The Little Book of Secret Societies: 50 of the World's Most Notorious Organizations and How to Join Them

by Joel Levy

History is riddled with mysteries surrounding secret societies. Nearly all civilizations have at some point been the home to these shadowy groups. Meeting behind closed doors and saying nothing of what goes on inside, suspicion shrouds their every move. Should we be afraid of the Freemasons? How powerful were the Illuminati? When people say that world affairs are shaped by these subversive organizations, should we really believe them?
From college fraternities like the Skull and Bones, to religious movements like the Templars, Joel Levy examines 50 of the most infamous secret societies from throughout history. Balancing the historical claims with more skeptical viewpoints, here is all the evidence you need to decide for yourself exactly how suspicious you should be.

Genres: Nonfiction, History

144 pages, Hardcover

First published August 25, 2012

About the author

Joel Levy is a writer and journalist specializing in science and history. He is the author of over a dozen books, including The Little Book of Conspiracies and Scientific Feuds: From Galileo to the Human Genome Project. Phobiapedia is his first book for children.

Reviews

[Kathi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I guess this was...okayish. I had expected a bit more, because taken everything into account, the book didn't seem to be as thoroughly researched as advertised. After all, basically every society of the first half of the book was conspired to be using brainwash, to be believing in the satanic and occultic as well as being yet another (there really were so many according to the conspiracy theories) item in helping the Illuminati in establishing a new world order. At some point it just gets really old and you ask yourself how crazy people are exactly and why that amount of stupidity has found its way into the book. I, for my part, would have preferred to read more about the real affairs and matters related to the respective organizations, and less about (stupid) conspiracies involving the Illuminati. The worldwide influence's rating was also really questionable at times (and I don't understand the usage of range form 0-100 if the maximum is somewhere around 40+), sometimes the given reason didn't fit with the correlating number or related history of the organization at all and I found myself being suspicious of most ratings. The used humor in "How to join" was cringeworthy and trying too hard, and not really something to be taken seriously. I'm not against a bit of humor in non-fiction literature, but not if every secret organisation is already allocated one 1/2 pages only and the space could've been better invested on real matters. I'm also not really sure about the truthfulness of the contents and the author's research capability (or agenda...) The author claiming that the Bologna massacre was executed by left-extreme terrorists (when it is proved that neo-fascist terrorists were responsible, which is a considerable difference!) just shows of either poor research or manipulation of the truth. The irony of something like that happening in a book about secret organizations and their own agendas is not even hilarious, it's just sad. The listing of only 11 (!!!) sources was not really encouraging either; scientific books (even books that only claim to be) should invest more effort into research and the gathering of sources, especially when it's about such an entangled and confusing topic where the truth is all but clear and you need to consult every account possible. Being as it is, I can't say that I trust the accuracy of the contents; the author just seemed to want to debunk everything he couldn't find proper sources on (which given the amount of them doesn't amount to much). Nevertheless, it was a really interesting read in that I got to know about the existence of a few organizations that I've never even heard about (even though I have to ask myself how the Russian Mafia is not included in this book, when Italian (and American) Mafia are considered secret organizations?) Learning about the parallels between Mithras cult and Christianity (google it!) was especially interesting in that regard. But while this book is alright for people like me who have almost no before-knowledge of secret organizations, it's definitely not suitable for someone who's interested in more profound information. Even if you just think that the topic is intriguing, you might want to grab something that goes more into detail or put your own research into it (it's probably better than the author's).

[Scott Holstad · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting, but since many of these are largely unknown and close to irrelevant, one wonders about the relevancy of this book, and when each small section ends with the promised info on "How to Join Them" (which I hope no one takes seriously in purchasing this book) and sees that each piece of advice ranges between stand up comic to sarcasm, one wonders whether to place any credence in any information in the book at all, ie, is there anything remotely truthful or accurate in many of these alleged histories? I found the book to be more of an annoyance or perhaps an amusement for children, similar to various fairy tales, in its treatment of real, rumored and fantasized organizations. If one is truly curious about some of these alleged secret societies, one is better served by more serious resources.

[Jason Medina · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love books about secret societies and organizations. This was very interesting and helpful to my research for my next book. I also like that it was fast to read since I have another 2 books to get through for my research. Nice job with your research, Joel. Thanks.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good little coffee table type of book briefly touching on the history and ideas surrounding many different secret societies. Nothing of any depth but still informative.

[Leon Laffredo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Disappointed, thought this was going to have some details, but not so much. I small book which contained a page or two, three at most on the groups. Yeah, disappointed is the word.

[Grace · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super interesting and informative

[Seth Braybrook · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book The Little Book of Secret Societies: 50 of the World's Most Notorious Organizations and How to Join Them by Joel Levy tells you everything you ever wanted to know about secret societies. I was very satisfied by this educational yet interesting nonfiction. Joel Levy gives us conspiracy claims which he combats with a skeptical standpoint on the ominous societies.

Joel Levy divides the book into five parts. Part one is all about Elite Societies like the Illuminati, MK-Ultra, MJ-12, and the Elders of Zion. Part two is about the mystical and occult societies like the Rosicrucians, The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, Druids, and Ordo Novi Templi. Part three is about religious societies like Opus Dei and the Priory of Sion both of which are very different from the way they are portrayed in The Da Vinci Code. Part four is about paramilitary and political societies like the Assassins, Ninjas, the Sons of Liberty, and the Black Hand. Part five is about the criminal societies like the Thuggees from Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, The American Mafia, and Murder Inc. For each secret society there are 2 or 3 pages of information. He starts with a brief discription of the society's history followed by conspiracy theories related to the society. Then he gives information that proves the conspiracy theories wrong. Last he finishes up the short article with a rating of the societies influence on the world and how to join the society.

I recommend this book to anyone who was ever interested in Secret Societies. It is a great guide to the topic and it is easy to understand. It holds your attention and it is a quick read.

[Patrick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as good as The Little Book of Conspiracies. This book tended to sum up the conspiracist angle as "they are part of the Illuminati" without really giving any details to historical beliefs. Additionally, he was completely willing to accept the mafias of Italy, but dismissive of the mafia's existence in the US, despite extensive court evidence. This brings his other summations into question, lowering the value of the book as a reference.

[Tori]

Short easy read, basically an encyclopedia of the most notorious secret societies. I picked it up off my husband's bookshelf because it looked interesting. Levy covered just about everything from Masons to Mafia. The author was very humorous in his sections about how to join the secret societies, even the ones that turned out to be fictional.

[Shane Gorbel]

good book and i recommend if u are interested about the illuminati or secret societies

[Hadlai · Rating 3 out of 5]

Entertaining and decently informative. Takes itself a little too seriously, I think.