th century, yet a fascinating read nonetheless. I second the Mackey recommendation. If he’s a scholarly type, and you can gather the required info, a membership in the Philalethes Society is pretty cool. **Bobo** AF&AM, AASR(32) ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2007, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-some-good-books-on-freemasonry/420737/7 "2007-09-28T01:06:29Z")
How is A. E. Waite’s Encyclopedia of Freemasonry? Also, THE MAN WHO WOULD BE KING is also available on DVD! Not recommended- the DVDs FROM HELL and MURDER BY DECREE. ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2007, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-some-good-books-on-freemasonry/420737/8 "2007-09-28T03:26:48Z")
I second Born in Blood. ---
**Author:** ![Bobotheoptimist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/919ad9/32.png) [@Bobotheoptimist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bobotheoptimist)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2007, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-some-good-books-on-freemasonry/420737/9 "2007-09-28T03:33:56Z")
[QUOTE=FriarTed] How is A. E. Waite’s Encyclopedia of Freemasonry? [/QUOTE] I found it dry with a weak plot and little character development. 😃 Honestly, I thumbed through it a bit then stuck it on a shelf and I haven’t looked at it in years. ---
**Author:** ![CateAyo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/50afbb/32.png) [@CateAyo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CateAyo)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2007, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suggest-some-good-books-on-freemasonry/420737/10 "2007-09-28T23:34:02Z")
[QUOTE=Zsofia] Wikipedia says he was at the Grand Lodge here in South Carolina! Do you think the BF would like a 19th century edition of one of his books? (Is his “Manual of the Lodge” appropriate as a gift from a non-Mason? I mean, it can’t be too secret if you can buy it on Amazon, can it?) [/QUOTE] The book doesn’t really divulge any secrets but it is an interesting history, especially in that he is from SC as your BF is. I haven’t read his Manual of the Lodge, but I am inclined to believe that if he communicates secrets it is in such an esoteric manner that the non-member wouldn’t get the reference.