This is a welcome new edition of a standard - unavailable for nearly a decade. In more than nine decades of Girl Scouting, a vast popular and material culture has given rise to a wealth of Girl Scout history collections. More than an identification guide to uniforms, insignia, and other Girl Scout objects, this work also documents when changes occurred and why new items were introduced. Placing these objects in context, this essential guide provides a discerning look at the history and development of the Girl Scout Movement in the United States. Scholars and aficionados of Girl Scout history, costume history, womens studies, popular culture, and dress will welcome this indispensable and definitive resource. This new, expanded edition, with hundreds of illustrations, photographs, and tables, is indisputably the go-to source for information on all Girl Scout uniforms, insignia, awards, and handbooks, as well as dolls, postcards, posters, calendars, and more - from the founding of the Girl Scouts in 1912 through the present day. 'An invaluable resource to Girl Scout councils managing a history collection. And, beyond that ...an informative and intriguing glimpse ...into the evolution of a Movement that . ..today is the worlds preeminent organization dedicated solely to girls' - Cynthia B. Thompson, chair, National Board of Directors, and Kathy Cloninger, national chief executive officer, GSUSA. 'An indispensable reference for collectors; a fascinating resource for anyone interested in Girl Scouting, this comprehensive guide to Girl Scout memorabilia is firmly grounded in the history of the Girl Scouts of the United States. Mary Degenhardt and Judith Kirsch show us what Girl Scouts wore and read, and explain how changes in uniforms, insignia, and publications reflect the evolution of Girl Scout programs and the expansion of opportunities for American girls. Reading this book is like walking through a fine museum where material culture brings the past to life' - Anastatia Sims, author of ""Negotiating Boundaries of Southern Womanhood"". Mary Degenhardt and Judith Kirsch, lifelong Girl Scouts, compiled the original ""Girl Scout Collectors Guide"" in 1987. Degenhardt, now an archivist with the National Historic Preservation Center, GSUSA, and Kirsch, a researcher at the Benson Ford Research Center in Dearborn, Michigan, devoted two years of concentrated effort to this new and expanded edition.

A high-ranking Mason offers a fascinating glimpse into the Western world's most secretive society. Manly P. Hall, a scholar of occult and esoteric ideas, traces the path followed by initiates to the ancient craft. Hall also recounts the ethical training required of a Freemason, and he profiles the character traits a Mason must "build" within himself.
More than a mere social organization a few centuries old, Freemasonry can be regarded as a perpetuation of the philosophical mysteries and initiations of the ancients. This book reveals the unique and distinctive elements that have inspired generations of Masons. Thoughtful members of the craft, as well as outsiders, will appreciate its exploration of Masonic idealism and the eternal quest, from humble candidate to entered apprentice and master Mason.

Conceived By General. Sir Robert Baden-Powell as a way to reduce class tensions in Edwardian Britain, scouting evolved into an international youth movement. It offered a vision of romantic outdoor life as a cure for disruption caused by industrialization and urbanization. Scouting's global spread was due to its success in attaching itself to institutions of authority. As a result, scouting has become embroiled in controversies in the civil rights struggle in the American South, in nationalist resistance movements in India, and in the contemporary American debate over gay rights. In Race, Resistance, and the Boy Scout Movement in British Colonial Africa. Timothy Parsons uses scouting as an analytical tool to explore the tensions in colonial society. Introduced by British officials to strengthen their rule, the movement targeted the students, juvenile delinquents, and urban migrants who threatened the social stability of the regime. Yet Africans themselves used scouting to claim the rights of full imperial citizenship. They invoked the Fourth Scout Law, which declared that a scout was a brother to every other scout, to challenge racial discrimination. Parsons shows that African scouting was both an instrument of colonial authority and a subversive challenge to the legitimacy of the British Empire. His study of African scouting demonstrates the implications and far-reaching consequences of colonial authority in all its guises.

The Chinese Communist Youth League is the largest youth political organization in the world, with over 80 million members. Former Chinese President Hu Jintao was a firm supporter of the League, and believed that it could play a bigger role in winning the hearts and minds of Chinese youth by actively engaging with their interests and demands. Accordingly, he provided the League with a new youth work mandate to increase its capacity for responsiveness under the slogan 'keep the Party assured and the youth satisfied'. This original investigation of the hitherto-unexamined organization uses a combination of interviews, surveys and ethnography to explore how the League implemented Hu's mandate at both local and national levels, exposing the contradictory nature of some of its campaigns. By doing so, it also sheds light on the reasons for Xi Jinping's turn against the League during his first term in office. The Chinese Communist Youth League: Juniority and Responsiveness in a Party Youth Organization develops the original concept of 'juniority' to capture the complex ways that generational power is institutionalized, alienating young people from official political processes, with significant implications for China's political development. The book will be of interest to researchers and students of Chinese politics, as well as to scholars of comparative youth politics and sociology.

A practical guide to the symbols and rituals of Freemasonry as a path of spiritual development and self-realization * Shares the history and meaning of Freemasonry and its symbols * Offers thoughtful explorations of different areas of Masonic experience, drawing on esoteric doctrines and paralleling them with experiences found in daily life * Provides simple exercises and practices to help internalize and personalize the lessons presented, including dreamwork, journaling, meditation, and prayer In this practical guide, Mark Stavish details the spiritual lessons and rituals of Freemasonry as a step-by-step path of spiritual development and self-improvement for both Masons and non-Masons, men and women, alike. He explores the history and meaning of Freemasonry and its symbols--from its origins in the Temple of Solomon to the Medieval craft guilds to the Renaissance--and explains how the Craft promotes personal growth through the symbolic building of self and an inner Temple of Wisdom in much the same way that Masonry's rituals symbolize the building of Solomon's Temple in accordance with the mystical architectural instructions of Hiram. Drawing on esoteric doctrines, including the Qabala, alchemy, sacred geometry, John Dee's angelic magic, and the secrets of the Gothic cathedral builders, each chapter addresses an area of the Masonic experience, paralleling them with experiences each of us finds in our own lives. The author provides simple practices to help internalize and personalize the lessons presented, including dreamwork, journaling, meditation, prayer, and understanding sacred architecture. The author also examines the crafting and use of the spiritual and symbolic tools of Freemasonry, such as the trestle or tracing board and the Chamber of Reflection. Providing the tools to make the Craft an initiatic experience of self-improvement, the author shows that, ultimately, the Masonic experience is the human quest for self-realization and self-expression, so that we each may find our place in the Temple of Wisdom.

The YMCA and the YWCA have been an integral part of America's urban landscape since their emergence almost 150 years ago. Yet the significant influence these organizations had on American society has been largely overlooked. Men and Women Adrift explores the role of the YMCA and YWCA in shaping the identities of America's urban population.

Examining the urban experiences of the single young men and women who came to the cities in search of employment and personal freedom, these essays trace the role of the YMCA and the YWCA in urban America from the mid-nineteenth century to the present. The contributors detail the YMCA's early competition with churches and other urban institutions, the associations' unique architectural style, their services for members of the working class, African Americans, and immigrants, and their role in defining gender and sexual identities.

The volume includes contributions by Michelle Busby, Jessica Elfenbein, Sarah Heath, Adrienne Lash Jones, Paula Lupkin, Raymond A. Mohl, Elizabeth Norris, Cliff Putney, Nancy Robertson, Thomas Winter, and John D. Wrathall.

This study examines the emergence and evolution in China of a tradition of popular organization generally known under the rubric of "secret society." The author suggests that the secret society is properly understood as one variety of the "brotherhood association," a category that encompasses a range of popular fraternal organizations that flourished in the early and mid-Qing period.
The book begins by describing the proliferation of brotherhood associations in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, particularly in Southeast China. It concludes in the early nineteenth century, as the Qing suppression of the Lin Shuangwen rebellion in late 1780's forced members of the best-known brotherhood association, the Heaven and Earth Society (Tiandihui) to flee their homes in the Southeast, taking refuge in other parts of South China and Southeast Asia and, eventually, in Chinatowns throughout the world. This episode set the stage for the violent nineteenth-century confrontations between the Qing state and the secret societies.

A classic and highly controversial expose of the secret world of the Freemasons reissued with a new introduction by Martin Short, author of 'Inside the Brotherhood'. The Freemasons have long fascinated outsiders. The subject of Dan Brown's new novel - set for release in 2007 - this secret and exclusive society, thought to be the largest in Britain today, remains a mystery to the many excluded from its ranks. One would never know if a father or brother was a member due to the mandatory vow of secrecy. In this classic, controversial expose, Stephen Knight talks to the men on the inside - those who have broken their vow of secrecy to reveal the darker side of the 'brotherhood'. Do they influence the law? Is the KGB involved? And is there is a secret group of Masons running the country today, perhaps influencing every move we make? Fully updated with a new introduction by Martin Short, acclaimed author of 'Inside the Brotherhood', this is the unmissable, true story of an ancient, and mysterious brotherhood operating in our midst.

Book clubs are everywhere these days. And women talk about the clubs they belong to with surprising emotion: "You will never know what a difference it made in my life". But why are the clubs so important to them? Which women join book clubs and why? And what do the women discuss when they meet? To answer questions like these, Elizabeth Long spent years observing and participating in women's book clubs in the Houston area and interviewing members from dozens of different discussion groups. Far from being an isolated activity, she finds that for club members reading is an active and social pursuit, a crucial way for them to reflect creatively on the meaning of their lives and their place in the social order. Similar to their 19th-century predecessors, whom Long also considers, women today find in reading groups the inspiration, support and self-confidence to reimagine themselves both individually and collectively. Tracing how this process works, Long takes us on a guided tour of the book clubs themselves, from how they are formed and organized to how members choose which books to read. Through vivid examples, she shows how women use literature to achieve personal insight and empowerment. She then turns her attention to the emergence of book clubs that are run through chain bookstores, television shows and the Internet, and considers the importance of such clubs for women as a broader cultural forum. Far from just an excuse to get together once a month, book clubs are here revealed to be a vital arena for self-formation, one that has as much currency now as it did a century ago.

'A trained scout will see little signs and tracks, he puts them together in his mind and quickly reads a meaning from them such as an untrained man would never arrive at.' A startling amalgam of Zulu war-cry and imperial and urban myth, of borrowed tips on health and hygiene, and object lessons in woodcraft, Robert Baden-Powell's Scouting for Boys (1908) is the original blueprint and 'self-instructor' of the Boy Scout Movement. An all-time bestseller in the English-speaking world, second only to the Bible, this primer of 'yarns and pictures' constitutes probably the most influential manual for youth ever published. Yet the book is at the same time a roughly composed hodge-podge of jingoist lore and tracker legend, padded with lengthy quotations from adventure fiction and B-P's own autobiography, and seamed through with the multiple anxieties of its time: fears of degeneration, concerns about masculinity and self-restraint, invasion paranoia. Elleke Boehmer's edition of Scouting for Boys is the first to reprint the original text and illustrations, and her fine introduction investigates a book that has been cited as an authority by militarists and pacifists, capitalists and environmentalists alike.

Who were Tubalcain, Aholiab and Zabud and what is their significance for the Freemason? There is a general interest in the rituals of Freemasonry, generated in part by the apparently obscure references they contain. This is the only book that offers a guide to the stories used in Masonic ritual and their links to the Bible and Christianity. The new Mason is directed to a 'serious contemplation of the Volume of the Sacred Law' - but that is easier said than done without a grounding in the Scriptures, something that fewer and fewer people have. The historical and geographical setting of the Bible is explained here, making such contemplation easier for Mason and non-Mason alike. Mike Neville has systematically cross-referenced the most influential Chapters of the Bible to the ceremonies. It is his intention to get Freemasons to understand the ritual - not just to memorise and regurgitate - as well as to elucidate for the non-Mason. Sacred Secrets will aid the clergy, theologians and any other person interested in Freemasonry to see the links between ritual and scripture.

This exceptional look deep into the early days of Freemasonry draws back the veil of secrecy surrounding this long-lived society. It was a true secret society before 1717, and most knowledge of events in those years became lost--but some original documents and many isolated records remained. This wealth of material has now been brought together to shine a surprisingly bright light on the people who shaped Freemasonry and on the development of its secret symbols, rituals and practices. Masonry's controversial relationship with the Knights Templar and Vatican also takes on new and significant meaning. The roots of Freemasonry are traced to the building of Solomon's Temple, the rise of Christianity, and the Crusades in Europe. The emergence of this secretive society in Britain had a strong influence on America. All of this is brought to life by the experiences of actual people who lived through these events--often told in their own words and drawn from remarkable collections of manuscripts and records dating back to those times. This journey of discovery is illuminated by 45 illustrations showing the symbols, people and places that made Freemasonry into what it is--a society with secrets. Sanford Holst is a noted historian and the author of Amazon's #1 book on the Phoenicians--the people who helped build Solomon's Temple. The papers he presented at universities in the USA and overseas resulted in his being elected to the prestigious Royal Historical Society in England. A 32nd degree Mason, he was able to obtain access to Masonic manuscripts not normally seen by the public or most Masons. He explored Masonic and Templar sites ranging from Scotland to the Holy Land, and benefited from the work of local experts. His informative websites are read by over 600,000 people each year.

The mention of the word Masonry, to the ordinary mind, suggests a body of men possessing certain secrets, which, to the uninitiated, are full of wonder. Should I here announce to the Masonic world that they, as an organization, have not in their possession THE secret for which all their rite and symbolism stands, they would be justly startled. But such is the fact. It is not the purpose of this work to review Masonry as to its origin, etc., but to interpret its hidden mystic meaning to those 'Who have made proficiency and been duly passed.' By some I shall perhaps be thought a madman, by some as too vague for clear understanding, and by some as undertaking the impossible. To all, I humbly ask a close and sincere study of these pages; and, I have reason to believe, that if you will pursue this course, you will discover the 'LIGHT' which you have so fondly dreamed in your possession.

Contents: Astrology in Masonry; Egyptian Masonry; Magic One of the Aspects of Masonry; Magic Among Men of Culture; Magic Among the Uncultured Races; Prayer a Magic Invocation; the Will-The First Arcanum of Magical Initiation; The Positive Path; Freemasonry and Catholicism; Masonry and the Rosicrucian Fellowship; Mystic Masonry.

Or a Guide to the Three Symbolic Degrees of the Ancient York Rite and to the Degrees of Mark Master, Past Master, Most Excellent Master, and the Royal Arch. Explained and interpreted by copious notes and numerous engravings. Duncan's Masonic Ritual and Monitor will be a cherished possession of any Mason who receives it. Retaining all the traditional charm of McKay's Standard Edition, this volume includes both the Guide to the Three Symbolic Degrees of the Ancient York Rite and to the degree of Mark Master, Past Master, Most Excellent Master, and the Royal Arch, as written by Malcolm C. Duncan.

Freemasonry is one of the oldest and most widespread voluntary organisations in the world. Over the course of three centuries men (and women) have organized themselves socially and voluntarily under its name. With a strong sense of liberation, moral enlightenment, cosmopolitan openness and forward-looking philanthropy, freemasonry has attracted some of the sharpest minds in history and has created a strong platform for nascent civil societies across the globe. With the secrecy of internally communicated knowledge, the clandestine character of organization, and the enactment of rituals and the elaborate use of symbols, freemasonry has also opened up feelings of distrust, as well as allegations of secretiveness and conspiracy. This Very Short Introduction introduces the inner activities of freemasonry, and the rituals, symbols and practices. Looking at the development of the organizational structure of masonry from the local to the global level, Andreas OEnnerfors considers perceptions of freemasonry from the outside world, and navigates through the prevalent fictions and conspiracy theories. He also discusses how freemasonry has from its outset struggled with issues of exclusion based upon gender, race and religion, despite promoting tolerant openness and inclusion. Finally OEnnerfors shines a light on the rarely discussed but highly compelling history of female agency in masonic and para-masonic orders. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.