I suppose it is an exercise in futility to review a book that is already out of print, but this one is just too good to let it disappear without some comment.

Masonic history is an obscure backwater, mostly consisting of Masons detailing the history of their lodges or Grand lodges, or sensationalist authors purporting to discover the secret origins of this fraternal order. Lynn Dumenil was one of the first serious academic historians to dive into these murky waters and this book is the happy result. (Steven C. Bullock's Revolutionary Brotherhood is another worthy entry in the field.)

Dumenil focuses on the 50-year period from 1880-1930, during which Freemasonry evolved from a spiritual haven from burgeoning industrialism and an increasingly materialistic world, into a more public organization emphasizing Americanism, civic involvement, and sociality. It is a fascinating historical journey and Dumenil's well-written book rescues Masonry from both the platitudes and the brickbats that plague most discussions of this most-popular of fraternal orders.

Dumenil surveys American Masonry as a whole during this period, but grounds her conclusions with particular detail about the Live Oak Lodge in Oakland, CA, whose records she mines for intriguing data. (One telling fact is that even in the late 19th century, attendance at lodge meetings was rarely more than 15% of the membership. The more things change, the more they stay the same!)

I've read numerous books on Masonry, both historical and philosophical, but none of them have better helped me get a handle on real-world Masonry than Dumenil's. It is a shame that it is out of print.

This was a typical textbook, but more involved and interesting than the average. I would not read it for fun, but since I had too, I am happy that it was not incredibly dry and boring.