Book Review: A Pilgrim's Path

I just re-read this book.  I don't know how many books I've read on the topic of Freemasonry, but this is without doubt one of my absolute favorites.  In fact, I read it before I was a Mason, and it's part of the reason I joined.  John J. Robinson wrote three books, and all of them are good. 

In A Pilgrim's Path Robinson, a non-Mason at the time he wrote it, goes into depth about what a Freemason actually is.  Where it originated.  He talks about it's values, tenets, and the real goals of the fraternity.  Then he very effectively deconstructs all the misconceptions, fabrications, and misstakements made about the fraternity over its long history.  It's probably one of the best books that's ever been written about what Freemasonry is, and what it is not.

 

I'd say Born In Blood is a close second as far as my favorites go.  He wasn't a Mason when he wrote this one either. It goes into some depth about Freemasonry's history long before it revealed itself to the public in 1717, starting back with the 1318 Peasant's Revolt in England, and its ties to the Knights Templar, long after they were supposedly destroyed.

Dungeon, Fire, & Sword is also good.  It tells some of the backstory of the Knights Templar during the Crusades, and their later destruction by the Catholic Church.  It asks the question--did the Knight's Templar end there, or did they survive by going underground and passing on their values, tenents, and virtues through the guilds of stonemasons that were building the great cathedrals, castles, and palaces across Europe.

John J. Robinson later became a Freemason.  I think he liked what his research told him about the fraternity. 

Good reads.  Check them out.