Publisher: HarperOne
Released: September 8, 2009
ISBN: 978-0060822569
Teaser quote:
"This brings us to the heart of the Masonic puzzle: why all the secrecy? With organized crime or intelligence agencies or terrorist cells, secrecy is essential to allow clandestine activities to proceed without exposure. Is it entirely a surprise, then, if similar motives are attributed to Masonry?" (pg 109)My rating: 3/5
My thoughts:
My curiosity into secret societies began years ago, when I read Dan Brown's DaVinci Code. When it comes to books that mix facts with fiction, I'm a sucker for wondering just what parts are fact & what is fiction.
The Masonic Myth was released to coincide with Brown's highly anticipated follow up The Lost Symbol. It provides a history of the organization and tries to set the record straight about what they represent. The records have June 24, 1717 as the official beginning so many of the traditions & rituals date back hundreds of years. In a sense, taken out of context, we may interpret these incorrectly.
The author, Jay Kinney, is a Freemason member so I had to keep that in the back of my mind while reading. If there were big secrets, I would have to assume he would conveniently leave them out (though maybe that's just the tiny bit of conspiracy theorist in me). For someone such as myself with just a general interest in Freemasonry, this book will not be too exciting as it reads more like a textbook. You can tell Jay Kinney researched this tremendously and although it may not be an exciting read, it was an informative one.
About Author Mel Boulrice
I thought this book looked great; I'm sad to hear it reads like a text book.
ReplyDeleteI find freemasonry so interesting.
I have a friend who's a member, and he assures me there are no big secrets. I'm still not convinced.
Brizmus ~ well, the book really is about unlocking the secrets etc. which the author does but I found it quite dry :( Then I thought maybe that was a great way to get curious people disinterested - can you tell I'm still a sceptic?! My neighbor has a Freemason license plate holder but I don't have the guts to bring the topic up, lol.
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