There is scarcely an historical subject which arouses the fantasy as much as the history of the secretive Order of the Temple. Although it has been disbanded for nearly 700 years, books continue to appear about these religious knights. In these books it is claimed that the Templars uncovered the grave of Jesus, that they were the discoverers of America and the guardians of the Turin Shroud or that they found the Holy Grail. There are also critical writings about the Templars. They were supposed to be drunkards and devil worshipers. Koert ter Veen decided it was time that the truth behind the sagas and myths was studied and told. In this impressive, elaborate and richly illustrated book, he tells the factual tragic history of the Order. At the beginning of the fourteenth century, the French King Philip IV, due to shortage of money, ensured the misbegotten name of the Templars. The King wanted to possess the supposed riches of the Templars by discrediting and destroying them. The position of the monk-soldiers was weakened by their lack of success against the Islamic forces during the Crusades. The Order was destroyed, but its undeserved bad reputation lingers on. This informative and interesting book will entertain a large readership, from scholar to layman.

'My favorite read of 2022, I am recommending it to everyone I know.' Reader Review Three strangers all caught in the deep end... but can they help each other float through? After tragically losing her husband and being left a single mother to two children, Gabriella has only one escape for herself - swimming at a local London lido to clear her mind. A constant stream of both new and familiar faces visit the lido like Gabriella - but she doesn't suspect any are suffering quite like her, until she meets Helen - who swims to escape her emotionless husband, and Ian - who feels lost in the deep end after becoming unemployed and unable to tell his husband. Grateful for new companionship, these three strangers decide to make their friendship into something more permanent: The Lonely Hearts Lido Club. An uplifting, captivating read about the power of friendship - fans of Hazel Prior and Mike Gayle will adore this. Readers are loving joining The Lonely Hearts Lido Club: 'I'm in awe of how Charlie Lyndhurst manages to tease out the extraordinary from ordinary lives and make me like every single character.' Sue Moorcroft, author of Summer at the French Cafe 'This was a wonderful story, full of emotion, hope and joy.' Reader Review 'This was a truly beautiful book to read...full of emotion, hope and joy.' Reader Review 'Three strangers bond at the pool and form a friendship to circumvent their personal struggles. I really enjoyed this book it's rare that you read a book about a true friendship.' Reader Review 'Love how each of these ppl are dealing with different heartbreaking situations, but manage to find a way to come together to fight their grief, but find happiness together instead. The writing is beautiful, the characters rich, and the storyline keeps you wanting to turn the pages long into the night.' Reader Review 'This was a great lighthearted beach read. About strangers who connect in a beautiful way. It was a great read' Reader Review 'This was an absolutely wonderful read! It was exactly what I look for in a character driven novel - it made me want to be a part of this little group so so badly!' Reader Review 'It was a beautiful read about friendship and how three people can come together and support each other. Loved the writing style and I think it's a perfect summer read.' Reader Review 'A real escapist summer read...their friendship is uplifting and heart-warming. I almost wish I was part of the Lonely Hearts Lido Club myself!' Reader Review 'This was a super cute book...it was witty and charming and I'd highly recommend!' Reader Review Praise for Charlie Lyndhurst: 'A super cute read - you'll be laughing and crying.' Mandy Baggott, author of Staying Out for the Summer 'Perfect meet cutes, great characters, a few laughs, and of course that HEA that checks all the feelgood boxes' Reader Review 'I adored every character... I truly loved it.' Reader Review 'I loved jumping between these three stories. I really fell in love with all of these characters.' Reader Review 'The story was fantastic. An almost Love, Actually kind of vibe.' Reader Review 'Had me laughing out loud. The writing is good, the storyline is adorable and the characters are lovable.' Reader Review 'Didn't let me go until I read the final page...I became fully invested in their lives.' Reader Review 'A heartwarming story of staying true to yourself, charming and heartfelt.' Reader Review

Freemasonry was a major cultural and social phenomenon and a key element of the Enlightenment. It was to have an international influence across the globe. This primary resource collection charts a key period in the development of organized Freemasonry culminating in the formation of a single United Grand Lodge of England. The secrecy that has surrounded Freemasonry has made it difficult to access information and documents about the organization and its adherents in the past. This collection is the result of extensive archival research and transcription and highlights the most significant themes associated with Freemasonry. The documents are drawn from masonic collections, private archives and libraries worldwide. The majority of these texts have never before been republished. Documents include rituals (some written in code), funeral services, sermons, songs, certificates, an engraved list of lodges, letters, pamphlets, theatrical prologues and epilogues, and articles from newspapers and periodicals. This collection will enable researchers to identify many key masons for the first time. It will be of interest to students of Freemasonry, the Enlightenment and researchers in eighteenth-century studies.

From its traces in cryptic images on the dollar bill to Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol, Freemasonry has long been one of the most romanticized secret societies in the world. But a simple fact escapes most depictions of this elite brotherhood: There are women Freemasons, too. In this groundbreaking ethnography, Lilith Mahmud takes readers inside Masonic lodges in contemporary Italy, where she observes the many ritualistic and fraternal bonds forged among women initiates of this elite and esoteric society. Offering a tantalizing look behind lodge doors, The Brotherhood of Freemason Sisters unveils a complex culture of discretion in which Freemasons simultaneously reveal some truths and hide others. Women - one of Freemasonry's best-kept secrets - are often upper class and highly educated but paradoxically antifeminist, and their self-cultivation through the Masonic path is an effort to embrace the deeply gendered ideals of fraternity. Mahmud unravels this contradiction at the heart of Freemasonry: how it was at once responsible for many of the egalitarian concepts of the Enlightenment and yet has always been, and in Italy still remains, extremely exclusive. The result is not only a thrilling look at an unfamiliar-and surprisingly influential-world, but a reevaluation altogether of the modern values and ideals that we now take for granted.

In Gangs and Organized Crime, George W. Knox, Gregg W. Etter, and Carter F. Smith offer an informed and carefully investigated examination of gangs and organized crime groups, covering street gangs, prison gangs, outlaw motorcycle gangs, and organized crime groups from every continent. The authors have spent decades investigating gangs as well as researching their history and activities, and this dual professional-academic perspective informs their analysis of gangs and crime groups. They take a multidisciplinary approach that combines criminal justice, public policy and administration, law, organizational behavior, sociology, psychology, and urban planning perspectives to provide insight into the actions and interactions of a variety of groups and their members. This textbook is ideal for criminal justice and sociology courses on gangs as well as related course topics like gang behavior, gang crime and the inner city, organized crime families, and transnational criminal groups. Gangs and Organized Crime is also an excellent addition to the professional's reference library or primer for the general reader. More information is available at the supporting website - www.gangsandorganizedcrime.com

From supreme president to forgotten enemy, John W. Talbot lived a remarkable life. Charismatic, energetic, and powerful, he founded a national fraternal organization, the Order of Owls, and counted senators, congressmen, and business leaders among his friends. He wielded his influence to help causes close to his heart but also to bring down those who stood against him. In So Much Bad in the Best of Us, Greta Fisher's careful research reveals that Talbot was capable of great evil, causing one woman to describe him as "the Devil Incarnate." His string of very public affairs revealed his strange sexual preferences and violent tendencies, and charges leveled against him included perjury, blackmail, jury tampering, slander, libel, misuse of the mail, assault with intent to kill, and White slavery. Ultimately convicted on the slavery charge, he spent several years in Leavenworth penitentiary and eventually lost everything, including control of the Order of Owls. His descent into alcoholism and death by fire was a fitting end to a tumultuous and dramatic life. After 50 years of newspaper headlines and court battles, Talbot's death made national news, but with more enemies than friends and estranged from his family, he was ultimately forgotten. A gripping true crime story, So Much Bad in the Best of Us offers a mesmerizing account of the life of John W. Talbot, the Order of Owls, and how quickly the powerful can fall.

*Shows how this order, also known as oriental Freemasonry, preserves the ancient spiritual doctrines forgotten by modern Freemasonry*Explains how to transform the soul into the alchemical Magnum opus by combining Masonic grips and the abbreviated letters of the Qur'an*Includes a detailed biography of Baron von SebottendorffOriginally published in Germany in 1924, this rare book by Baron Rudolf von Sebottendorff reveals the secret spiritual exercises of the Bektashi Order of Sufis as well as how this order, also known as Oriental Freemasonry, preserves the ancient spiritual doctrines forgotten by modern Freemasonry. Sebottendorff explains how the mysterious abbreviated letters found in the Qur'an represent formulae for perfecting the spirit of the individual. When combined with Masonic hand signs and grips and conducted accordingly to a precise schedule, these formulae incorporate spiritual power into the body and transform the soul from its base state into a noble, godlike state: the Magnum Opus of the mediaeval alchemists. Laying out the complete programme of spiritual exercises, Sebottendorff explains each abbreviated word-formula in the Qur'an, the hand gestures that go with them and the exact order and duration for each exercise. Including a detailed biography of Sebottendorff and an examination of alchemy's Islamic heritage, this book shows how the traditions of Oriental Freemasonry can ennoble the self and lead to higher knowledge.

The movement of millions of settlers to Siberia in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries marked one of the most ambitious undertakings pursued by the tsarist state. Colonizing Russia's Promised Land examines how Russian Orthodoxy acted as a basic building block for constructing Russian settler communities in current-day southern Siberia and northern Kazakhstan. Russian state officials aspired to lay claim to land that was politically under their authority, but remained culturally unfamiliar. By exploring the formation and evolution of Omsk diocese - a settlement mission - Colonizing Russia's Promised Land reveals how the migration of settlers expanded the role of Orthodoxy as a cultural force in transforming Russia's imperial periphery by "russifying" the land and marginalizing the Indigenous Kazakh population. In the first study exploring the role of Orthodoxy in settler colonialism, Aileen Friesen shows how settlers, clergymen, and state officials viewed the recreation of Orthodox parish life as practised in European Russia as fundamental to the establishment of settler communities, and to the success of colonization. Friesen uniquely gives peasant settlers a voice in this discussion, as they expressed their religious aspirations and fears to priests and tsarist officials. Despite this agreement, tensions existed not only among settlers, but also within the Orthodox Church as these groups struggled to define what constituted the Russian Orthodox faith and culture.

7 lectures (of 9), St. Gallen, Zurich, and Dornach, Nov. 6-25, 1917 (CW 178) In the age of the internet and the proliferation of "conspiracy theories," ideas that secret groups are trying to gain control of humanity are no longer rare. But this was not true in 1917 when Rudolf Steiner spoke of such matters in the extraordinary lectures contained in this book. His unique contribution to this controversial topic is not based on abstract theories; it arose from exact research methods that use advanced forms of perception and cognition. Using the firsthand knowledge available to him, Steiner takes us behind the scenes of events in outer history and contemporary culture to reveal a dark world of secret elitist brotherhoods that are attempting to control the masses through the forces of economics, technology, and political assassinations. These hidden groups, he explains, seek power through the use of ritual magic and suggestion. Among many topics, Steiner speaks on these important matters: - The geographic nature of the American continent and the forces that arise from it - The nature of the double (doppelganger) and the dangers of psychoanalysis - The spiritual origin of electromagnetism - Abuse of inoculations and vaccinations - The meaning of Ireland for world development - Confused ideas about angels in connection with higher beings and divinity - Our need for clear insight into world events based on spiritual knowledge Secret Brotherhoods was newly translated for this edition. C O N T E N T S Lecture Summaries Introduction by Terry Boardman 1. Knowledge of the Supersensible and Riddles of the Human Soul (11.15.1917) 2. The Mystery of the Double: Geographic Medicine (11.16.1917) 3. Behind the Scenes of External Events I (11.6.1917) 4. Behind the Scenes of External Events II (11.13.1917) 5. Individual Spirit Beings and the Constant Foundation of the Universe I (11.18.1917) 6. Individual Spirit Beings and the Constant Foundation of the Universe II (11.19.1917) 7. Individual Spirit Beings and the Constant Foundation of the Universe III (11.25.1917) Notes Note Regarding Rudolf Steiner's Lectures Secret Brotherhoods is an English translation of 7 (of 10) lectures from German of Individuelle Geistwesen und ihr Wirken in der Seele des Menschen. Geistige Wesen und Ihre Wirkung Band II (GA 178).

The Secret Teachings of All Ages is perhaps the most comprehensive and complete esoteric encyclopedia ever written. The sheer scope and ambition of this book are stunning. In this book Manly P. Hall has successfully distilled the essence of more arcane subjects than one would think possible. He covers Rosicrucianism and other secret societies, alchemy, cryptology, Kabbalah, Tarot, pyramids, the Zodiac, Pythagorean philosophy, Masonry, gemology, Nicholas Flammel, the identity of William Shakespeare, The Life and Teachings of Thoth Hermes Trismegistus, The Qabbalah, The Hiramic Legend, The Tree of the Sephiroth, Mystic Christianity, and there are more than 200 illustrations included here. This is essential reading for anyone wishing to explore esoteric knowledge.