Very informative account of the history of the Freemasons since the Middle Ages. He ties it in with the Knights Templar and I later learned that it is a pretty bogus link, despite the Da Vinci Code and other books like that. ( )

This is a very interesting book. Instead of the hyped-up conspiracy-theory potboiler I'd expected, Robinson presents a series of historical, religious, and linguistic data which strongly support the hypothesis that Freemasons emerged not from the Stone Masons guilds of the Middle Ages, but as a secret mutual protection society in the aftermath of the bloody destruction of the Knights Templar.

Robinson tells us that he didn't start out to investigate the roots of Freemasonry, but that various unanswered questions in the historical record, specifically those around the unexplained disappearances of some Templars, and the never-explained "Great Society" involved in the Peasants Revolt in England in 1381. The more he searched for answers, the more Freemasonry seemed the best explanation for the gaps in the historical records. Further, once he did start investigating Masonry, he found that puzzling terms and aspects of rituals were better explained when related to known information about Templar practices and language then they were by supposed links to a craft guild.

Throughout the book, Robinson is careful to never claim that he has found absolute proof of a connection. Ultimately there is no explicit evidence, only a pattern of data which can be reasonably interpreted certain ways. The Templar root of Freemasonry is presented as the most likely of a variety of hypotheses which could explain both the historical questions and some of the riddles within Masonry.

The only reason I gave this book four stars instead of five is that I thought he went into far too much detail regarding medieval history. The national and religious politics of the times are relevant to his case, but I think his own passion for that material (this project started out as more general historical research) prompted him to include a lot of information that wasn't actually relevant to the Templar-Freemason connection. Fortunately, he is an excellent writer, and even though there was a lot of unnecessary detail, it was (for the most part) interesting, and I feel like I learned a lot about the times.

I started this book feeling entirely comfortable with the idea of Freemasonry developing out of a medieval craft guild. I wasn't looking for any other "origin story." After reading this book, I'm far more inclined to consider the Templars the more likely founders. Ultimately, I don't think it matters. Hundreds of years of practice and evolution have resulted in Masonic Orders quite different from their original forms. The value of Freemasonry lies in its ability to transform lives in the present, not because of any particular quality of virtue of its source. But if someone is interested in that question, this is an excellent book to read. ( )

The three-star review is an average--it should get four stars for being well-researched and impartial and two stars for being just plain boring to read! ( )

Should not be read by anyone thinking of joining Freemasonry until after they've joined. ( )

I love history. This was pretty gruesome, though. ( )