This books sheds light on freemasonry.
351132
Informative! This is a great read for those that no nothing of Freemasons. Without disclosing the fraternities best kept secrets this book helps the reader understand what it means to be a mason.
3021868
A very enjoyable and absorbing book which touches on the conspiracy theory of the influence of the Freemasons on the formation of the United States of America. The book is well written, suspenseful and has that element that makes you want to move onto the next page see what's next. A recommended read
2903998
A prolific author and Masonic philosopher, The Secret Psychology of Freemasonry is quite possibly the most comprehensive work ever written on the Ancient Craft.  Integrating subconscious communications, personality archetypes, Craft symbolism, and enlightenment philosophy into ancient mystical traditions, Cliff Porter exemplifies the true purpose of Masonry  - that of a transformative art.

Undaunted by Anti-Masonic criticism, Porter offers no apology for Masonry's culture of secrecy, instead he propounds the sublime purpose (and historical necessity) of silence.  Whether you are a newly made apprentice or a seasoned Past Master, Porter's insightful perspectives on Masonry's symbols, and traditions is of great benefit for those in search of truth.
3919769
Brother Bizzack is right on target having compiled extensive research, addressing the realities of today's lodges and systematically breaking down and illustrating; what may have worked in the past doesn't necessarily translate to what is needed or will work best in Freemasonry.  I believe he is right. Freemasonry is in the midst of a paradigm shift as men are expecting more from the lodge they petition and become members.

It is time to address the needs, get the issues out in the open and be candid with each other in a brotherly love sense of the way while not sugar coating the realities.  Lodges must be flexible, willing to try new things as the hunger for more activities focusing on fraternalism and quality Masonic Education are some of the driving forces of bretren today in addition to that of quality experience and ritual.  As Masons we should seek and accept truth as the evidence based work presented brother Bizzack serves as a much needed Wake Up Call to our Ancient and Honorable Fraternity.
2712949
While I disagree with the fundamental premise of the book (that the origins of Freemasonry in the modern sense of the term can be dated to the middle of the 17th century in Scotland--my current research indicates a much earlier origin for modern Freemasonry, early 16th century Florence, or even earlier), this book is fundamentally sound, well-researched, and also very well-written in a non-pedantic, engaging, clear, and even witty style. I would recommend it highly for anyone looking for a good general introduction to the history of Freemasonry. Nota bene: it does not include an in-depth examination of the rituals or beliefs of Freemasonry--this is not its purpose--it is a history of the early days of the movement, and, as such, give some very welcome attention to the social and political context (e.g. Scotland vs. England, working-class vs. gentry) in which this movement arose--a topic which is often neglected in other histories of Freemasonry.
925993
This book represents a great historical artifact of the anti-masonic movement of the 19th Century.  While supposed detailed descriptions of Masonic ritual abound on the internet today, at the time this tell-all book was meant to shock a nation where many influential politicians belonged to the Masonic Fraternity.  William Morgan paid a high price for publishing this book after being turned away from membership in a Masonic Lodge.  His infamous murder sparked not only an anti-masonic movement, but also an anti-masonic political party.

While this book claims to describe in detail the rituals and practice of Freemasonry, any true Mason will tell you that the true meaning of Masonry is not found in the ritual itself, but in its deeper meaning that one uncovers as they learn the significance of the ritual.  The process of becoming a Mason is a life-long journey of learning and a desire for wisdom.  Books like these often twist the meaning of ritual and misinterpret the symbol by an overly literal interpretation.  The Masonic Fraternity is not a sinister pagan society, but an esoteric society based of the philosophy of symbols.

While I respect the place this book has in history, and certainly do not condone the actions of a small group of Masons in perpetuating the murder of William Morgan, I don't recommend this book for those who want to know more about Freemasonry in general.  I would recommend several books, also available for free, by Albert G. Mackey, who was a Mason.  As a rule, I don't rely on 'anti' books to give me an accurate picture of any religion or philosophy, whether it be anti-Catholic, anti-Muslim, or anti-Mormon.

As for the Kindle version, it is a standard free version.  Obviously there are few bells and whistles, but the text is alright, not a lot of problems.  You can find this all over the internet for free, but this probably works best for your Kindle.  But if you do download this, do yourself a favor and download 'The Symbolism of Freemasonry' and start there instead.

3 Stars because there are better free books about Freemasonry available on Amazon.
2694618
I am not a Mason although many of my family members are, this book may be considered to disclose more than some members wish. For those of us not a part of Freemasonry it is very interesting. A good read for those interested in the subject, I suspect good for the membership as well.
411586
Although I m not a Mason;I have been intrigued with the history of what the author calls "The 'mysteries' of the oldest fraternal organization in the world".I have read many books on the Masons,Knights Templar as well as present day Freemasons,but it  seems historians are convinced that once men started shaping stones and building structures ;organizations began forming, whose purpose was to train,direct and control these endeavors. Some think maybe these organizations began at the time of the building of the Pyramids;but it is likely they existed many centuries before that. The other question remains ,is whether the Freemasons of today have direct lineage with those ancient organizations.
 Allen E.Roberts has spent over 40 years ,held many positions and honors in Masonry;and studied the history and written much about the Masons. I believe he has answered these hundreds of questions with as much knowledge and as factually as possible. He also shows, that as far as he is concerned,many questions are unanswerable ,and may remain so.
 While not necessarily a history,the book is loaded with historical information and gives great detail on many things that would take an unbelievable amount of time for one to research on their own.
 He deals with the reasons,as well as the problems of "secrecy",why the Masons have had periods of great growth and popularity as well as periods of diminishing ranks as well as great persecutions and outright banishment.
 Although the book does deal with a lot of the ancient past,it mainly deals with Freemasonry in Colonial Amaerica ,up to and including the present. I always knew that many important people in Politics,Military,Arts ,Science,Law,Business, etc. in America were Masons. At any one time,while leaders might all be Masons ,they could be on opposite sides of issues. You will be amazed at all the famous people in American history who were Masons as well as how involved they were in building the country. Whether you look at the times of the Revolutionary,Colonial,Civil War or any other militry period;there were Masons prominent on all sides. The same with Politics,there were Masons in all Parties and even opposing each other for offices throuhout,including the Presidency.
 Masonic symbols appear all over the place. Reading this book will show you how widespread they are as well as explaining the reasons for them.
 The amount of questions that can be asked are endless,and the answers may not all agree;but nonetheless they are intrigueing.
  Included at the end of the book is a good Bibliography and the extensive Index would be very helpful for foture reference.
  Anyone who has an interest in history ,and Freemasonry in particular,will find this an excellent read as well as a great resource.
3613381
This book was purchased for my husband.  He is extremely enthraled with the book.  He takes it to a few of his lodge meetings and on occassions I will hear him speaking to one of his  brethrens about the book.
2266123
Though somewhat tedious at times, this is one of the books to go to if you really want to know about the history of the Knights Templar and of Freemasonry.

The first part of the book deals with the history of The Templars, the warrior monks, who were one time protectors of the Church, and then became its biggest target.

The second part of the book deals with the ties of modern Freemasonry to those Knights, and discusses symbolism in the rituals and rites of modern Freemasonry.

Mr. Robinson goes in depth into the story of religious persecution, the Crusades, and their effect on bringing out the medieval secret society that would later publicly emerge as The Freemasons in 1717.

Some people may accuse this book of being somewhat anti-Catholic, but the tone really sets up the reasons why Freemasonry came to be, and why one of the fundamental tennants of it is religious tolerance and freedom of persecution.
2600541
I read this book (the paperback version--yes, it's out) right after reading Bloodline of the Holy Grail by Laurence Gardner, and the two make a very interesting set.  They contradict each other in places (particularly concerning James the Just, younger brother of Jesus) but overall they complement each other.  The authors of this work, having joined the Masons, set out to find out what the rituals they went through really mean and where they came from. The key question they attempt to answer is, who was Hiram Abif, a key figure in Masonic ritual, supposedly in charge of building Solomon's temple who supposedly died rather than reveal the secrets of a master mason to three of his workers who tried to get them by intimidation.  They came up with some interesting theories which I would dearly love to see expanded upon, but some of their supposed solutions hang on very tenous evidence and dubious interpretations.  I'm sure they're right to trace the origins of Freemasonry to the Knights Templar, who had to go underground after being declared heretics on the infamous Friday the 13th of October 1307.  (See Born in Blood by John J. Robinson.) They also seem to be on solid ground in tracing some rituals and traditions back to the early Christians of Jerusalem and the Essenes by way of scrolls probably discovered by the Templars while excavating the ruins of Herod's temple.  Their attempt to trace them even further back to the murder of Pharoah Seqenenre (whom they see as the prototype for Hiram Abif) is much shakier (tho they may be onto something).  Even shakier  is their attempt to blame the murder on Levi and Rueben, two sons of the Jewish patriarch Jacob/Israel (and thus the eponymous founders of one of the tribes of Israel and of the Levite priests of Israel).  The chronology is all wrong, and their only basis for this claim is their interpretation of a single ambigous verse in Genesis. The later chapters of the book, which are very interesting,  are devoted to a detailed examination of the Chapel of Rosslyn in Scotland, which seems to be a Templar/Masonic reproduction of Herod's temple, and they predict that at least some of the scrolls the Templars found in Jerusalem are buried in vaults beneath the floor of this building. They say there is some support for the idea of excavating the site, and I certainly hope that they're right, for what they find could be even more important than the Dead Sea Scrolls!
3332996
The table of contents can be a bit difficult to understand without some prior knowledge of the subject of Freemasonry. It provides information in a story telling like way. There are footnotes for deeper study if interested. It does a good job of bring things together.
4100526
Hannah describes many masonic rituals in order to demonstrate their religious and quasi-Christian nature. He argues that Freemasonry is an apostate Christian sect.
420935
It's not well known outside of the LIW community how deep the Ingalls family's connection to freemasonry was. In the first book of its kind, Teresa Lynn unpacks these ties beautifully.  Little Lodges on the Prairie is informative in it's approach and entertaining in its style.  Worth the read.
4642567
You may not agree with the supposition that the OTO is an elite ranking of Freemasonry, though several 32 degree Masons I know of are Crowleyites. I don't suspect that many military or governmental freemasons go to practice sodomy sex magick after drinking with their buddies at National Sojourners'  gatherings.

That said, Craig Heimbichner's book is well-sourced and has a great amount of intriguing information not found elsewhere, both in scare books by Fundamentalist Xtians and hagiographies by Thelemites.

Well worth a read!
1434635
This is an excellent guide for anyone wanting to build whatever organization they belong to, not just the Masons although it is all based on Masons ( Freemasonry).
822206
In Freemasonry far too many believe "the other guy" should do the work (such as publishing a book) while they sit back and throw stones or, maybe, do not pretend to even notice the work done by a younger Brother. Shame on them! Brother Sam Friedman has published a fine book where he shares his ideas on what can be done to improve the lodge experience. Well done, Bro. Friedman! I hope to see many more books from you.