This list is designed to alert you to some good Masonic books on various topics.
There are literally tens of thousands of books about Masonry; some are excellent, some are a tragic waste of a tree. The books listed here are generally accepted by Masonic scholars to be reliable guides to Masonic knowledge. For the most part, they can also still be found on the Internet, Masonic Supply companies, and/or regular bookstores.
Journey on the Level, Owen Shieh, self published, 2011
Freemason’s Guide and Compendium, Bernard E. Jones, Chambers Harrap Publishers, 1991
The Freemason At Work, Harry Carr, Lewis Masonic, 1981
Freemasonry Universal, A New Guide to the Masonic World, Vol’s 1 and 2, Kent Henderson & Tony Pope, Global Masonic Publications, Australia, 2001
The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Freemasonry, S. Brent Morris, Ph.D, 33°, Alpha Publishing, 2006
Further Light: Helpful Information for New Master Masons, Jim Tresner, Masonic Service Association, 2010
Understanding Manhood in America: Freemasonry’s Enduring Path to the Mature Masculine, Robert G. Davis, Anchor Communications, LLC, Lancaster, VA 2005
Coils Masonic Encyclopedia, Henry Wilson Coil, Macoy Publishing, 1995
The Quest for Light, Wallace McLeod, Anchor Communications,1997
A Pilgrim’s Path, John Robinson, M. Evans Co., 1993
A Daily Advancement in Masonic Knowledge: The Collected Blue Friar Lectures, Wallace McLeod & S. Brent Morris, editors, Macoy Publishing 2005
The Builders, Rev. Joseph Fort Newton, Macoy Publishing, 1995 (10th edition)
The Grand Design: Selected Masonic Addresses and Papers of Wallace McLeod, Wallace McLeod, Anchor Communications, 1991
The Men’s House, Rev. Joseph Fort Newton, George H. Doran Co., 1923
What Masonry Means, William E. Hammond, Macoy Publishing, 1937
Masonic Philanthropies, S. Brent Morris, Supreme Council S.J., 1991
The Freemasons: A History of the World’s Most Powerful Secret Society, Jasper Ridley, Arcady Publishing, 2002
Ahiman: A Review of Masonic Culture and Tradition, Shawn Eyer, Plumbstone, 2010
Traveling East, Ronald E. Young, iUniverse, Inc., 2005
Fiat Lux: Award-Winning Essays of Some of the Greatest Masonic Authors of Our Time, Jack Buta, editor, Philalethes Society, 2009
The Origins of Freemasonry: Scotland’s Century 1590-1710, David Stevenson, Cambridge University Press, 1988
The First Freemasons: Scotland’s Early Lodges and their Members, David Stevenson, Aberdeen Press, 1988
The Rise and Development of Organized Freemasonry, Roy A. Wells, Lewis Masonic Press, London, 1986
Genesis of Freemasonry, David Harrison, Lewis Masonic, 2009
Freemasonry: The Reality, Tobias Churton, Lewis Masonic, 2007
The Golden Builders: Alchemists, Rosicrucians, the First Freemasons, Tobias Churton, Weiser Books, 2005
The Origins of Freemasonry – Facts and Fictions, Margaret C. Jacob, University of Pennsylvania Press, 2005
History of Freemasonry, Albert Mackey, Dover Publications, 2008
A Comprehensive View of Freemasonry, Henry Wilson Coil, Macoy Publishing, 1954
Freemasonry Through Six Centuries, Henry Wilson Coil, Macoy Publishing, 1967
Indians, Cowboys, Cornerstones, Charities: A Centennial Celebration of Freemasonry in Oklahoma, Robert G. Davis, Richard E. Massad, Robert TI. Shipe, and Jim Tresner, Grand Lodge Museum and Library, 2009
Cornerstones in the Oklahoma Territories, Robert T. Shipe, P.G.M., The Oklahoma Lodge of Research, Vol. VI, Book 1, 2010
Freemasonry: A Celebration of the Craft, John Hamil and Robert Gilbert, World Publications, 1999
Inside Prince Hall, David L. Gray, Anchor Communication, LLC, Lancaster, VA 2004
Out of the Shadows: The Emergence of Prince Hall Freemasonry in America, Alton G. Roundtree and Paul M. Bessel, Macoy Publishing Freemasonry & Democracy: Its Evolution in North America, Allen E. Roberts and Wallace McLeod, Anchor Communications, 1997
The Rise and Development of Organized Freemasonry, Roy A. Wells, Lewis Masonic Books, 1986
The Rosicrucian Enlightenment, Frances A. Yates, Barns and Noble, 1972
The Enigma of the Freemasons: Their History and Mystical Connections, Tim Wallace-Murphy, The Ivy Press, 2006
Knights and Freemasons: The Birth of Modern Freemasonry, Mackey & Pike, ed. By Michael Poll, Cornerstone Book Publishers, 2005
The Pocket History of Freemasonry, Fred L. Pick and G. Norman Knight, Frederick Muller books, 1953 [available on line
Freemasonry in American History, Allen E. Roberts, Macoy Publishing, 1985
Freemasonry, Anti-Masonry and Illuminism in the United States: 1734-1850, Kent Logan Walgreen, American Antiquarian Society, 2003
American Freemasons: Three Centuries of Building Communities, Mark A.Tabbart, New York University Press, New York, 2005
Freemasonry and American Culture: 1880 – 1930, Lynn Dumenil, Princeton University Press, 1984
The Secret History of the World: As Laid Down by the Secret Societies, Mark Booth, The Overlook Press, 2008
Living the Enlightenment: Freemasonry and Politics in Eighteenth Century Europe, Margaret Jacob, Oxford University Press, 1991
Empire of Liberty: A History of the Early Republic, 1789 – 1815, Gordon S. Wood, Oxford University Press USA, 2009
Working the Rough Stone: Freemasonry and Society in Eighteenth-Century Russia, Douglas Smith, Northern Ill. University Press, 1999
Builders of Empire: Freemasonry and British Imperialism 1717 – 1927, Jessica L. Harland-Jacobs, University of North Carolina Press, 2007
Secret Societies: Illuminati, Freemasons and the French Revolution, Una Birch, original pub. 1911, revised, edited and enlarged edition, 2007
Revolutionary Brotherhood: Freemasonry and the Transformation of the American Social Order, 1730-1840, Steven C. Bullock, University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill, NC 1996
The Better Angels of our Nature: Freemasonry in the Civil War, Michael Halleran, University of Alabama Press, 2010
The American Revolution and the Craft, I. Lewis Langley, ed., Anchor Communications. 2000
Freemasons at Gettysburg, Sheldon A. Munn, Thomas Publications, 1996
A Secret Society History of the Civil War, Mark A. Lause, University of Illinois Press, 2011
House Undivided: The Story of Freemasonry and the Civil War, Allen E. Roberts, Anchor Communications, 1996
House Reunited: Civil War – Aftermath – Brotherhood, Allen E. Roberts, Anchor Communications, 1996
Symbolism in Craft Masonry, Colin Dyer, Macoy Publishing, A. Lewis Press, London 1976
Freemasonry: A Journey Through Ritual and Symbol, Kirk MacNulty, Cambridge University Press, 1991
Way of the Craftsmen: A Search for the Spiritual Essence of Freemasonry, Kirk MacNulty, Central Regalia, Ltd, 2002
Albert Pike’s Esoterika—the Symbolism of the Blue Degrees of Freemasonry, Arturo de Hoyos, Scottish Rite Research Society, 2005
The Alchemical Keys to Masonic Ritual, Timothy Hogan, Lulu.com, 2007
Sources of Masonic Symbolism, Alex Horne, Macoy Publishing, 1981
Symbols of Freemasonry, Daniel Beresniak, Assouline, 2000
King Solomon’s Temple in the Masonic Tradition, Alex Horne, Aquarian Press, 1988
Beneath the Stone: The Story of Masonic Secrecy, C. Bruce Hunter, worldcomm press, 1999
The Craft and Its Symbols, Allen Roberts, Macoy Publishing, 1974
Restorations of Masonic Geometry, H. P. H. Bromwell, Kessinger (reprint) 2010
From Sacrifice to Symbol: The Story of Cornerstones and Stability Rites, Jim Tresner, Anchor Publications, 2003
Masonic Symbolism, Charles C. Hunt, Kessinger (reprint) 1942
Revelations of a Square, Rev. George Oliver, Masonic Book Club, 1980
Masonic Symbols and Signposts, Leon Zeldis, Anchor Communications, 2003
The 32 Secret Paths of Solomon: A New Examination of the Qabbalah in Freemasonry, Timothy Hogan, privately published, 2009
A Guide to Masonic Symbolism, Duncan Moore, Lewis Masonic Books, 2009
Solomon’s Temple: Myth and History, William J. Hamblin and David Rolph Seely, Thames-Hudson, 2007
Novo Clavis Esoterika, Timothy W. Hogan, Brazen Serpent Books, 2010
Advanced Meditations on Masonic Symbolism, John R. Heisner, Publish America, 2007
The Mason’s Words: The History and Evolution of the American Masonic Ritual, Robert G. Davis, Building Stone Publishing, 2013
Secret Ritual and Manhood in Victorian America, Mark C. Carnes, Yale University Press, 1991
Committed to the Flames: The History and Rituals of a Secret Masonic Rite, Arturo deHoyos and S. Brent Morris, Lewis Masonic Books, 2008
The Early Masonic Catechisms, Douglas, Knoop, G. P. Jones, and Douglas Hamer, Manchester University Press, 1943
Western Esotericism and Rituals of Initiation, Henrik Bogdan, State Univerity of New York Press, 2007
The Hero With a Thousand Faces, Joseph Campbell, Bollingen Series, 1972
The Myth of the Eternal Return, Marcea Eliade, Pantheon Books, 1955
Myths to Live By, Johnson E. Fairchild, Penguin, 1993
The Secret Psychology of Freemasonry, Cliff Porter, Starr Publishing, 2011
The Radical Enlightenment: Pantheists, Freemasons and Republicans, Margaret Jacob, Temple Books, 1981
William Preston and His Work, Colin Dyer, Lewis Masonic, 1987
Hidden Wisdom, A Guide to the Western Inner Traditions, Richard Smoley & Jay Kinney, Penguin, 1999
Meaning of Masonry, W.L. Wilmshurst, Gramercy, 1995
The Masonic Initiation, W.L. Wilmshurst, Plumbstone, 2007
A Trilogy – Inner Journey to the East – Meditations of a Master Mason Along the Way – Masonry for the Millennium, George R. Adams, Demand Tech Publications, 1999
The Esoteric Origins of the American Renaissance, Arthur Versluis, Oxford University Press USA, 2001
Into Masonic Light, Douglas H. Good and Dimitar G. Mavrov, Sheridan Books, 2010
Freemen & Freemasonry: A Masonic Reader, James W. Beless, Vantage Press, 1993
Freemasonry: Its Image of Man, Builiano DiBernardo, Freestone, 1989
Speculative Freemasonry and The Enlightenment, William R. Weisberger, East European Monographs, 1993
Masonic Enlightenment: The Philosophy, History and Wisdom of Freemasonry, Michael R. Poll, Cornerstone Books, 2006
The Clergy and the Craft, Rev. Forrest D. Haggard. PGM, Missouri Lodge of Research, 1970
Workman Unashamed, Rev. Christopher Haffner, Lewis Masonic Books, 1989
Is It True What They Say About Freemasonry?, S. Brent Morris and Art deHoyos, M. Evans Co., 2004
Fundamentalism and Freemasonry: The Southern Baptist Investigation of the Fraternal Order, Rev. Gary Leazer, M. Evans and Co., 1996
God Loves Masons, Too: The First Defenders of Human Rights, David A. Roach, BookSurge, 2006
Kim, Rudyard Kippling, (numerous editions)
The Man Who Would Be King, Rudyard Kippling (numerous editions)
Revolt in 2100, Robert Heinline, (numerous editions)
The Adept, Katherine Kurtz, Ballentine Books 2003 {note: this is the first in a series of 7 books, also known as the Adept series, and all of which contain references to the Fraternity}
The Artifact, W. Michael Gear, Daw Books, 1990
7 Knights, Brian Cox, Tate Publishing, 2011
Masters of the Maze, Avram Davidson, 1965 (reprint 2000)
Foucault’s Pendulum, Umberto Eco, Harcourt, Brace Jovanovich, Publishers, 1989
The Hailing Sign, Steven Fink, St. Martin’s Press, 1987
The Pillars of the Earth, Ken Follett, Signet Book, 1990
Two Crowns for America, Katherine Kurtz, Bantam Books, 1997
The DaVinci Code, Dan Brown, Doubleday Publishing, 2003
The Lost Symbol, Dan Brown, Doubleday Publishing, 2009
The Formula, Bert Bijl, privately published, 2009
The Mozart Conspiracy: A Novel, Scott Mariani, Touchstone Books, 2011
Mozart’s Last Aria, Matt Rees, Harper Books, 2011
Ishmael’s Wrath, Shane Pate, RoseDog Books, 2007
Free From Restraint: From Whence We Came, Lewis E. “Red” Kittell, CreateSpace, 2007
The Anti-Masonic Party in the United States: 1826-1843, William P. Vaughn, University Press of Kentucky, 2009
The Boy Who Cried Wolf – Understanding The Man Who Lies About Masons, Richard Thron, Evans and Co., 1994
The Red Triangle: A History of Anti-Masonry, Robert L. D. Cooper, Lewis Masonic Books, 2011
Cloud of Prejudice: A Study in Anti-Masonry, Art deHoyos, Kessinger (reprint) 1996
The Antimasonic Party: A Study of Political Antimasonry in the United States, 1827 – 1840, Charles McCarthy, Nabu Press, 1923, reprinted 2011
Mozart and Masonry, Paul Nettl, Dorset Press, 1957
The Magic Flute Unveiled: Esoteric Symbolism in Mozart’s Masonic Opera, Jacques Chailley, Inner Treaditions,1992
Mozart the Freemason: The Masonic Influence on His Musical Genius, Jacques Henry, Inner Traditions, 2006
Masonic Symbols in American Decorative Arts, Scottish Rite Masonic Museum of Our National Heritage, 1976
Bespangled, Painted and Embroidered: Decorated Masonic Aprons in America 1790 – 1850, Barbara Franco, Scottish Rite Masonic Museum of Our National Heritage, 1980
Fraternally Yours: A Decade of Collecting, Barbara Franco, Scottish Rite Masonic Museum of Our National Heritage, 1985
Masonic Collectables, George B. Spielman, Oak Printing, 1990
Material Culture of American Freemasons, John D. Hamilton, Scottish Rite Masonic Museum of Our National Heritage, 1994
The Art and Architecture of Freemasonry, James Stevens Curl, Overlook Press, 1993
The Return of Sacred Architecture: The Golden Ratio and the End of Modernism, Herbert Bangs, Inner Traditions, 2007
Sibelius and His Masonic Music, Hermine Weigel Williams, iUniverse Press, 2008
“Guess at the Rest”: Cracking the Hogarth Code, Elizabeth Soulier-Détis, Lutterworth Press, 2010
Masonic Temples: Freemasonry, Ritual Architecture, and Masculine Archetypes, William D. Moore, University of Tennessee Press, 2006
10,000 Famous Freemasons, Vol 1-4, William R. Denslow, Missouri Lodge of Research, 1957
The Magus of Freemasonry: The Mysterious Life of Elias Ashmole—Scientist, Alchemist, and Founder of the Royal Society, Tobias Churton, Inner Traditions Press, 2006
Famous American Freemasons, Todd F. Creason, Lulu, 2007
Famous American Freemasons, Vol 2, Todd L. Creason, Lulu, 2009
Not Your Usual Founding Father: Selected Readings from Benjamin Franklin, Edmund S. Morgan, Yale University Press, 2006
Franklin: the Essential Founding Father, James Srodes, Regency Press, 2002
His Excellency, George Washington, Joseph J. Ellis, Alfred A. Knopf, 2004
Washington: A Life, Ron Chernow, Penguin Press, 2010
The Masonic Magician: The Life and Death of Count Cagliostro and his Egyptian Rite, Robert L. D. Cooper and Philippa Faulks, Watkins Publishing, 2008
Haunted Chambers: The Lives of Early Women Freemasons, Karen Kidd, Cornerstone Book Publishers, 2009
On A Grander Scale: The Outstanding Life of Sir Christopher Wren, Lisa Jardine, Harper Books, 2003
War on the Run: The Epic Story of Robert Rogers and the Conquest of America’s First Frontier, John F. Ross, Bantam Books, 2009
Following Joe: The Patriot Doctor and the Siege of Boston, Alvin Ureles, Outskirts Press, 2008
Lafayette, Harlow Giles Unger, John Wiley & Sons, 2002
The Giant of the French Revolution—Danton, A Life, David Lawday, Grove Press, 2009
Autobiography of Mark Twain, Mark Twain, University of California Press, 2010
Colonel Roosevelt, Edmund Morris, Random House, 2010
Our Masonic Presidents, L. Randall Rogers, Texas Press, 1998
Oklahoma Tenor: Musical Memories of Giuseppe Bentonelli, Joseph Benton, University of Oklahoma Press, 1973
Brother Truman: The Masonic Life and Philosophy of Harry S. Truman, Allen E. Roberts, Anchor Communications, 1985
(Daniel) Boone: A Biography, Robert Morgan, Shannon Ravenel Books, 2007
Lions of the West, Robert Morgan, Shannon Ravenel Books, 2011
Thomas Dunkerley, A Remarkable Freemason, Ron Chudley, Lewis Masonic Books, 1982
Robert Burns, The Freemason, John Weir, Lewis Masonic Books, 1996
Fifty Early American Military Freemasons: Biographical Sketches, James Royal, J.R. Case Publisher, 1955
Garibaldi in the Light of History, Leonardo Bochicchio, (publisher not shown) 1932
Great Black Men of Masonry: Qualitative Black Achievers, Andrew Cox, Alpha Book Dist., 1987
Man and Mason – Rudyard Kippling, Richard Jaffa, Authorhouse Publishing, 2011
Albert Pike: The Man Beyond the Monument, Jim Tresner, M. Evans & Co., 1995
Honor Men of Oklahoma Scottish Rite Masonry, Robert G. Davis, Oklahoma Lodge of Research, 1997
Masons Along the Rio Bravo, Joseph E. Bennett, Masonic Grand Lodge Library and Museum of Texas, 1996
A True Republican: The Life of Paul Revere, Jayne E. Triber, University of Massachusetts Press, 1998
American Presidents Who Were Freemasons like George Washington, Harry Truman, Andrew Jackson, and More, Dana Rasmussen, Webster’s Digital Services, 2011
Volume I – Untitled, 1971 (Stories on Early Oklahoma Masonry)
Volume II – Jewels of Masonic Eloquence , 1972
Volume III – History of Freemasonry in Oklahoma, undated 1972
Volume IV – Masonic Centennial Lodges, 1974
Volume V – Grand Masters of Oklahoma, 1975
Volume VI – Division 1, Masons in Enid Oklahoma, 1977
Volume VI – Divisions II & III, Masonry in Enid Oklahoma, 1977
Volume VII – Book 1, Masonic Knowledge, 1980
Volume VII – Book 2, Masonic Knowledge, 1981
Volume VIII – Untitled – Stories of Harry S. Truman & others, 1987 (Softback)
Volume IX – Untitled – Ritual work in Oklahoma Territory, etc., 1988 (Softback)
Volume X – Untitled – History of some early Indian Territory Lodges, 1988 (Softback)
Volume XI –Untitled – History of Cherokee Lodge No. 10 , 1989
Volume XII – Master Mason W\ George Washington, 1993
Volume XIII – Memories (of Masonic Home Residents), 1995
Volume XIV – Pilot Lodge No. 367, Elgin, Oklahoma, 1996
Volume XV – Honor Men of Oklahoma Scottish Rite Masonry, 1997
Volume XVI – Book 1, Cornerstones in Oklahoma Territories, 2010