Post by Stash on Jan 9, 2005 18:34:49 GMT
TITLE: A Dictionary Of Freemasonry
AUTHOR: Robert Macoy
PUBLISHER: Gramercy Books, NY
ISBN: 0-517-69213-9
PAGES: 700
COST(CDN$): $17.58
As this is a reference book primarily, I can go into a little more detail w/o "blowing the story"
First, I will give you a breakdown of the contents:
p7-33 : General History of Freemasonry
p33-68 : Birth of Freemasonry in each country/state
p69-396 : Cyclopedia of Freemasonry
p397-700 : A Dictionary of Symbolical Masonry
General History of Freemasonry[/u]
This section of the book is simply brutal. The entire book was first published in the early 1800s, and thus the history is not only incomplete, but it's so poorly written, i CHALLENGE you to get through these 30 or so pages, I recommend you just forget about this section altogether.
Birth of Freemasonry in each country/state[/u]
Here, each state of the USA as well as every applicable country around the world is listed along with when and how masonry originated in that area. It is not very interested to read for interest's sake, but very valuable as a reference.
p69-396 : Cyclopedia of Freemasonry[/u]
THIS is the real gold of this book. This section is not only incredibly informative and interesting, but it is also littered with literally hundreds of images (some very rare, some common, all black/white). I guess if you're a casual reader this would not be a "fun" read. But for someone like who me who just loves to eat up this type of information, this section is highly recommended. Even if you don't get this book to read cover-cover, this section is worth it just as a reference on the shelf. The sheer number of images and rarity of some is astounding.
A Dictionary of Symbolical Masonry[/u]
I have no idea how or why this was compiled, but it was absolutely horrible. It is basically a listing of all symbolical masonry terms....with each entry written by a particular masonic author (not Robert Macoy). So it's just patchwork. Although this fact alone doesn't make the section suck, the uselessness and misrepresentation that many of the entries exhibit is appaling. SKIP this section and save yourself some trouble.
CONCLUSION[/u]
I realize I've probably spoken a bit negatively about the book in this review due to the first and last sections, but I cannot stress how good and informative the 3rd section is, which is the main part of the book anyway. It is a cheap, and excellent book when taken as a whoke and i DO recommend purchasing it for addition to any masonic collection. It should not, however, be used as an ONLY masonic reference for someone....only as a complement to others.
AUTHOR: Robert Macoy
PUBLISHER: Gramercy Books, NY
ISBN: 0-517-69213-9
PAGES: 700
COST(CDN$): $17.58
As this is a reference book primarily, I can go into a little more detail w/o "blowing the story"
First, I will give you a breakdown of the contents:
p7-33 : General History of Freemasonry
p33-68 : Birth of Freemasonry in each country/state
p69-396 : Cyclopedia of Freemasonry
p397-700 : A Dictionary of Symbolical Masonry
General History of Freemasonry[/u]
This section of the book is simply brutal. The entire book was first published in the early 1800s, and thus the history is not only incomplete, but it's so poorly written, i CHALLENGE you to get through these 30 or so pages, I recommend you just forget about this section altogether.
Birth of Freemasonry in each country/state[/u]
Here, each state of the USA as well as every applicable country around the world is listed along with when and how masonry originated in that area. It is not very interested to read for interest's sake, but very valuable as a reference.
p69-396 : Cyclopedia of Freemasonry[/u]
THIS is the real gold of this book. This section is not only incredibly informative and interesting, but it is also littered with literally hundreds of images (some very rare, some common, all black/white). I guess if you're a casual reader this would not be a "fun" read. But for someone like who me who just loves to eat up this type of information, this section is highly recommended. Even if you don't get this book to read cover-cover, this section is worth it just as a reference on the shelf. The sheer number of images and rarity of some is astounding.
A Dictionary of Symbolical Masonry[/u]
I have no idea how or why this was compiled, but it was absolutely horrible. It is basically a listing of all symbolical masonry terms....with each entry written by a particular masonic author (not Robert Macoy). So it's just patchwork. Although this fact alone doesn't make the section suck, the uselessness and misrepresentation that many of the entries exhibit is appaling. SKIP this section and save yourself some trouble.
CONCLUSION[/u]
I realize I've probably spoken a bit negatively about the book in this review due to the first and last sections, but I cannot stress how good and informative the 3rd section is, which is the main part of the book anyway. It is a cheap, and excellent book when taken as a whoke and i DO recommend purchasing it for addition to any masonic collection. It should not, however, be used as an ONLY masonic reference for someone....only as a complement to others.