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Ritual America: Secret Brotherhoods and Their Influence on American Society: A Visual Guide
"Adam Parfrey is one of the nation's most provocative publishers."—Seattle Weekly
"Secret society historian Craig Heimbichner follows the Middle Path to wisdom. He works the graveyard shift in the secret lodge."—Joan d'Arc, Paranoia magazine
Secret societies—now a staple of bestseller novels—are pictured as sinister cults that use hooded albinos to menace truth-seekers. Some conspiracy books claim that fraternal orders are the work of serpentine aliens and interbred humans who wish to supplant earth of its energy, and later, its very existence.
On the other side of the aisle, books by high-ranked Freemasons—skeptical in tone but no less partisan in approach—protect their organization's public image by denying the existence of its most contentious ideas.
Ritual America reveals the biggest secret of them all: that the influence of fraternal brotherhoods on this country is vast, fundamental, and hidden in plain view. In the early twentieth century, as many as one-third of America belonged to a secret society. And though fezzes and tiny car parades are almost a thing of the past, the Gnostic beliefs of Masonic orders are now so much a part of the American mind that the surrounding pomp and circumstance has become faintly unnecessary.
The authors of Ritual America contextualize hundreds of rare and many never-before printed images with entertaining and far-reaching commentary, making an esoteric subject provocative, exciting, and approachable.
Adam Parfrey is the author of Cult Rapture: Revelations of the Apocalyptic Mind and It's a Man's World: Men's Adventure Magazines, the Postwar Pulps. He is editor of the influential Apocalypse Culture series Love, Sex, Fear Death: The Inside Story of the Process Church of the Final Judgment.
Craig Heimbichner has recently appeared on a National Geographic documentary about the Bohemian Grove, contributed to the Feral House compilation Secret and Suppressed II, and wrote about the famous occult order the O.T.O. in Blood and Altar.
"Secret society historian Craig Heimbichner follows the Middle Path to wisdom. He works the graveyard shift in the secret lodge."—Joan d'Arc, Paranoia magazine
Secret societies—now a staple of bestseller novels—are pictured as sinister cults that use hooded albinos to menace truth-seekers. Some conspiracy books claim that fraternal orders are the work of serpentine aliens and interbred humans who wish to supplant earth of its energy, and later, its very existence.
On the other side of the aisle, books by high-ranked Freemasons—skeptical in tone but no less partisan in approach—protect their organization's public image by denying the existence of its most contentious ideas.
Ritual America reveals the biggest secret of them all: that the influence of fraternal brotherhoods on this country is vast, fundamental, and hidden in plain view. In the early twentieth century, as many as one-third of America belonged to a secret society. And though fezzes and tiny car parades are almost a thing of the past, the Gnostic beliefs of Masonic orders are now so much a part of the American mind that the surrounding pomp and circumstance has become faintly unnecessary.
The authors of Ritual America contextualize hundreds of rare and many never-before printed images with entertaining and far-reaching commentary, making an esoteric subject provocative, exciting, and approachable.
Adam Parfrey is the author of Cult Rapture: Revelations of the Apocalyptic Mind and It's a Man's World: Men's Adventure Magazines, the Postwar Pulps. He is editor of the influential Apocalypse Culture series Love, Sex, Fear Death: The Inside Story of the Process Church of the Final Judgment.
Craig Heimbichner has recently appeared on a National Geographic documentary about the Bohemian Grove, contributed to the Feral House compilation Secret and Suppressed II, and wrote about the famous occult order the O.T.O. in Blood and Altar.
340 pages, Hardcover
First published November 15, 2011
9 people are currently reading
335 people want to read
About the author
Adam Parfrey
27 books104 followersAdam Parfrey was an American journalist, editor, and the publisher of Feral House books, whose work in all three capacities frequently centered on unusual, extreme, or "forbidden" areas of knowledge. A 2010 Seattle Weekly profile stated that "what Parfrey does is publish books that explore the marginal aspects of culture. And in many cases—at least back when his interests were almost exclusively transgressive—he sheds light on subjects that society prefers to leave unexplored, carving a niche catering to those of us with an unseemly obsession with life's darkest, most depraved sides."
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
January 4, 2013
An absolute masterpiece!
Ritual America is a large, beautiful and well designed tome that covers wider territory than any other book on the subject and does it in an accesible way. The hundreds of images that make up the book are ones you cannot see anywhere else and serve to document how Mansons and the vast spread of secret societies in general have had a fundamental impact on our lives.
Unlike other Masonic conspiracy books which present a view of secret societies as shocking for the sake of shock value this book allows the reader to view all of the things that really are shocking about secret societies, the things hidden in plain sight. The authors refrain from taking either a negative or positive stance on the subject and the book thus feels scholarly and unbiased.
The authors take a dense and esoteric subject and through the use of some of the most fascinating images I've ever seen and a keen ability to write, they take both the novice and the expert on a deeply educational tour of the subject of secret societies.
A must read.
Ritual America is a large, beautiful and well designed tome that covers wider territory than any other book on the subject and does it in an accesible way. The hundreds of images that make up the book are ones you cannot see anywhere else and serve to document how Mansons and the vast spread of secret societies in general have had a fundamental impact on our lives.
Unlike other Masonic conspiracy books which present a view of secret societies as shocking for the sake of shock value this book allows the reader to view all of the things that really are shocking about secret societies, the things hidden in plain sight. The authors refrain from taking either a negative or positive stance on the subject and the book thus feels scholarly and unbiased.
The authors take a dense and esoteric subject and through the use of some of the most fascinating images I've ever seen and a keen ability to write, they take both the novice and the expert on a deeply educational tour of the subject of secret societies.
A must read.
April 4, 2012
Interesting, but the writers are def. cynical.
January 25, 2019
I really had to skim through this, three weeks is not enough time to absoeb all the incredible content. Thanks to the public library for providing the opportunity borrow it from another system.
January 10, 2025
Depending on what you are looking for this book is either very useful or completely useless. If you're looking for public information about the masons with an emphasis on the visuals of various secret societies this coffee table book will serve well.
I was looking for something not quite as focused on masonry and towards the end there is more but that is the focus. I was looking for a book that would explain the rise of fraternal/secret societies in America in the early 1900's but there was no discussion about that. Otherwise I was looking for a book that would examine lesser known fraternal/secret societies, there is a little bit of discussions about groups like the red men/odd fellows/etc.
This book lives and dies on it's expansive but shallow examination of masonry and various occult organizations with a plethora of photos, postcards, journal pages, advertisements etc.
I was looking for something not quite as focused on masonry and towards the end there is more but that is the focus. I was looking for a book that would explain the rise of fraternal/secret societies in America in the early 1900's but there was no discussion about that. Otherwise I was looking for a book that would examine lesser known fraternal/secret societies, there is a little bit of discussions about groups like the red men/odd fellows/etc.
This book lives and dies on it's expansive but shallow examination of masonry and various occult organizations with a plethora of photos, postcards, journal pages, advertisements etc.
May 2, 2017
Interesting
This book contains an interesting summary of the history of secret societies in America. You won't find all the answers here, and you won't even find a clearly constructed narrative. But you will learn a lot and have a chance to read a great many interesting excerpts from from primary sources. Of course, whether you believe is entirely up to you.
This book contains an interesting summary of the history of secret societies in America. You won't find all the answers here, and you won't even find a clearly constructed narrative. But you will learn a lot and have a chance to read a great many interesting excerpts from from primary sources. Of course, whether you believe is entirely up to you.
September 18, 2012
Doesn't really say much about "Their Influence on American Society".
July 14, 2016
Starts off strong, but collapses under its own weight. Lots of interesting information that is just kind of heaped together with little connection or commentary.
May 3, 2023
The way this book is written, I guess secret societies can just stay secret :P Chapters are grouped in such strange ways and the majority of the book is very long quotes from various sources without much attempt to contextualize or synthesize anything. I personally would have appreciated more about the various histories and how the factions came to exist. Or I would have appreciated chapters focusing on each of the major groups examined here - Freemason, Shriners, Knights Templar, Illuminati, and even Mormons and Scientologists. Instead we get a scattered overview with too many quotes and songs and sometimes incredibly boring detail about ritual without any explanation of the symbolism. The one thing I appreciated about this book was all the visuals - the photos, flyers, ads, buttons, etc, but I am very much left feeling like I wish someone more organized would write some version of this.
March 27, 2017
This is a truly captivating and entertaining read. Fantastic research and photos galore make for an engaging glimpse into these sometimes sinister yet intriguing secret societies
July 8, 2017
Lots of information , interesting. Could have used more structure .
September 15, 2022
Well-presented coffee table book showcasing the wild world of American fraternal societies - once a major hobby, now fallen on hard times. Full review: https://fakegeekboy.wordpress.com/202...
July 5, 2019
Borrowed it from the library. Sort of a coffee table book.
The authors have done their research. It was an interesting read, but not a book I want for my permanent library.
The authors have done their research. It was an interesting read, but not a book I want for my permanent library.
November 17, 2021
Una lista, técnicamente, en orden histórico, que cuenta alguna información sobre cultos, sectas u organizaciones discretas.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews