Secret Societies by Michael Howard

[Inner Traditions] An overview of how esoteric brotherhoods have shaped history • Examines the secret chronology and clandestine causes of seminal world events • Shows how secret societies feed into one another, and how they have worked together For thousands of years secret societies--guardians of ancient esoteric wisdom--have exercised a strong and often crucial influence on the destiny of nations. Though largely ignored by orthodox historians, the Freemasons, Knights Templar, and Rosicrucians affected the course of the French and American Revolutions as well as the overthrow of the medieval feudal order. Inevitably, the true ideals and esoteric practices of these societies have, at times, been perverted by self-serving individuals. The Nazis and the Bolsheviks, British security forces, the founding fathers of America, and the Vatican have all justified their actions--for good or for ill--by claiming the mystic ideals of secret societies. Michael Howard explores the