W.Bro. Robert Blackburn was raised a Master Mason at Dalkey No. 261, G.L. of Ireland, A.F.& A.M. in 1991. He is a charter member and 1st S.W. of Benjamin Franklin No. 83, G.L. of Wisconsin, F.& A.M., which works in the Emulation Ritual. He is a Past Master of Ann Arbor-Fraternity No. 262, G.L. of Michigan, F. & A.M.  He received a B.A. with honors from Penn State University in 1989; an M.Phil. in Medieval Studies from Univ. College Dublin in 1991; a J.D. from the University of Houston in 1993. He currently resides in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Many of the books that we review here are provided by publishers and authors in exchange for a review.

"Karen Kidd’s Haunted Chambers: the Lives of Early Women Freemasons has two apparent goals. First, to demonstrate that women have already had a share, albeit a small one, in regular Masonry since its inception. Second, that female Freemasons, possessing the same abilities and Masonic passions as their male counterparts, deserve to enjoy full recognition and acceptance by all-male lodges."

The Red Triangle: The History of the Persecution of Freemasons by Robert Cooper - Publisher: Lewis Masonic ISBN: 9780853183327

"Sadly, Freemasons have been all too well aware of anti-Masonry and its relentless campaign of misinformation and even violence against the Fraternity. Robert Cooper’s new book, The Red Triangle (which takes its name from the patch Masonic prisoners in German concentration camps were forced to wear), documents this history in sometimes painful and infuriating detail."

"Bro. Porter’s Secret Psychology of Freemasonry is the product of an enthusiast. Porter is, by profession, a criminal detective and speaker on personal and interpersonal psychology and relationships. His work is perhaps best described as his own, personal musings on the interrelationship between alchemy, Gnosticism, and psychology with the Craft."

"Native American Freemasonry provides an important insight into how Native and European Americans made use of Masonic space for mutual recognition, acceptance, and cultural exchange and how popular notions of “Nativeness” were exploited within the context of American fraternalism." 

Man and Mason-Rudyard Kipling. By Richard Jaffa

Man and Mason – Rudyard Kipling offers a solid biographical survey together with some very interesting insights into how Freemasonry influenced Kipling as a man and a writer.  Indeed, Jaffa spends much of the book identifying and discussing Masonic references in Kipling’s individual works.  This is essential reading for anyone serious about understanding Kipling and the Craft.

Character Counts: Freemasonry Is a National Treasure and a Source of Our Founders' Constitutional Original Intent by Michael Glenn Maness - ISBN - 9781456714369 Publisher web site - www.authorhouse.com

The Temple of Solomon: From Ancient Israel to Secret Societies by James Wasserman

An Illustrated History of Solomon's Temple

"The Temple of Solomon outlines the essential stories and traditions, from a Judeo-Christian perspective, that concern the Temple and its aftermath.  Indeed, for those who want to brush up on the Biblical stories behind some of the Scottish Rite Lodge of Perfection degrees, it’s a great resource.  It is also wonderfully illustrated."

The book concludes that Freemasonry should be recognized not only as the most prominent of the many 18th-century fraternal organizations, but also as a significant cultural vector and a component of the social, economic, scientific, and political transformation then in progress. This analysis throws a new and original light on the formation and development of what rapidly became a national and international phenomenon.