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THIS PAGE NEEDS A BIG OVERHAUL with addition of many of the most recent publications. We'll be working on that in the very near future! Please stay tuned.... In the meantime, though, feel free to browse our book reviewshere which include a number of works after this list was compiled.

What should I read first?

We regularly get inquiries from Masons and non-Masons alike asking "What should I read to further understand Freemasonry?". Anti-Masons will sometimes refer to 'recommended reading lists' of lodges - which, in reality, do not exist.

Essentially, there is no specified 'reading list' for Freemasons. Over the years, a few individuals and/or organizations have cobbled together a list of things that they feel are valuable but such lists are the exclusive work of the individual and often greatly reflect their particular field of interest or fascination. No such list should ever be considered as required and, regrettably, there are those Masons who do not take seriously the admonition that they should make a daily advancement in their education.

We've seen a dozen or more lists over the years and although we were always able to find something we'd missed, we'd never seen the 'perfect' list for both Masons and non-Masons. With that understanding, we've taken from the Grand Lodge of New York's Livingston Masonic Museum a list of books they recommended for a reading course they designed for New York Masons in 1998. We then removed those works specific to New York Freemasonry and updated the now several year old list with a couple of more recent publications (noted with an asterisk) that we felt worthy of inclusion. We'll use the same groupings they used.

| B. ADVANCED COURSE | | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | | Dear Brother Herman by Herman Sarachan | | | The Genesis of Freemasonry by Douglas Knoop and G. P. Jones | | | The Pocket History of Freemasonry by Fred L. Pick and G. Norman Knight | | | Facts, Fables, and Fantasies of Freemasonry by William A. Brown | | | Masonic Symbolism by Charles C. Hunt | | | Revelations of a Square by George Oliver | | | Sources of Masonic Symbolism by Alex Horne | | | Famous Masons by H. L. Haywood | | | The Clergy and the Craft by Forrest DeLoss Haggard | | | A Masonic Thought for Each Day of the Year by Alphonse Cerza | | | Spirit of Masonry by William Hutchinson | | | The Meaning of Masonry by Walter Wilmshurst | | | The Masonic Ladder by John Sherer | | | The Temple and the Lodge by Michael Baigent and Richard Leigh | |

| C. AMERICAN HISTORY COURSE | | | ------------------------------------------------------------------ | | | Revolutionary Brotherhood by Steven C. Bullock | | | House Undivided by Allen E. Roberts | | | House Reunited by Allen E. Roberts | | | Masonic Membership of the Founding Fathers by Ronald F. Heaton | | | Freemasonry and the Presidency by Ray Vaughn Denslow | | | Colonial Freemasonry by Louis C. "Wes" Cook | | | Freemasonry in the Thirteen Colonies by J. Hugo Tatsch | | | Cornerstones of Freedom by S. Brent Morris | | | Brother Truman by Allen E. Roberts | | | George Washington, Master Mason by Allen E. Roberts | | | Freemen and Freemasons by James W. Beless | |

In addition to the excellent selections outlined above, the Livingstone Masonic Library also has suggested reading material for a Warden's course, Public Speaking course, District Deputies' course, Royal Arch course, Scottish Rite course, Masonic Antique Collector's course, Lives of Famous Freemasons course and Masonic Organizations course. Check them out here.