1. Born in Blood: The Lost Secrets of Freemasonry, John J. Robinson

Not only was Born In Blood the highest rated book in our poll, it had the most first place votes as well as being named on the highest number of ballots. Thus, it was decisively our Top Book. 

In his introduction to A Pilgrim’s Path, Robinson says of the early response to Born in Blood that “not even one newspaper in the United States saw fit to review a book that had the word Freemasonry in the title.”  That changed, and the book became the highest selling book on Masonry for the next 20 years. Its place on the Southern California Research Lodge’s poll testifies to its continued popularity.

Here are excerpts from a review in Ars Quatuor Coronatorum, Vol. 104 (1991), pp. 239-40:

“I had thought that masonic scholars, at least, had convincingly debunked the theory (more properly, legend) that Freemasonry had its origins in the medieval Knights Templar. The legend persists, however, and seems to have an eternal fascination for non-masons. The book under review is by an American writer who is not a freemason who has produced a book which is, on the surface, persuasively argued and a rattling good read. Therein, lies its danger.

As the author states, his original intention was not to write about either freemasons or Templars but to satisfy his own curiosity about certain questions arising from the Peasants' Revolt of 1381. The first half of the book discusses the situation in England, the Knights Hospitaller and the revolt itself. In the course of his researches he discovered evidence for a very shadowy secret society which led him on to consider the Templars, their fate and the origins of Freemasonry. He posits the theory that the secret society was an inner circle of Templars/Hospitallers who eventually became the founders of Freemasonry.

Turning to Freemasonry he examines the rituals of the three Craft degrees and looks for links with the Templars through masonic language. A fair enough approach had he gone to the basic sources for ritual. Regrettably the author used as his text not the early masonic catechisms and exposures (either English or French) but a nineteenth-century American exposure, M. W. Redding’s The Scarlet Book of Freemasonry. In so doing he found a number of examples to bolster his theory, examples which are peculiar to that book and do not appear in either the early English ritual texts or the modern English rituals.

It is a great pity that this book cannot be wholeheartedly recommended for it performs one extremely valuable service for Freemasonry. The author gives a devastating critique of the late Stephen Knight’s The Brotherhood, which caused so many problems for English Freemasonry in the 1980s. That critique becomes even more devastating and valuable when one knows that its author is not himself a freemason and has no necessity to defend Freemasonry, but is a man of integrity who dislikes uncalled for, dishonest and fanatical attacks on any human institution which is based upon principles and has the intention of being of service to mankind rather than serving selfish self-interest.”

2. Freemasons for Dummies, Chris Hodapp

Despite its unfortunate title, Southern California Research Lodge’s No. 2 book, Freemasons for Dummies, by Christopher Hodapp, is well deserving of its popularity, as it is one of the best overviews of Freemasonry available. Its light, readable style and comprehensive scope, and division into convenient categories, provides an excellent introduction to the Fraternity, as useful to the curious public as to Masons new and old. No doubt this is why it is one of the three books recommended in the California Grand Lodge’s Entered Apprentice Candidate Guide. 

Given the fact that the majority of the Southern California Research Lodge’s members are California Masons, it should not be surprising that all three of those recommended books made our Top Ten. The other two are Wilmshurst’s classic, The Meaning of Masonry (No. 7). and Stevenson’s The Origins of Masonry: Scotland’s Century (No. 10).

Particularly useful to the new Mason is Worshipful Hodapp’s clarification of just what “secrets” of Freemasonry he is now bound by oath “never to reveal” to any non-Mason, which are described as “. . . the grips (handshakes), passwords, and signs (gestures) that are modes of recognition, and some details of the Masonic degree ritual ceremonies.”  

Also of great value throughout are his many distinctions between fact and fiction, mythology and history, critique and slander. His chapter on politics and religion is both a celebration of Masonic tolerance and a justification of our practice of excluding discussions of these topics from our Lodge meetings.

This book, in fact, explores to at least some degree the subject matter of nearly every book that appears on the ballots submitted in response to our Top Ten poll. Moreover, in keeping with the pattern followed throughout the vast “for Dummies” book genre, Wor. Hodapp includes his own version of “The Parts of Ten.” It includes lists of Masons prominent in ten categories; a list of “Conspiracies, Anti-Masons, and Hoaxes” (refuting each of them); and, finally, a top ten list of Masonic places to visit. 

You will search in vain for the promised list of “Ten Common Masonic Phrases,” which was omitted by the publisher. The Appendices include such valuable documents as Anderson’s Constitutions, the legendary Regius Manuscript and a list of Masonic Grand Lodges.

3. Morals and Dogma, Albert Pike (1872); Annotated by Arturo De Hoyos (2011)

For Southern California Research Lodge’s No. 3 book, we turn to a critical review of this 144-year old Masonic classic by a member of the Scottish Rite Research Society, Giovanni A. Villegas. It is well worth reading.

The author’s opinion is that most readers would get more out of Rex Hutchens’ A Bridge to Light (No. 13 in our poll). Though “unabashedly” critical, many of Brother Villegas’ criticisms are well-taken, and all are balanced by recognitions of true Masonic merit. Any Mason with a genuine interest in Masonic scholarship should have De Hoyos’ Annotated Edition in his library (preferably next to Pike’s original). The following paragraphs are adapted from the Villegas review.

The complete title of the book is Morals and Dogma of the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite. It is a massive tome, first published in 1872 by the Supreme Council, AASR, of the Southern Jurisdiction, USA. In its original printing, it was 861 pages long with an index of 218 more pages. The chapters are arranged in the order of the Scottish Rite degrees themselves and provide a broad philosophical and historical context for the lectures and symbolism of each degree, while containing none of the actual rituals and secrets. Thus it is available to the general public.

The contents include comparative religion, philosophies, etymologies, and even numerology. The primary themes are the secrets or “great mysteries” of ancient Egyptian, Phoenician, Buddhist, Hindu, Judaic, Sufi, and Christian belief systems, used unrepentantly throughout the book . . . 

Purists may prefer . . . to read Pike himself, but they may wish to consult the Annotated Edition by Arturo De Hoyos. It has the exact texts of the original . . . with annotations on the original sources, texts, and contexts, something which the original version lacked yet so desperately needed in the first place, thus making it easier to cross-reference. [It] also includes a new glossary, bibliography and index. It is also illustrated with many of the images from the original sources Pike had before him when he prepared the original. 

If you are a Scottish rite Mason, then, Morals and Dogma, by general consensus, is considered essential reading. However, if you are among the vast majority who find the book difficult to comprehend, the next best thing would be to read Rex Hutchens’ A Bridge to Light instead. It has many of the main elements of Morals and Dogma, condensed within its pages and it is presented more understandably.

Although Morals and Dogma, arguably, had very little to do with the early degrees of the Scottish Rite, it cannot be denied that the religions and philosophies contained in the book do share the same goals and aspirations of the rite and of Masonry in general: the betterment of the individual and society through a personal and collective desire to progress towards moral perfection.

[Excerpted and paraphrased from Giovanni A. Villegas, “The Problems With Morals and Dogma: An Unabashed Literary Book Review,” The Journal of the Masonic Society, Summer 2015, 10-13.]

4. The Craft and its Symbols, Allen E. Roberts

This ninety-page book is arguably the best introductory volume on Masonic symbolism. It is simply-written, with many illustrations. The author begins by noting that “symbolism is the life-blood of the Craft. It is what distinguishes Freemasonry from other fraternal organizations. It is the principal vehicle by which the ritual teaches Masonic philosophy and moral lessons.”

Brother Roberts goes through each of the three degrees, briefly portraying the meaning of one symbol after another. He explains key lessons to be learned from the words of the ceremony. He discusses the symbolic meaning or moral teachings associated with items in the lodge room such as the pillars, altar, tiler’s sword and deacon’s rods. He throws in a little Masonic history. He shows how all this relates to a man’s everyday life and to building character. 

At times, the listing of symbols is almost like a dictionary. It’s dry reading, but can serve as a reference work, to be reviewed after each degree is experienced.

There are also inspired moments, especially when there is acknowledgement of the spiritual values that Masonry teaches. Brother Roberts (1917-1997) served as master of two blue lodges, two research lodges, and as a grand lodge officer in the state of Virginia. He was a Past President of the Philalethes Society, the oldest independent Masonic research body in the U.S., established in 1928. He wrote 25 books on Masonic topics.

5. Observing the Craft, Andrew Hammer

In this reviewer’s opinion, without having read every single one, this is the perhaps the finest book available on the restoration of Observant Freemasonry and the purpose and value of its practice. The author, Andrew Hammer, President of the Masonic Restoration Foundation, is among its most informed, enthusiastic and articulate advocates. He describes its essence thus:

“Observance is as much a state of mind as a set of actions. In fact, each helps the other reach their maximum potential. The things we think and the philosophical attitude we cultivate as regards to Freemasonry and its associated concerns, will influence and improve our actions in the Lodge. The actions we perform in the Lodge, when done well and to a degree of proficiency, aid the mind in maintaining its disciplined state in ritual and introspection. The goal to be achieved by this activity is a high state of concentration on exactly those things we find in the Craft which enable us to be that ‘better man’. It is a deliberately contemplative union between the mind and body, which enables us to take the result of that union into the soul.” (Observing the Craft, excerpt from pp. 12-13)

6. The Builders: A Story and Study of Masonry, Joseph Fort Newton

Joseph Fort Newton (1870-1950), a clergyman, was a prolific writer and editor of religious and Masonic books. The original editor of the Short Talk Bulletin (often the source of articles in our Fraternal Review), he wrote many of them himself between 1923 and 1929.  

His best known books are The Great Light in Masonry, a celebration of the Holy Bible that was featured in our April Edition, and our No. 6 book: The Builders. This deeply spiritual and philosophical book is divided into three parts:

1. Prophesy (foundations in architecture and faith)

2. History (from Free-Masons to Accepted Masons to the Grand Lodge of England)

3. Interpretation (Masonic Philosophy and Spirit)

The first American Edition (1910), became a Masonic classic; so much so that an Illustrated Macoy Edition, with additional materials, was published in 1930.

7. The Meaning of Masonry, W. L. Wilmshurst

The author was a British Freemason whose writings focused on the spiritual or esoteric side of our Craft. He was a Christian mystic, but for the most part wrote from a universalist perspective.

This book was very well-received in Great Britain and the U.S. An excellent edition published in 2007 by Plumbstone has updated the original to modern English, with explanatory footnotes by Brother Shawn Eyer, editor of Philalethes: The Journal of Masonic Research & Letters. 

The author discusses the deeper symbolism of the degrees, focuses on the “instructional purpose” of Freemasonry as a counterbalance to what he saw as an overemphasis on socializing and philanthropy. “Masonry offers us, in dramatic form and by means of dramatic ceremonial a philosophy of the spiritual life of man and a diagram of the process of regeneration.”

8. A Pilgrim’s Path: Freemasonry and the Religious Right, John J. Robinson

The author was not yet a Mason when he wrote this study of Freemasonry focusing on its deniers, denouncers and would be destroyers—in particular America’s largest and most vocal Protestant denomination, the Southern Baptist Convention. The first half of the book examines and refutes their anti-Masonic distortions; the second half expounds a true picture of Masonic philosophy and practice. Comparing Masonry to its religious critics, Robinson says:

“The simple truth is that Masonry does not recognize all religions as equal. To do so would require making a careful investigation, evaluation and judgment of all faiths, which Masons have never done. Instead Masonry recognizes the equal right of all men to worship God as they see fit. Religious zealots abhor the concept of the free and equal right to worship according to one’s conscience. They often eliminate it by law, if they succeed in getting political power in areas where there are no constitutional safeguards for individual rights.” (A Pilgrim’s Path: Freemasonry and the Religious Right, excerpt from pp. 174-5)

9. The Mason’s Words, Robert G. Davis

Brother Davis is a well-known Masonic author and speaker, a past President of the Philalethes Society and a fellow of the Scottish Rite Research Society. This paperback (and e-book) is a masterful synthesis of the origins and development of modern American Masonic ritual. A summary on the back cover reads:

“The author investigates where and when the ritual words originated, how the ceremonial forms of Freemasonry’s degrees evolved, who penned the beautiful words that make the Masonic ritual, and how the language of the fraternity has been transmitted orally from one generation to another, yet remained intact for three centuries.”

10. The Origins of Freemasonry: Scotland’s Century, David Stevenson

The author is Emeritus Professor of History at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland. He has the distinction of being the first non-Mason to present a paper to Quatuor Coronati in London, the renowned research lodge that has published annual transactions since 1886.

Subtitled Scotland’s Century, 1590 to 1710, this pioneering book has become the foundation for many subsequent studies on the history of Freemasonry. It challenged the narrative of many Masonic scholars—that modern Freemasonry got started in England around 1700—by presenting a large body of evidence demonstrating that elements of modern Freemasonry were developing in Scotland by 1600.

Top Freemasonry Books Number 11 - 25

11.  American Freemasons: Three Centuries of Building Communities, Mark A. Tabbert

12.  A Bridge to Light: A Study in Masonic Ritual & Philosophy, Rex R. Hutchens                   

13.  Esoterika: The Symbolism of the Blue Degrees of Freemasonry, Albert Pike              

14.  The Better Angels of Our Nature: Freemasonry and the American Civil War, Michael A. Halleran   

15.  The Lost Keys of Freemasonry, Manley Palmer Hall                                                    

16.  Coil's Masonic Encyclopedia, Henry Wilson Coil                                                        

17.  Dungeon, Fire, and Sword: The Knights Templar in the Crusades, John J. Robinson 

18.  The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Freemasonry, S. Brent Morris                            

19.  The Freemasons, Jasper Ridley                                                                                     

20.  Sworn in Secret: Freemasonry and the Knights Templar, Sanford Holst                     

21.  Freemasonry: A Journey Through Ritual and Symbol, W. Kirk MacNulty                 

22.  Freemasons’ Guide and Compendium, Bernard Jones                                                  

23.  The Temple and The Lodge, Michael Baigent and Richard Leigh                                  

24.  The Secret Teachings of All Ages, Manley Palmer Hall                                                  

25.   The Way of the Craftsman, W. Kirk MacNulty