The Freemasons: A History of the World's Most Powerful Secret Society

If you want the inside History of the Free Masons then this is the book for you. That said it can be a little dry a lot of history. But, thats what its all about the correct history (as the author writes it). Anyway after reading this book you will come away with a better understanding of the Freemasons in world history.

A well written, thoughtful and researched history book with a wealth of data about Freemasonry and Freemasons in many countries. The greatest defect of this book is its sensationalist subtitle, since it implies that Freemasonry is organized at the international level and also that it is so powerful - the contents of the book, particularly his chapter on the French Revolution, belies this notion.

Jasper Ridley's Freemasons is probably the most objective and fairly written historical account of the history of Freemasonry. The book starts with the likely origins of the Freemasons and their original lodges and traces the organization all the way to present-day Freemasonry. It looks at the roll of the Freemasons in early modern Europe, their relationship with monarchies, their roll in revolutionary South America, their roll in the United States, and their roll today. For a book on the world's poster child secret society, Jasper Ridley's approach is very fair. He presents Freemason's assertions of historical events as well as the anti-Masons assertions (including the Protocols of the Elders of Zion) but always delivers what is historically accurate. He touches on the notable people who have really developed Freemasonry and cites many Masonic historians. He also talks of world leaders and powerful people who were Freemasons and points out that, often times, Masons were on each side of political battles. From George III, Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, and Fredrick the Great, Ridley includes examples of noteworthy players in Western societies' history. Chapters are divided into specific stories within specific countries during a respective time period. If you are interested in conspiracy theories about Freemasons, I would not recommend this book. If you are looking for a glorified account of the roll of Freemasons throughout history, I would not recommend this book either. If you are looking for a historical account of Freemasonry and readily proclaim yourself as a history buff, then I would definitely recommend this book.

There's a lot of published work dealing with the Freemasons, either as a specific subject, or touching on them when writing about some esoteric, "New Age" issue, or conspiracy theory. Many of them depict the Masons as bad, dangerous or just plain nutty. Ridley's study effectively stands alone, being objective and unbiased---the more so, because he admits he's not a mason himself, and demonstrates why he's not convinced by the questionable scholarship of some contemporary books that depict them as evil and corrupt.Anyone interested in a balanced overview of the masonic movement ought to read this book.

Ridley takes a critical look at Freemasonry and its place and members in history. To date this has been the best, most honest, and accurate look at Freemasonry throughout history up to the year 2000.Instead of looking at just the internal history of Freemasonry, Ridley writes about its influence (and it's members) on the world and how the world has influence it throughout history. The books places the craft in a historical context in the fact that the book explains what historical events were occurring and how it effect Freemasonry. Such as the American and French Revolutions. Meanwhile, Ridley sheds light on the Masons and sweeps away the lies and half truths of others that have come before him and takes an honest look at the craft.Ridley makes a solid case that in his work that instead of being some secret world wide conspiracy to control events or the world, Masons are often divided on the great issues of the day. However, English and American Masons forbid any political discussion within their lodges. Ridley points out that in every war, Masons supported and fought for their respective countries, which pitted Masons of different sides against each other. Ridley also documents how Freemasons were often the target of oppression and witch hunts started by dictators who have banned the craft and the formation of lodges.The Freemasons is a great book for it's historical look at the craft and the history surrounding it both inside and outside. It takes a look at who were some of history's most famous Masons. While at the same time, not all Masons were angels.. but in the end showing that Freemasonry has always stood for the ideals of morality and freedom.