'Convincingly researched and thoroughly entertaining' - Wall Street Journal THE TIMES BEST
BOOKS OF 2020 'This book shows that despite rumours of demon dwarfs piano-playing crocodiles
and world domination the real story of the Freemasons is one of male eccentricity.' 'The Craft
is a superb book that often reads like an adventure novel. It's informative fascinating and
often very funny. The depth of research is awe-inspiring but what really makes this book is
the author's visceral understanding of what constitutes a good story.' - The Times Book of the
Week '[John Dickie] takes on this sensational subject with a wry turn of phrase and the cool
judgment of a fine historian... I enjoyed this book enormously. Dickie's gaze is both wide and
penetrating. He makes a persuasive case for masonry's historic importance.' - Dominic Sandbrook
Sunday Times 'The Craft is a shadow history of modernity. Though more sober than most lodge
meetings it is like its subject ingenious and frequently bizarre... The Craft is
well-crafted and sensible making good use of English archives which have only recently been
opened.' - Spectator *** Insiders call it 'the Craft'. To the rest of us Freemasonry is
mysterious and suspect. Yet its story is peopled by some of the most distinguished men of the
last three centuries: Winston Churchill and Walt Disney Wolfgang Mozart and Shaquille O'Neal
Benjamin Franklin and Buzz Aldrin Rudyard Kipling and 'Buffalo Bill' Cody Duke Ellington and
the Duke of Wellington. Founded in London in 1717 as a set of character-forming ideals and a
way of binding men in fellowship Freemasonry proved so addictive that within two decades it
had spread across the globe. Masonic influence became pervasive. Under George Washington the
Craft became a creed for the new American nation. Masonic networks held the British empire
together. Under Napoleon the Craft became a tool of authoritarianism and then a cover for
revolutionary conspiracy. Both the Mormon Church and the Sicilian mafia owe their origins to
Freemasonry. The Masons were as feared as they were influential. In the eyes of the Catholic
Church Freemasonry has always been a den of devil-worshippers. For Hitler Mussolini and
Franco the Lodges spread the diseases of pacifism socialism and Jewish influence so had to be
crushed. Professor Dickie's The Craft is a surprising and enthralling exploration of a movement
that not only helped to forge modern society but still has substantial contemporary influence.
With 400 000 members in Britain over a million in the USA and around six million across the
world understanding the role of Freemasonry is as important now as it has ever been.
