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The Craft

How the Freemasons Made the Modern World

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The Craft

Written by: John Dickie
Narrated by: Simon Slater
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Discover the “convincingly researched and thoroughly entertaining” (The Wall Street Journal) history of the world’s oldest and most influential fraternity

Founded in London in 1717 as a way of binding men in fellowship, Freemasonry proved so addictive that within two decades it had spread across the globe. Under George Washington, the Craft became a creed for the new American nation. Under Napoleon, it became a tool of authoritarianism and a cover for revolutionary conspiracy. Later, both the Mormon Church and the Sicilian Mafia would owe their origins to Freemasonry.

Yet the Masons were as feared as they were influential, seen by the Catholic Church as a den of devil worship. For Hitler, Mussolini, and Franco, the Lodges spread the diseases of pacifism, socialism, and Jewish influence, so had to be crushed.

Freemasonry’s story yokes together Winston Churchill and Walt Disney, Wolfgang Mozart and Shaquille O’Neal, Benjamin Franklin and Buzz Aldrin. John Dickie’s The Craft is an enthralling exploration of the world’s most famous and misunderstood secret brotherhood, a movement that not only helped to forge modern society but remains prominent today. Other Religions, Practices & Sacred Texts World Imperialism Socialism Middle Ages Africa War British Empire
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What the critics say

"A fascinating tale...Mr. Dickie has turned legend into history."—The Economist
"Convincingly researched and thoroughly entertaining."—The Wall Street Journal
"The Craft is a superb book that often reads like an adventure novel. It's informative, fascinating and often very funny."—The Times (UK)
"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
"[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
“At last! A book about Freemasonry that is scholarly and balanced.”—Robert L D Cooper (Curator Emeritus of the Grand Lodge of Scotland) and Mark A. Tabbert, (33rd degree), The Masonic Authors’ Guild International
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