For many centuries, since their founding as a guild comprising the master builders of the great castles and cathedrals of the Middle Ages, the freemasons have enjoyed a dual reputation: powerful -- often munificent -- rulers, politicians, and artists whose works have enhanced our world; and members of a dread secret society bent on evil.

Here the eminent historian Jasper Ridley offers a thoughtful, rounded assessment of freemasonry throughout the ages, from its origins to the present day. Not a mason himself, Ridley nonetheless refutes many of the outrageous allegations made against the order and puts into proper perspective its many contributions to civilization over the centuries.