New Encyclopaedia of Freemasonry

Rating:
Summary: good info, old verbage
Review: I give this book 4 stars because it has alot of great information in it, but it is very old, and the verbage is outdated.

Rating:
Summary: The best reference guide on the Craft I've found so far.
Review: I have owned this one for about 6-7 years, since before I was a mason and I still find it to be the best masonic reference that I know of. Waite writes from the viewpoint of one who is at heart, a Christian Mystic or a theosopher in the tradition of Pasqually, Willermoz or Saint-Martin. While I used to find his victorian verbiosity apalling, I have grown accustomed to it over the years. Some of the information about various Rites and degrees is incomplete, and I disagree with some of the conclusions the author came to, but this is a great book. I've had people I trust tell me there are better reference works on masonry out there, but I haven't found them yet.

Rating:
Summary: The best reference guide on the Craft I've found so far.
Review: I have owned this one for about 6-7 years, since before I was a mason and I still find it to be the best masonic reference that I know of. Waite writes from the viewpoint of one who is at heart, a Christian Mystic or a theosopher in the tradition of Pasqually, Willermoz or Saint-Martin. While I used to find his victorian verbiosity apalling, I have grown accustomed to it over the years. Some of the information about various Rites and degrees is incomplete, and I disagree with some of the conclusions the author came to, but this is a great book. I've had people I trust tell me there are better reference works on masonry out there, but I haven't found them yet.

Rating:
Summary: This book is out of date
Review: I think that just listing this book with its now inappropriate title, "The *New* Encyclopedia of Freemasonry", and saying it was published in 1994 misleads a lot of people even if you throw in the word "reprint". If you want to do historic research on what people thought in the early 1900s, it's fine. But there has been a lot of research since then. If you want a good up to date Masonic Enclopedia, get Coil's Masonic Encyclopedia which was extensively revised in 1995.

Rating:
Summary: This book is out of date
Review: I think that just listing this book with its now inappropriate title, "The *New* Encyclopedia of Freemasonry", and saying it was published in 1994 misleads a lot of people even if you throw in the word "reprint". If you want to do historic research on what people thought in the early 1900s, it's fine. But there has been a lot of research since then. If you want a good up to date Masonic Enclopedia, get Coil's Masonic Encyclopedia which was extensively revised in 1995.

Rating:
Summary: A overly verbose and complex book which is hard to penetrate
Review: The author uses extremely verbose and archaic language in presenting the material which makes in almost impossible to penetrate. The alphabetic arrangement of the material (since it is an encyclopedia) naturally makes it difficult to present the information in a digestible order, but even given this constraint one would expect something a little less dense. I would not recommend the work to anybody.

Rating:
Summary: Good Collection
Review: The reason this book sounds archaic, as the previous reviewers complain, is that it was written at the beginning of this century...the language was not as out of date then. This is a reprint edition. Having said that, however, it must be admitted that Waite is not the most prosaic writer. On the whole it is a good, comprehensive collection of the traidtions and legends of Freemasonry, though by now it is a bit out of date.

Rating:
Summary: Good Starter Book
Review: There are a few things every mason must have and he should seek these as soon as possible, or maybe his lodge will give them to him when he become a mason. First: he should have a copy of the great "White Light," The HOLY BIBLE; then he should also have Book of Constitions (his Grand Lodge Bylaws), a copy of the "work" (manual of freemasonry or Grand Lodge issued key), bylaws of his own lodge, and a dictionary. With these basics we begin our journey into masonry and my first recomendation is The Builders next this Encyclopedia

Rating:
Summary: Good Starter Book
Review: There are a few things every mason must have and he should seek these as soon as possible, or maybe his lodge will give them to him when he become a mason. First: he should have a copy of the great "White Light," The HOLY BIBLE; then he should also have Book of Constitions (his Grand Lodge Bylaws), a copy of the "work" (manual of freemasonry or Grand Lodge issued key), bylaws of his own lodge, and a dictionary. With these basics we begin our journey into masonry and my first recomendation is The Builders next this Encyclopedia

Rating:
Summary: Excellent Resource Guide for Secret Society Research
Review: This book is an astounding collection of Masonic and other Secret Society information. Do not let other reviews deter you from purchasing this tome! I have owned this book for over one year and every time I see something in another Masonic work that I am unsure-of, I can find a reference to the material in Waite's Encyclopaedia. The only reason people think it is too archaic is because people do not read enough. This book is a must-have for any researcher in the field of Masonry and/or other Secret Societies, including the H.B. of L. I appreciate this work, almost daily. If you can't read this one, forget "The History of Freemasonry," by Albert Mackey. This is a wonderful research book, despite the fact that it needs a thorough index, for quick-reference. I would be willing to Index this work, because of it's value to all Masons and other researchers in the field. I cannot begin to describe how amazed I was, when I cracked the covers of this book for the first time....and the thrill continues, each time I take it off the shelf!