Wanting to Become a Mason?

Wanting to Become a Mason?

Recommended Reading

Explore a curated selection of Masonic books — reliable guides to history, symbolism, ritual, and more.

There are thousands of books

about Freemasonry

Some enlightening, others less so. This curated list highlights works generally accepted by Masonic scholars as reliable and worthwhile reading. Use it to guide your learning journey into the Craft’s history, symbolism, and philosophy.

Reading Categories

Below you’ll find trusted titles organized by topic. Each entry includes basic publication information and suggested uses — whether you’re just beginning or diving deeper into Masonic studies

General Information

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

Origins of Freemasonry

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

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

History of Freemasonry in the World

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

The Revolutionary and Civil Wars

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

Freemasonry and Religion

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

Freemasonry in Fiction

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

Freemasonry in the Arts

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

Biographies of Brethren

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

Books Published by the Oklahoma Lodge of Research

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