Secrets of the Tomb: Skull and Bones, the Ivy League, and the Hidden Paths of Power

by Alexandra Robbins

This is the only exposé of one of the world's most secretive and feared Yale University's nearly 200-year-old secret society, Skull and Bones. Through society documents and interviews with dozens of members, Robbins explains why this old-boy product of another time still thrives today.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Politics, Conspiracy Theories, Historical, Sociology, Cults

256 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2002

About the author

* 2023: New book! THE TEACHERS: A Year Inside America's Most Vulnerable, Important Profession *

The author of five New York Times bestselling books and a Goodreads Best Nonfiction Book of the Year, Alexandra Robbins is an award-winning journalist and speaker who writes nonfiction books in the style of fast-paced beach reads. Reviewers have called her smart, entertaining prose "poolside nonfiction."

Her latest book, THE TEACHERS, follows three teachers behind-the-scenes for a year and includes investigations based on interviews with hundreds of teachers across the country. THE TEACHERS has received starred reviews from both Publishers Weekly and Kirkus Reviews, is one of Yahoo!'s and The Week's "6 Highly Anticipated Books" for Spring 2023, a "Must Read of 2023" according to the Next Big Idea Club, one of Kirkus's "8 Most Buzzworthy Books Right Now," and a “Most Anticipated Book of 2023” by Literary Hub, The Next Big Idea Club, Kirkus, Zibby Books, and Professional Book Nerds.

Robbins is “an excellent stylist and a first-rate mind” (Houston Chronicle) whose writing style is “highly addictive” (Philadelphia Inquirer) and who “has a gift for writing fact like fiction” (Kirkus Reviews). She has also been honored with a "Distinguished Service to Public Education" award.

Robbins' books have been a New York Times Editors' Choice, People Magazine's Critic's Choice, a Books for a Better Life Award winner, and a Goodreads Best Nonfiction Book of the Year. She writes for publications such as The New Yorker, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Vanity Fair, The Atlantic, The Washington Post, and Forbes. She has appeared on a wide variety of national television shows such as "60 Minutes," "The Oprah Winfrey Show," "The Today Show," "The View," "The Colbert Report" and "Anderson Cooper 360."

You can find her on Twitter at @AlexndraRobbins, on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/AuthorAlexan..., on Instagram and TikTok at @authorAlexandraRobbins, and visit her website alexandrarobbins.com for more information.”

Reviews

[Jill · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay so things I learned from this book:
1) Yale is kinda the worst??
2) I mean it's probably fine.
3) But if you have no experience of it and only read this book, it seems like basically the worst. Elitist, conservative, snobbish, bratty, academically disinclined. Alexandra Robbins doesn't do well by her alma mater.
4) Skull & Bones is the worst of these worsts.
5) The patriarchs had hissy fits in the 70s when the current members wanted to include women. wtf. Also Yale only became coed in the 60s?! wtf
6) People really cared about the Skull & Bones while George W. was president.
7) George W. was also the worst.
8) Secret societies are ridiculous and really adolescent.
9) Networking is everything and I'm going to be poor forever.

In seriousness:
Overall, this was okay. I read it cause I'm currently into Yale (for ~writing research~), not secret societies, so I found some of the chapters -- particularly the one outlining the Bush connections in excessive detail -- seriously boring. BUT: in the end, Robbins does a solid job of debunking some of the insane conspiracies, and I did really enjoy the history of Yale stuff.

But honestly if anyone seriously thinks secret societies are anything other than pretentious little shits being pretentious little shits, I mean, they shouldn't.

[Hillary · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a disappointing read. I was a big fan of "Overachievers," and while "Pledged" was not as interesting, it was still a decent read. The latest book from Robbins, however, was a huge let down. It was almost painful to read, carrying on for pages and pages about Yale history, reciting old poems, and other stories only peripherally relating to the Skull and Bones society. It seemed like she didn't have enough relevant info for a book, so she added a ton of unnecessary filler to stretch it out.

[Hilary · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read this book in a day, skimming some parts. Definitely find it interesting how a club that takes only 15 members a year has "produced" 3 US Presidents (Taft, Bush 1 & 2 - plus John Kerry), Secretaries of State and Defense, members of the CIA, heads of every major bank, and a laundry list of employees in both Bush White Houses. Definitely confirms what an "old boys club/old money club" our country and our political system really is in many respects. In short doesn't sound like there's much mystery or anything that cool about the club itself as a senior at Yale, but the web of network you're brought into for the rest of your life is stunning ... and creepy.

[Josh · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book read like a term paper, and was just as interesting.

[Tim O'Hearn · Rating 3 out of 5]

When it comes to secret societies, Yale's Skull and Bones is the modern-day equivalent of the Illuminati. The author's theory (with some evidence) is that it is a bonafide branch of the Illuminati. Regardless, it's hard to believe that a society initiating just 15 members a year with less than 800 living members at any one time could have a roster featuring most of the prominent members of the Bush and Taft families plus John Kerry.

It's a natural source of intrigue--has been for centuries--and Alexandra Robbins wraps it together quite nicely. Though not a "patriarch," she reveals secrets and dispels rumors, having interviewed a bevy of Skull and Bones members. She covers all the bases, way deeper than any Wikipedia page or Youtube video. The tale of the Bonesmen is intertwined with the history of Yale, and, with that, the evolution of higher education in the United States. While not as deep as the fraternal history book The Company He Keeps, it's a fascinating sideshow.

There are arguments for and against secret societies through the book. Surprisingly, at the end, the author reveals that she too was in a secret society (Scroll and Key, no less). The point that stood out to me is that several Yalies opined that secret societies, by nature of their exclusivity, served to goad undergraduates to achieve at the highest level possible. The logic is that most people will hate the societies if that's what the crowd is doing, but, secretly, most would die for a "tap" (a bid for membership). Without a chance at this final stamp of excellence, many college students would lose ambition toward the end of their journey. This is applicable, to some level, to mainstream fraternities as well, but, of course, we can't talk about it out loud.

What makes this book a bit of a loser is that it feels like an attack on the Bush family. It was published right before the 2004 presidential election. People seem to forget that George W. Bush was not as highly regarded back then as he is today (the result of a meticulous, subconscious PR campaign). Most people probably also don't know that Alexandria Robbins was the person who broke the story of George Bush's SAT score. To this day, those numbers serve as one of the greatest rebuffs of Bush's "I did it on my own" legacy. In a wild twist, this turned out poorly for the author, because the Bush family is considered off-limits now. Who would have thought!

Enjoyable story about American history and some of the country's most prominent families, but the overtones are too much.

[Karen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Eh, just ok. It gets long-in-the-tooth in many places when discussing the history of Yale, much of it not related to the society. I decided to read the book because of the publicity about the society during the Kerry/Bush campaign. With all the discussion about what may or may not happen to members who talk, I find it curious if not unbelievable that the author would have access to members who so openly spill the beans--even if she was a member of another secret society. Why on earth would members of one secret society spill their secrets to a member of another, separate secret society? Doesn't add up. Nevertheless, it was an entertaining book. Makes you go, "hmmmm....?"

[William Nist · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was a member briefly of a fraternity at a more "causal" Ivy League school than Yale. A lot of the rituals and initiation rites described in the book were very similar and just as juvenile. And just like the Skull and Bones, they were and are (semi)secret.

Skull is not a 3 year live-in fraternity, it is more like an Senior Year Honor society...a club where you could spend your off time rubbing shoulders with the highly selective (15 members only) group of fellow students. Robbins, who was not a member, but was a member of another similar club at Yale, reveals both the happenings withing the walls of the Tomb, and the contents and architectural detail of the famous clubhouse. He also discusses many of the famous members that have been overly influential in our national life...the Bush family for example.

All very interesting, but the real secret is the "network" created by membership in this secret club. Of course, that is not much different than the network created by my fraternity or a lot of professional organizations in almost every field. But the caliber and privilege of this group of Yalies is what makes this network special. And it is the longevity, notoriety and the secrecy of this club, that is the special glue that so strongly binds all the Patriarchs (alumni) with the current Bone members.

Skull and Bones traces back to the founding of Yale in the 18th C. (Btw, Yale was founded by some discontents from Harvard, just a Princeton was founded by some discontents from Yale.) In any event, the Skull and Bones has a long and interesting history, and this volume will give you some insights.

[Kirby R. · Rating 2 out of 5]

The author is a great writer, and I think she did the absolute best with what she had. However, the topic is unfortunately stale.

On one end, I could have told you that the United States is largely run by rich conservative white men, so it reads less "No way!" and more "Yes, and?" In addition, not only is the organization largely not secretive (which I understand is partially by design to boost notoriety, but if I can find listings for the club's pins on eBay, it has to be said that some mysterious luster has been lost) but what is kept secret is nothing extremely fascinating; it's mainly personal lectures, debates, elections, and initiations filled with singing and costume-wearing. To me, this means that what actually went on in the club didn't matter and could have been virtually anything. All that mattered was that the people involved were important and those outside the club knew who they were but not what they did. The connections and power of the Bonesmen are real, and in fact, the only thing that makes the club weighty, it seems. The goings-on of the organization itself reads like nothing less than something between high-stakes boy scouts and a juvenile, pseudo-philosophical country club.

[Alice]

DNF at 33%

It was slow going and a lot of dry (to me) history on Yale and the university system in the US. I jut couldn't bring myself to pick it up for 2 days so I'm not going to force myself.

[Lane · Rating 5 out of 5]

this was awesome rich people are so insane

[Cwn_annwn_13 · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is a lot of interesting stuff in this but you have to ask yourself how much the information in it can be trusted because for one the author gets a good portion of it from anonymous Skull & Bones members who talked because they claimed they were tired of hearing so much weird speculation about them. So for one, how can you be sure what they told her was accurate and not intentional disinformation. For another even if what they gave her was true, its still information that they chose to let out but not the whole story. Another big factor that has to make you wonder is it turns out that the woman who wrote Secrets of the Tomb was her self a member of another elitist secret society at Yale, Scroll & Key.

This book is worth reading if your researching S & B but you just have to wonder how honest it is. The best book on the Skull & Bones is Fleshing Out Skull & Bones which was edited by Kris Millegan. Antony Suttons work on the 322 cabal is also highly recomended.

[Victoria Whited · Rating 3 out of 5]

Robbins' Secrets of the Tomb has a wonderful thesis but the reader won't be quite sure what that is exactly until the book's last three pages. Therefore, the work is extremely unorganized and confusing. Had Robbins reorganized her work and offered the reader better guidance, Robbins really could have written something very profound by capitalizing off of the power of imagery and running with it. Instead, the book comes off as a hodgepodge of questionable statements and out-of-place personal experiences with a magnificent finish.

[Erik Graff · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was a disappointment, mostly because Skull and Bones turns out, in her exposition, to be nothing more than an association of spoiled kids with silly rites and little social significance beyond serving as one means by which the rich and the powerful network to their own advantage. However, if you hate members of the Bush and the Walker families, all of them, this book with add fuel to the fire.

[Jenn · Rating 1 out of 5]

I hated this book! I had previously read one of the author's book and enjoyed that book. But this book was a real let down. I felt led on, that I was going to find out all these secrets! I think I learned more from the movie "The Skulls". Big disappointment for me!

[Heather · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have enjoyed Robbins other books, so I was surprised to find this one to be such a painful read. Parts of the book were great; but the rest I had to force myself to read.

[Emma Whear]

Read as background info for a short story I'm working on for the MFA.

I've always had a thing for secret societies. The best Gilmore Girl's episode (by a long shot) is about a Yale Secret Society "the Life and Death Brigade."

Fun stuff.

Three problems with this book.

1. Robbins sets up Skull and Bones as a secret, secret, secret society. So secret, that the truth will never be revealed. Then, she claims to have been approached by members willing to spill their guts. It comes off as phony. Perhaps it is true, but the lengths she goes to, to establish how secret it is, undermines her credibility. She needed to list her sources or at least a means by which she got them.

2. Robbins leads with the most fantastic rumors, but then the tail end of the book is how the club itself is fairly lame and harmless. The clubhouse – "The Tomb" is the haunt of college students, essays and deflated soccer balls strewn around. If that was her move – if she thinks most of the rumors are hogwash – she shouldn't have floated on the hype for the first half of the book. She's cashing in on the phenomenal.

3. Robbins obviously hates WASPs – and especially WASP males. Comes off as whiny.

On the other side of things, some real fun tidbits in here, as well as social commentary, that I believe is largely accidental.

The describing of the founding of Yale, the sequential foundings of the secret societies, and the nature of secret societies is great. Reminds me a lot of Lewis' essays on the "Inner Circles." Ah, the urge to be on the real inside.

[Sam Cross · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm extremely surprised that the author (presumably) chose to write on this topic of her own volition. The research is there,* but the organization and inspiration are not, so the book reads like an undergraduate paper for a class the author didn't particularly want to take.

The "secrets" revealed are largely benign and uninteresting, but that doesn't stop the author from repeating them throughout the book. The chapter titles are largely ornamental - the same topics were repeated again and again, regardless of their irrelevance to the section theme.

The most frustrating part of the book is that it's a superficial collection of information without any real exploration. The "facts"* are stated, but their significance is not explained in context. Bones alumni contributed to Bush's presidential campaign - so, what? That's not new, not a secret, not shocking, or even mildly surprising. The "hidden paths of power" explained in the book are not hidden, and neither are their implications explored.

If you're looking to glean more than a basic background on the origins of the Ivy League, I would not recommend this.

*without citation

[Juliana · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars. I had heard of Skull and Bones, but I didn't know what was true versus what was a conspiracy. This book has a lot of insight into what secret societies are in general (in the context of Yale and other Ivy League schools), which was interesting.

The fact that this was published in 2002 seemed to influence the author to devote quite a lot of time to analyzing the Bush family's relationships with other Bonesmen. While society members obviously benefit from the networking opportunities with other rich people, this is not the puppetmaster/illuminati-like entity people make it out to be.

Overall, this is worth the read and provides a lot of interesting information, though there are many occasions of the authors listing names of influential individuals with their Bones year. I'd be interested to learn what the society looks like today with social media and the ease of recording things on phones being so ubiquitous.

[Grant Wareham · Rating 5 out of 5]

Alexandra provides a thorough history of Yale secret societies, as well as Yale College at large, which provide important context for the rituals still practiced by these secret societies.

Although seemingly extremely archaic now, these rituals are rooted in abusive practices across the university from the early days of Yale College of hazing and other sorts of abuse by upperclassmen to the first and second years.

Conspiracy theories run rampant about Skull and Bones, but after completing this book, the only true “conspiracy” is the cozy financial deals the alums provide for one another, which concentrate wealth and power even further among the elites of America and of the world.

[Sarah - All The Book Blog Names Are Taken · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting that, while also belonging to a secret society herself - which she casually mentions well into the book unless I missed it earlier - Robbins set out to bring down the mystique of exposing Skull and Bones. Basically, everything you think is probably true about Old Money and the Ivies is actually true and nothing here is terribly shocking. Big surprise, a club that only picks 15 members a year has produced three US presidents - Taft, Bush, and W.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Don't get me wrong, it was interesting to learn so much in depth information about Skull and Bones, it was the delivery. I have read another Alexandra Robbins book, about sororities, and in comparison, this was a mish mash of smaller chunks that didn't always fit together. It was like several smaller articles got printed into book format without much thought to potential overlap, etc.

And the last section about Network was too Bush heavy for my taste.

[Natasha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting not fascinating. I would have found more in text citations helpful in building credibility. I think the author spent too much space going into far too much detail on the Bush family. That was difficult to get through. The historical information about the society and its counterparts was the most interesting.

[AllyRose Caruso · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought this was gonna be so good and it was very informative, but not as good. I found Robbins’ writing style not super engaging and would have loved to learn about more family connections to Skull and Bones beyond the Bush family. However, I did learn a lot and it was a great addition to my secret society deep dive.

[Eliza Kimbell · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was very difficult for me to get into, as the beginning was very slow. But after about page 150, I started to like it a lot. I didn't think a memoir about a stuffy secret society would have an ending that left me a lot to think about, but it did!

[David Meyer · Rating 2 out of 5]

Parts of this book were interesting. The rest was disappointing and boring. The writing itself felt rambling at times, seemingly jumping from topic to topic with little rhythm.

[Edgar Anna Poe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very well written, thoroughly researched. People with this type of interests will find it very enjoyable and informative.

[Adam Bricker · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable read that left my history nerd heart sated and my conspiracy theorist heart wanting.

[Courtney · Rating 1 out of 5]

Redundant. Nearly a DNF.

[Katy Lovejoy · Rating 3 out of 5]

strange

[Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting look at college life, and its ties with trends like reading and debating societies.