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A Brief History of Secret Societies: An unbiased history of our desire for secret knowledge
Throughout history there have been societies of closed membership and covert purpose. From the Knights Templars to the freemasons, an intimate look at the inner workings of secret societies.
346 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1997
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March 18, 2014
A Brief History of Secret Societies, by author David V. Barrett is an extremely well-researched look at secret societies in the modern world. Barrett has amassed a collection of facts and hypotheses regarding the esoteric movements and their connections throughout the history of Western culture, in particular Freemasonry.
Barrett begins his book by setting up some ground rules, if you will, about where he stands on politico-religious philosophy and terminology. This is to set up the foundation for the rest of the references throughout his book. He then goes on to give his best explanation as to where esoteric beliefs originate, beginning in the cradles of civilization, to the Egyptians, Greeks, Zoroastrians and others. But he glosses over centuries worth of important people, places and movements, giving them a small page or two for their contributions to what this book is actually about: Freemasonry. This book is essentially the history of the Freemasons. References to the Knights Templar, Rosicrucians and Cathars are made, but often just in how they relate to Freemasonry. Barrett makes almost invisible mention of others such as the Golden Dawn, the KKK, secret government agencies, and so on, and really should have just omitted those sections. He finishes with a bit of a paranoid ramble of why secret societies may be in danger and should remain secretive.
My chief criticism of this book is its lack of impartiality. During the introduction on page XX Barrett claims:
"I am not acting as an advocate for Freemasonry,"
and:
"I am not personally either approving or antagonistic towards any secret society, or any branch of Christianity or any other Religion."
Yet seeing these preemptive defensive claims at all, especially before the book had even begun, was a bad omen for me and it should be for you, too. Fair or not, intentional or not, this book is essentially one long Masonic apologist and anti-Fundamentalist Christian text. It's the author's prerogative to express these ideas, but he should represent it as such and not try to play the impartiality ticket. Barrett spends an inordinate amount of time on the benevolence of the Freemasons and his fear of extreme right-wing conservative fundamentalist Christians, in particular the American branches. Barrett simply can't help himself from interjecting his own political agenda and it detracts from his self-proclaimed effort to be objective and scholarly, and it blurs out the supposed purpose of the writing itself - secret societies.
In his defense his research seems impeccable, and he is dedicated to debunking myths and negative attitudes toward secret societies. But if you have a moderate, fair mindset and were hoping to find a book based more on history and less on politics you have to take 'A Brief History of Secret Societies' with a grain of salt. His anti-Evangelicalism and anti-Americanism boil over too frequently, even to the point of insinuating that Evangelicals and conservative Americans are becoming hate groups that may return to the actions and methods of the inquisition to wipe out modern secret societies. Of course making claims like this is nothing more than classic politicking and fear mongering. By the end of the book it really just comes out as typical liberal British elitist rhetoric. I get it. He opposes the Fundamentalist Right and he's on the Elitist Left. He fails to recognize what moderate and independent thinkers have known for centuries: they're both just sides of the same coin.
I must also take a brief moment to mention David V. Barrett, the author of this book, and author of other books, has this strange (and sometimes hard to read) habit of using, far, far too much -if not excessive- amounts of punctuation in his writing, which may, or may not, distract you (and other readers) from reading his work/writing/book. So, unfortunately, for him (and you), his actual style, as a writer, is rather annoying. There's not much flow, if any at all, if flow is the correct word to use, to his sentences. The book reads, extremely, choppy (and dry) - but now I, and this review, digress.
Ultimately I gave this book a 3, but I really could have gone lower. I enjoyed his thorough research, his accuracy and many of the quotes and references he makes throughout. The book was informative and interesting, if not a bit dry. But sadly the other authors' quotes turn out to be some of the best writing in the book. If you are a right-wing conservative you'll hate this book because he'll challenge your point of view frequently. If you are a left-wing liberal you'll love this book because he just blows on about what you want to hear. If you have more of a moderate mind, and can overlook Barrett's political agenda there is some great historical and factual value to this book. I would recommend it for anyone who can tolerate the politics, regardless of your affiliation, and focus on the excellent research that has been compiled about the Freemasons.
Barrett begins his book by setting up some ground rules, if you will, about where he stands on politico-religious philosophy and terminology. This is to set up the foundation for the rest of the references throughout his book. He then goes on to give his best explanation as to where esoteric beliefs originate, beginning in the cradles of civilization, to the Egyptians, Greeks, Zoroastrians and others. But he glosses over centuries worth of important people, places and movements, giving them a small page or two for their contributions to what this book is actually about: Freemasonry. This book is essentially the history of the Freemasons. References to the Knights Templar, Rosicrucians and Cathars are made, but often just in how they relate to Freemasonry. Barrett makes almost invisible mention of others such as the Golden Dawn, the KKK, secret government agencies, and so on, and really should have just omitted those sections. He finishes with a bit of a paranoid ramble of why secret societies may be in danger and should remain secretive.
My chief criticism of this book is its lack of impartiality. During the introduction on page XX Barrett claims:
"I am not acting as an advocate for Freemasonry,"
and:
"I am not personally either approving or antagonistic towards any secret society, or any branch of Christianity or any other Religion."
Yet seeing these preemptive defensive claims at all, especially before the book had even begun, was a bad omen for me and it should be for you, too. Fair or not, intentional or not, this book is essentially one long Masonic apologist and anti-Fundamentalist Christian text. It's the author's prerogative to express these ideas, but he should represent it as such and not try to play the impartiality ticket. Barrett spends an inordinate amount of time on the benevolence of the Freemasons and his fear of extreme right-wing conservative fundamentalist Christians, in particular the American branches. Barrett simply can't help himself from interjecting his own political agenda and it detracts from his self-proclaimed effort to be objective and scholarly, and it blurs out the supposed purpose of the writing itself - secret societies.
In his defense his research seems impeccable, and he is dedicated to debunking myths and negative attitudes toward secret societies. But if you have a moderate, fair mindset and were hoping to find a book based more on history and less on politics you have to take 'A Brief History of Secret Societies' with a grain of salt. His anti-Evangelicalism and anti-Americanism boil over too frequently, even to the point of insinuating that Evangelicals and conservative Americans are becoming hate groups that may return to the actions and methods of the inquisition to wipe out modern secret societies. Of course making claims like this is nothing more than classic politicking and fear mongering. By the end of the book it really just comes out as typical liberal British elitist rhetoric. I get it. He opposes the Fundamentalist Right and he's on the Elitist Left. He fails to recognize what moderate and independent thinkers have known for centuries: they're both just sides of the same coin.
I must also take a brief moment to mention David V. Barrett, the author of this book, and author of other books, has this strange (and sometimes hard to read) habit of using, far, far too much -if not excessive- amounts of punctuation in his writing, which may, or may not, distract you (and other readers) from reading his work/writing/book. So, unfortunately, for him (and you), his actual style, as a writer, is rather annoying. There's not much flow, if any at all, if flow is the correct word to use, to his sentences. The book reads, extremely, choppy (and dry) - but now I, and this review, digress.
Ultimately I gave this book a 3, but I really could have gone lower. I enjoyed his thorough research, his accuracy and many of the quotes and references he makes throughout. The book was informative and interesting, if not a bit dry. But sadly the other authors' quotes turn out to be some of the best writing in the book. If you are a right-wing conservative you'll hate this book because he'll challenge your point of view frequently. If you are a left-wing liberal you'll love this book because he just blows on about what you want to hear. If you have more of a moderate mind, and can overlook Barrett's political agenda there is some great historical and factual value to this book. I would recommend it for anyone who can tolerate the politics, regardless of your affiliation, and focus on the excellent research that has been compiled about the Freemasons.
November 18, 2023
Lots of dates and information thrown at you, which was sometimes interesting and digestible but at other points simply too much.
Also it didn’t feel particularly varied surrounding secret societies, predominantly freemasonry and rosicurianism were mentioned, which was fine but would have been nice to go into other societies too (not just 2 pages on the mafia for instance).
He also had the habit of throwing chunks of text down from other works. Fine but it did feel like, at times, I was reading summaries of others works.
That being said an interesting book which dispelled a lot of myths and made me realise that it’s mystical for mystic sake (and vicious church).
Also it didn’t feel particularly varied surrounding secret societies, predominantly freemasonry and rosicurianism were mentioned, which was fine but would have been nice to go into other societies too (not just 2 pages on the mafia for instance).
He also had the habit of throwing chunks of text down from other works. Fine but it did feel like, at times, I was reading summaries of others works.
That being said an interesting book which dispelled a lot of myths and made me realise that it’s mystical for mystic sake (and vicious church).
January 10, 2025
This deals mainly with Freemasonry. Sometimes it can seem that whenever author David V Barrett tries to get into the Golden Dawn or anything else mentioned in the blurb, he eventually gets distracted by Freemasonry again. The blurb is quite misleading in that respect, to newcomers at least. He essentially deals with the KKK for about 2-3 pages and the Mafia less.
The gorgeously crystal clear, unpretentious style of writing of this book is what makes it stand out as brilliant. My attempt to try to define it follows the line of if the author was a teacher, then he would write like a teacher, if he was a journalist, he would write like a journalist and if he was a writer, he would write like a writer, but the author was in fact a secret agent and he writes like a secret agent. Of what I know about secret agents (little), I have the impression they commonly have an extremely clear way of communicating. So, there is a whole secret chapter in this book which is essentially missing which should explain the hidden and this is the feeling I have throughout reading the book. Yet it offers something, if you read between the lines.
The book is a "brief history". It explains the history of Freemasonry and Rosicrucianism and the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, Gnosticism, the Hermetic philosophers and the Renaissance alchemists also. It doesn't go into sufficient details about their beliefs and practices, nor into their organisation, even. I felt this could have been elaborated more. In the end, it mainly just explains the fact they are secret or secretive and this is the premise of the book and the author engages in an intensive logical dialectic of this idea. Looking at the title and picking this book up and then buying it, I did not expect that it would really be mostly about Freemasonry, but upon later reflection I can now understand how this happened.
An extra slight annoyance for me was the fact that author dispels all conspiracy theories (and I thanked him for this initially and it added to this really quite beautiful clarity in the book) and he repeats many times throughout that there is no evidence to support conspiracy theories about the Freemasons (without mentioning what those conspiracy theories might actually be or why they might exist, but then finally does so very, very briefly on page 252, when he compares Freemasonry to P2). He then disregards the most important question, in that powerful, white men were/are Freemasons who have influenced major world events and that there is this really obvious, undeniable connection between Freemasons and the elite and the whole goal of Freemasonry might just actually be to create the building blocks and power structures of modernity itself.
I don't want to put words in the mouth of this book, nor create theories where there are need for none. Although I would consider myself a "Freethinker", I am by no stretch a conspiracy theorist and I have literally never read a conspiracy theory about Freemasonry before, I just know that they are out there, but any educated person knows themselves that there is something extra to this Freemasonry agenda if you just look at the facts and patterns and those facts and patterns are not mentioned anywhere in this book. It's as if they would be an inconvenient truth (or even, he might mean counterfactually that every time he says there is no evidence, that there really must be!) and I don't like that about this book. I am always sceptical of anything that tries to convince me of the government story. This book might be one of the most authoritative sources on the topic, but we need to accept that when it comes to these topics, the whole point is that there is no authoritative truth.
What irked me even further was the way he arrives at his extra brief mention of Nazism and the occult, being, you know, very British himself and adding it in from a standpoint of absolute convenience. He fails to explain how exactly Nazi occult ideology originated, passing it off to Guido von List, but he really just wants to make this pointless point that "Freemasonry in Britain has always been more of an Establishment organisation" and that Germany and Italy by comparison became fascist. It's all just so annoying and horrible and eye-rolling for an anti-extremist when not dealt with carefully and thoughtfully... Fortunately, he moves on quickly from something very important which he makes into a very uninteresting topic by failing to draw any kind of pattern. Yet again, there is a connection to Freemasonry. He says Hitler "later banned all secret societies, including Freemasonry; he had taken what he needed from them, and did not want any competition. The Party itself was to be the religion of the German people. The tremendous importance given to the swastika flag, the greeting with the Nazi salute, the undisguised ritualism of the great rallies, all were religious in their appeal to the people. The structure of Nazism was itself built on the structure of secret societies".
The KKK are eventually mentioned towards the end of the book. The KKK was linked to Freemasonry, but isn't that a conspiracy? Aren't so-called "black" people still discrimminated against by Freemasonry to this day? And postcolonialism is never mentioned in this book, not even once. What even is a conspiracy to this author?! Is a conspiracy just a conspiracy when it is Catholic? An interesting idea he then mentions is that the Mafia in Sicily were initially Robin Hood types, but it was when it moved to America that it became utterly corrupt. When does any organisation not become corrupt when it moves to America, would be my question here?
He briefly mentions his previous secret agent days when he wanted to publish a book about GCHQ, but was stopped by the government, because it was revealing of secrets. He then says the government is paranoid. This is quite funny. It is all interesting to be fair, but I can't shake the thought he is misguided in some way. Governments that allow themselves the liberty to keep secrets, specifically, as he says, "patterns of events", or facts as secrets, are executing a coercive, authoritarian power. In the end, secret societies are organisations of power and anyone who is not versed in how to understand power is just not going to understand this point. I'm positive about this, because any movement led by the people, however esoteric its knowledge might be, can never successfully withhold secrets from the people. He seems to make the opposite argument: because esoteric knowledge is deemed somehow unfit for the masses, it needs to be compartmentalised in secret societies, which look after this knowledge for the people. He does very well at conveying this concept by simply stating over and again how secret they are! As a side note, he also reinforces the point that Aleister Crowley (who blew the lid off secret societies) wanted nothing but power. There is an element of truth to this statement, but in this day and age people should start to acknowledge the fact that Aleister Crowley wanted sexual liberation most of all. Are we honestly meant to believe this view is correct? Maybe esoteric knowledge is just not fit for governments and conformists, but then, why are Freemasons in government, as in, all over it in an elitist kind of way?!
In the end, who is better placed to write this book than a former secret agent?! Somehow this is the central premise of the book to me. The last line of the book reads "The need for secrecy might, sadly, be greater than ever" and then I think this book was published in 1997. It's all a bit obscure.
To sum up, the nourishing style of writing makes this book a delicious, quick, satisfying meal for the hungry, but those looking for a slightly deeper dive into the mechanics of Freemasonry/Golden Dawn/Rosicrucianism themselves aren't going to get it and it disappoints in that regard. After reflection, I have a lot of anticipation for how truly mind-bendingly crazy these topics actually are. I'm giving it 4.5 stars, no more, on the basis it is truly compelling, riveting, gripping – it really got its jaws into me, but I can understand why people would give it 3 on the basis that they might already know about the topics uncovered in the book, which would make it boring in parts for those readers. After all, it never promises to reveal the mystery, only that there is one. I would recommend this book in general, although it is different and it might not be everyone's cup of tea.
The gorgeously crystal clear, unpretentious style of writing of this book is what makes it stand out as brilliant. My attempt to try to define it follows the line of if the author was a teacher, then he would write like a teacher, if he was a journalist, he would write like a journalist and if he was a writer, he would write like a writer, but the author was in fact a secret agent and he writes like a secret agent. Of what I know about secret agents (little), I have the impression they commonly have an extremely clear way of communicating. So, there is a whole secret chapter in this book which is essentially missing which should explain the hidden and this is the feeling I have throughout reading the book. Yet it offers something, if you read between the lines.
The book is a "brief history". It explains the history of Freemasonry and Rosicrucianism and the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, Gnosticism, the Hermetic philosophers and the Renaissance alchemists also. It doesn't go into sufficient details about their beliefs and practices, nor into their organisation, even. I felt this could have been elaborated more. In the end, it mainly just explains the fact they are secret or secretive and this is the premise of the book and the author engages in an intensive logical dialectic of this idea. Looking at the title and picking this book up and then buying it, I did not expect that it would really be mostly about Freemasonry, but upon later reflection I can now understand how this happened.
An extra slight annoyance for me was the fact that author dispels all conspiracy theories (and I thanked him for this initially and it added to this really quite beautiful clarity in the book) and he repeats many times throughout that there is no evidence to support conspiracy theories about the Freemasons (without mentioning what those conspiracy theories might actually be or why they might exist, but then finally does so very, very briefly on page 252, when he compares Freemasonry to P2). He then disregards the most important question, in that powerful, white men were/are Freemasons who have influenced major world events and that there is this really obvious, undeniable connection between Freemasons and the elite and the whole goal of Freemasonry might just actually be to create the building blocks and power structures of modernity itself.
I don't want to put words in the mouth of this book, nor create theories where there are need for none. Although I would consider myself a "Freethinker", I am by no stretch a conspiracy theorist and I have literally never read a conspiracy theory about Freemasonry before, I just know that they are out there, but any educated person knows themselves that there is something extra to this Freemasonry agenda if you just look at the facts and patterns and those facts and patterns are not mentioned anywhere in this book. It's as if they would be an inconvenient truth (or even, he might mean counterfactually that every time he says there is no evidence, that there really must be!) and I don't like that about this book. I am always sceptical of anything that tries to convince me of the government story. This book might be one of the most authoritative sources on the topic, but we need to accept that when it comes to these topics, the whole point is that there is no authoritative truth.
What irked me even further was the way he arrives at his extra brief mention of Nazism and the occult, being, you know, very British himself and adding it in from a standpoint of absolute convenience. He fails to explain how exactly Nazi occult ideology originated, passing it off to Guido von List, but he really just wants to make this pointless point that "Freemasonry in Britain has always been more of an Establishment organisation" and that Germany and Italy by comparison became fascist. It's all just so annoying and horrible and eye-rolling for an anti-extremist when not dealt with carefully and thoughtfully... Fortunately, he moves on quickly from something very important which he makes into a very uninteresting topic by failing to draw any kind of pattern. Yet again, there is a connection to Freemasonry. He says Hitler "later banned all secret societies, including Freemasonry; he had taken what he needed from them, and did not want any competition. The Party itself was to be the religion of the German people. The tremendous importance given to the swastika flag, the greeting with the Nazi salute, the undisguised ritualism of the great rallies, all were religious in their appeal to the people. The structure of Nazism was itself built on the structure of secret societies".
The KKK are eventually mentioned towards the end of the book. The KKK was linked to Freemasonry, but isn't that a conspiracy? Aren't so-called "black" people still discrimminated against by Freemasonry to this day? And postcolonialism is never mentioned in this book, not even once. What even is a conspiracy to this author?! Is a conspiracy just a conspiracy when it is Catholic? An interesting idea he then mentions is that the Mafia in Sicily were initially Robin Hood types, but it was when it moved to America that it became utterly corrupt. When does any organisation not become corrupt when it moves to America, would be my question here?
He briefly mentions his previous secret agent days when he wanted to publish a book about GCHQ, but was stopped by the government, because it was revealing of secrets. He then says the government is paranoid. This is quite funny. It is all interesting to be fair, but I can't shake the thought he is misguided in some way. Governments that allow themselves the liberty to keep secrets, specifically, as he says, "patterns of events", or facts as secrets, are executing a coercive, authoritarian power. In the end, secret societies are organisations of power and anyone who is not versed in how to understand power is just not going to understand this point. I'm positive about this, because any movement led by the people, however esoteric its knowledge might be, can never successfully withhold secrets from the people. He seems to make the opposite argument: because esoteric knowledge is deemed somehow unfit for the masses, it needs to be compartmentalised in secret societies, which look after this knowledge for the people. He does very well at conveying this concept by simply stating over and again how secret they are! As a side note, he also reinforces the point that Aleister Crowley (who blew the lid off secret societies) wanted nothing but power. There is an element of truth to this statement, but in this day and age people should start to acknowledge the fact that Aleister Crowley wanted sexual liberation most of all. Are we honestly meant to believe this view is correct? Maybe esoteric knowledge is just not fit for governments and conformists, but then, why are Freemasons in government, as in, all over it in an elitist kind of way?!
In the end, who is better placed to write this book than a former secret agent?! Somehow this is the central premise of the book to me. The last line of the book reads "The need for secrecy might, sadly, be greater than ever" and then I think this book was published in 1997. It's all a bit obscure.
To sum up, the nourishing style of writing makes this book a delicious, quick, satisfying meal for the hungry, but those looking for a slightly deeper dive into the mechanics of Freemasonry/Golden Dawn/Rosicrucianism themselves aren't going to get it and it disappoints in that regard. After reflection, I have a lot of anticipation for how truly mind-bendingly crazy these topics actually are. I'm giving it 4.5 stars, no more, on the basis it is truly compelling, riveting, gripping – it really got its jaws into me, but I can understand why people would give it 3 on the basis that they might already know about the topics uncovered in the book, which would make it boring in parts for those readers. After all, it never promises to reveal the mystery, only that there is one. I would recommend this book in general, although it is different and it might not be everyone's cup of tea.
August 30, 2010
When I bought this I was in the bookshop looking for something else entirely, but upon seeing the title I had to investigate further. I'm glad I did. Much as the title suggests your usual titillating work of questionable accuracy, the reality is that it couldn't be further from that, standing as one of very few books about the world of Freemasonry, the Rosicrucians & more that takes a completely objective - and dare I say sensible, down-to-earth - view. As we all know, the reality of conspiracy theories is often far less exciting, and at points that notion applies here. Something I really loved was the measured manner in which the author discredits certain claims about the likes of the Freemasons, proving in most cases that one author has simple cited another whose own work contained inaccuracies and outright lies.
More than anything though, this is an excellent overview of the development of religion and mysticism and the various secret societies that have sprung from them.
More than anything though, this is an excellent overview of the development of religion and mysticism and the various secret societies that have sprung from them.
July 31, 2013
A great amount of information, but it feels too dense and clutter. Sometimes less is more
February 24, 2025
Just read the first half, then shelve it
August 30, 2013
At times interesting and informative, at others a hard slog.
January 4, 2024
"A Brief History of Secret Societies" by David V. Barrett offers an intriguing journey through the clandestine corridors of human history, providing readers with a comprehensive overview of our fascination with secret knowledge. Barrett navigates the murky waters of secret societies with an unbiased lens, shedding light on the mysterious allure that has captivated individuals throughout the ages.
One of the book's notable strengths lies in its thorough research and factual presentation. Barrett takes a scholarly approach, delving into various secret societies across different cultures and time periods. The author's commitment to providing a well-rounded exploration of these organizations is commendable, offering readers a broad perspective on the subject matter.
Barrett's writing style is accessible and engaging, making complex historical narratives digestible for a wide audience. The book is structured in a way that builds a chronological understanding of the evolution of secret societies, from ancient times to more contemporary examples. This approach allows readers to trace the development of these secretive groups and grasp their significance in different historical contexts.
However, the book has its shortcomings. At times, the narrative can feel dense and overwhelming, with an abundance of names, dates, and details that may challenge readers who are not well-versed in history. Additionally, some sections lack the depth and analysis that would have enhanced the overall understanding of certain societies.
Furthermore, while Barrett claims to maintain an unbiased perspective, there are instances where the author's personal opinions or interpretations subtly seep into the narrative. This may raise concerns for readers seeking a truly impartial exploration of the subject matter.
In conclusion, "A Brief History of Secret Societies" serves as a commendable introduction to the enigmatic world of secret knowledge. Barrett's dedication to thorough research and his engaging writing style make this book accessible to a broad audience. However, readers should approach the material with a critical eye, as the author's attempts at neutrality may not always be fully realized. Overall, it's a worthwhile read for those intrigued by the hidden threads woven into the tapestry of human history.
One of the book's notable strengths lies in its thorough research and factual presentation. Barrett takes a scholarly approach, delving into various secret societies across different cultures and time periods. The author's commitment to providing a well-rounded exploration of these organizations is commendable, offering readers a broad perspective on the subject matter.
Barrett's writing style is accessible and engaging, making complex historical narratives digestible for a wide audience. The book is structured in a way that builds a chronological understanding of the evolution of secret societies, from ancient times to more contemporary examples. This approach allows readers to trace the development of these secretive groups and grasp their significance in different historical contexts.
However, the book has its shortcomings. At times, the narrative can feel dense and overwhelming, with an abundance of names, dates, and details that may challenge readers who are not well-versed in history. Additionally, some sections lack the depth and analysis that would have enhanced the overall understanding of certain societies.
Furthermore, while Barrett claims to maintain an unbiased perspective, there are instances where the author's personal opinions or interpretations subtly seep into the narrative. This may raise concerns for readers seeking a truly impartial exploration of the subject matter.
In conclusion, "A Brief History of Secret Societies" serves as a commendable introduction to the enigmatic world of secret knowledge. Barrett's dedication to thorough research and his engaging writing style make this book accessible to a broad audience. However, readers should approach the material with a critical eye, as the author's attempts at neutrality may not always be fully realized. Overall, it's a worthwhile read for those intrigued by the hidden threads woven into the tapestry of human history.
April 12, 2022
Despite this book claiming to stray from bias, I still absorbed information with the consideration that there may be swayed interests behind what is chosen to be mentioned and what's not. Anyway, I had a hard time reading this because there's so much info and I'm not familiar with all the different names, but it was something I feel that I needed to see and be exposed to as I drew a lot of parallels with my other previously read book "Secret History of the World". I took what I could learn from this book but am not making it hard on myself to try and memorize everything. I simply wanted to be able to piece together and refine, in my head, my concept of secret societies and their history of them. The book touched upon the rise of fundamentalism and how occult societies are often linked with Satanism and why that is. I learned a lot about my own beliefs and what religious movements and ideas I can relate to. The concept of strengthening my direct experience of God and trying to find the divinity within myself is something I aspire to continue working on. I liked other religious insights that were just theoretical but opened my eyes nonetheless, things like there may be a separate God, making the 2 gods the Creator God and the Material God, or in another view, the Divine God and the Material Creator God. The God that has materialized us could be seen as the Evil one, which is why we suffer in this material life, but our spirituality and our eventual reunion with the divine God comes to us after death and at times throughout our life. That's just an example but I appreciated learning about unorthodox things like that because it will help me to better understand the symbolism and reasoning behind various religious movements, practices, arts, and history. I can have more in-depth conversations when it comes to esoteric philosophies and religions.
May 21, 2024
An interesting and unexpected book. Going in I was expecting drooling silliness, one of those giddy conspiratorial texts attempting to define all of history's evils. and pointing harsh fingers at who is "really" to blame. This book is nothing of the sort.
Academic, at times dry, it is helped by the smooth style and wit of the author. It is a history book, although with a creeping bias. Barrett is so opposed to the conspiratorial ideologies surrounding various "secret" societies (if you've heard of them, and can research them, Barrett explains, they really aren't much hidden), that his anger cannot be restrained in spots. He makes it a point, repeatedly, to remind the reader that he is not a member, nor a supporter or opponent of any of the misty organizations discussed.
The research going into this study appears to be extensive, taking in the words of ancient proponants and inquisitoners; fanatical true believers and enraged anti-believers; religious authorities both in favor of and opposed; historians from both within and outside of the organizations under consideration. All of this builds a picture of historical truth, sometimes sinister, usually not, that has such logic to it, that it is difficult to wholesale dismiss.
A worthy book, in particular if you are anxious that hidden groups of supernatural influence--Freemasons, the Illuminati--control everything. They do not. They are mostly men's clubs or esoteric religions that do not worship Satan, but accept different perspectives on the nature of God. For my own purposes, this book offers a sane background of a study too often marred by insanity.
Academic, at times dry, it is helped by the smooth style and wit of the author. It is a history book, although with a creeping bias. Barrett is so opposed to the conspiratorial ideologies surrounding various "secret" societies (if you've heard of them, and can research them, Barrett explains, they really aren't much hidden), that his anger cannot be restrained in spots. He makes it a point, repeatedly, to remind the reader that he is not a member, nor a supporter or opponent of any of the misty organizations discussed.
The research going into this study appears to be extensive, taking in the words of ancient proponants and inquisitoners; fanatical true believers and enraged anti-believers; religious authorities both in favor of and opposed; historians from both within and outside of the organizations under consideration. All of this builds a picture of historical truth, sometimes sinister, usually not, that has such logic to it, that it is difficult to wholesale dismiss.
A worthy book, in particular if you are anxious that hidden groups of supernatural influence--Freemasons, the Illuminati--control everything. They do not. They are mostly men's clubs or esoteric religions that do not worship Satan, but accept different perspectives on the nature of God. For my own purposes, this book offers a sane background of a study too often marred by insanity.
May 9, 2023
A whole lot of info on the freemasons, rosicrucians and Tarot cards. In general a lot of occult societies. Nothing wrong with that, but when one whole chapter is about Freemasons, a lot of words on the Rosicrucians and the Knights Templar and a lot of details on how Tarot cards and reading have evolved in those groups, I wonder when he is going to talk about Skull & Bones for example? And groups in general who aren't necessarily connected to the occult.
Spoiler: They get a brief blurb but that's it. We don't get one whole chapter on Ordo Templi Orientis, one chapter on the Rosicrucians.
This is also extremely eurocentric. I mean this would've been a good opportunity to talk about Secret Societies in asia, africa and south america as well. Or are you telling me there are no secret societies there?
Spoiler: They get a brief blurb but that's it. We don't get one whole chapter on Ordo Templi Orientis, one chapter on the Rosicrucians.
This is also extremely eurocentric. I mean this would've been a good opportunity to talk about Secret Societies in asia, africa and south america as well. Or are you telling me there are no secret societies there?
July 30, 2024
In a narrow cobbled street, nestled in the shadow of a leaning town hall, a single stall stood alone. The tender was on his phone and looked up only to tell me the price of a book that had caught my eye- a crumpled book on secret societies.
There is a reason I did not stumble across this in a bookshop. A book that claims to be completely unbiased, but treats Masonic sources as complete fact...
Not about a selection of secret societies at all, but a long winded spiel about Freemasons (the most boring of all the secret societies). Scarcely three pages on both the mafia and the KKK combined.
The only (partially) worthwhile material is the information Barrett manages to regurgitate before he gets to freemasonry- before he keeps tripping over it and falling flat on his face.
There is a reason I did not stumble across this in a bookshop. A book that claims to be completely unbiased, but treats Masonic sources as complete fact...
Not about a selection of secret societies at all, but a long winded spiel about Freemasons (the most boring of all the secret societies). Scarcely three pages on both the mafia and the KKK combined.
The only (partially) worthwhile material is the information Barrett manages to regurgitate before he gets to freemasonry- before he keeps tripping over it and falling flat on his face.
October 4, 2019
I picked this up at a Goodwill a year or two ago and it has been on the shelf hanging out as I bounced from books on former presidents, cryptids, movie tie-ins, aliens, etc. Finally I decided that this was what was next and I’m glad it did. Very informative and entertaining, although I gave it a 4 star due to a few parts that I had to go back and reread before grasping (but that could’ve just been poor focus on my part). I recommend to anyone with even a passing interest in the topic.
July 4, 2022
Well researched and well reasoned. I would have like the book more at twice the length with more in-depth coverage, but it is named "A Brief History...."
November 2, 2022
2 1/2 stars. I think I was hoping for more “secrets” than a repetition of history dates.
January 31, 2023
Quite interesting to know there are so many Secret Societies since the beginning of the civilization until today though they remain secret.
February 16, 2016
This book can only be described as informative and certainly one that I believe everyone should read, removing the many myths associated with secret societies of the world. Starting from the dawn of ancient civilisation, the book objectively explores the hidden history of esoteric religious beliefs as the human race continuously seeks out knowledge and understanding of the world.
Dr. David Barrett, British sociologist of religion has amassed numerous works over his career. He contributes regularly for The Independent, Fortean Times and the Catholic Herald. Before he turned to writing, he was an intelligence analyst for the UK Government Communications Headquarters and in the United States government’s National Security Agency.
Have you ever wondered and questioned the existence of such secret groups like the Knights Templar, Rosicrucians, Cathars, Freemasons, Golden Dawn and KKK? Barrett explores the origins of these groups, the symbols and the reasoning behind why certain people join such organisations. He explains in detail the various degrees of learning and ascension into the higher hierarchy of the groups, values, rules, customs and dress. He does all this in a simple and believable manner.
Journeying back to the beginnings of our civilisation to the Egyptians, Greeks and Zoroastrians, Barrett explains where the esoteric beliefs originate. Following the rise and need for such groups to exist, with many claiming to have their origins dating back millennia, something which he debunks, we travel the evolutionary road with many of secret groups only having their beginnings in the 19th and 20th centuries.
This book is excellently researched, amassing a huge collection of facts and hypotheses, connecting the esoteric movements to the history of the Western culture, particularly focussing on the Freemasons where a large amount of the book dwells on.
Having enjoyed this book, the only negative point to add is with the amounts of facts provided and the detailed exploration of societies, it can lead to heavy reading with so much information to digest. However as stated in the beginning, if your curiosity to learn more about the secret groups exists, wanting to know where they originated from, what happens behind closed doors, the beliefs and customs, this book will give an objective detailed view and debunk many of the myths you have heard and probably believed in.
Dr. David Barrett, British sociologist of religion has amassed numerous works over his career. He contributes regularly for The Independent, Fortean Times and the Catholic Herald. Before he turned to writing, he was an intelligence analyst for the UK Government Communications Headquarters and in the United States government’s National Security Agency.
Have you ever wondered and questioned the existence of such secret groups like the Knights Templar, Rosicrucians, Cathars, Freemasons, Golden Dawn and KKK? Barrett explores the origins of these groups, the symbols and the reasoning behind why certain people join such organisations. He explains in detail the various degrees of learning and ascension into the higher hierarchy of the groups, values, rules, customs and dress. He does all this in a simple and believable manner.
Journeying back to the beginnings of our civilisation to the Egyptians, Greeks and Zoroastrians, Barrett explains where the esoteric beliefs originate. Following the rise and need for such groups to exist, with many claiming to have their origins dating back millennia, something which he debunks, we travel the evolutionary road with many of secret groups only having their beginnings in the 19th and 20th centuries.
This book is excellently researched, amassing a huge collection of facts and hypotheses, connecting the esoteric movements to the history of the Western culture, particularly focussing on the Freemasons where a large amount of the book dwells on.
Having enjoyed this book, the only negative point to add is with the amounts of facts provided and the detailed exploration of societies, it can lead to heavy reading with so much information to digest. However as stated in the beginning, if your curiosity to learn more about the secret groups exists, wanting to know where they originated from, what happens behind closed doors, the beliefs and customs, this book will give an objective detailed view and debunk many of the myths you have heard and probably believed in.
November 7, 2025
In a Brief History Of Secret society Barrett gives an explanation of the reason why we search for secrecy. He covers several secret Societies and movements such as KKK, Freemasons, Rosicrusians, maffia, cathars, caballa and Knights Templars. However the amount of attention given to freemasons and Rosicrusians is disproportionate. 1/3rd if not more of the whole book was dedicated to freemasons. Oke not a big deal you say, but he then simply gives too much uninteresting information about them, who entered when, who was affiliated with who etc. I feel like I wanted to know more about the other Societies he covered.
Also the title says it's unbiased but i somehow get the feeling that Freemasonery is his favorite child. He goes on defending the claims against Freemasonery for a good 40 pages or so.
When he covers the other societies and movements it is much more interesting. And also he reads somewhat nice.
3 out 5 stars
Also the title says it's unbiased but i somehow get the feeling that Freemasonery is his favorite child. He goes on defending the claims against Freemasonery for a good 40 pages or so.
When he covers the other societies and movements it is much more interesting. And also he reads somewhat nice.
3 out 5 stars
September 11, 2007
The book title is a bit of a misnomer. For all intents and purposes this is a brief history of Freemasonry, the Rosicruicians, and the Tarot. While the book features information on other secret societies such as the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, the Mafia, and the KKK these subjects are so briefly discussed they could have been omitted. It would seem that the focus of this book was to show how these groups handle esoteric religions, and the 'golden thread' that links mainstream religions. It is thankfully devoid of conspiracy theory and contains little speculation (which I feel have marred other works on the subject). I recommend this to anyone interested in the topic, but discourage from trusting the dust jacket.
August 10, 2016
Decent overview of various esoteric societies. I felt like the author could've left off things like the Mafia and the Klan since his focus seemed to lie primarily with the more mystical side of things.
December 13, 2020
Lots of info. Glad that he had done his research (and there’s tons) and it’s factual rather than his own opinion. Brief history is exactly what it is. Read as part of a book challenge - "history book"
January 2, 2009
An extremely well researched, critical and objective book. Highly informative.
June 29, 2015
Interesting, very even handed and readable, this book looks at the history of secret societies including historical context and with a critical eye to sensational myths, and an open mind.
August 19, 2016
Fairly interesting
April 4, 2017
Informative and very interesting.
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