Introduction

For thousands of years, one clandestine organization has been rumored to control the destinies of men, cities, even nations: Freemasonry. Often traced back to the stonemason guilds of the Middle Ages, Freemasons were supposedly to be found among all the great minds of the Renaissance, including Da Vinci. The Freemasons have claimed such illustrious personages as Mozart, Benjamin Franklin, Darwin, FDR, Churchill, W.C. Fields, Herbert Hoover, and many others as members. Even today, Freemasonry boasts Masonic lodges all over the globe.

The Everything Freemasons Book examines all the aspects of this fascinating organization, including:

• myths, legends, and stories of this ancient order—what’s true and what’s not
• the closely guarded secret rituals, symbols, and esoteric arts
• the Freemasons’ enemies—from the Catholic Church to the Nazis
• the many controversies surrounding this secret society—past and present