December 31, 2009

Our sources revealed (some of them anyway)

With the passing of the old year and the arrival of 2010, Gerald and I have decided to fess up. Given the clamor from friends and foes about the nature of the sources we used in the research phase of our book, we have decided to provide some detail below. (Fussy antiquarians will recall that, prior to the adoption of the Gregorian calendar, the beginning of the year used to be March 1st, on the old Roman system. Perhaps on March 1st, 2010 we’ll have even more to say about our sources…)

In preparing the book, we undertook a large number of site visits and private interviews, not to mention the collection of various letters, files, and unpublished documents. The abbreviated source list that follows merely represents a starting point for readers who may wish to pursue further study with the help of some books and articles that are reasonably accessible (especially those highlighted below that are still in print). We can recommend most of those listed below without too many reservations, though we caution readers regarding Heinrich Himmler’s Camelot: while its photographic treatment of the Wewelsburg phenomenon is unique, the book’s editorial line worried us given its apparent spirit of homage.

In any event, the following books and articles represent a very partial list of ingredients that went into our “secret sauce”:

Amberger, J. Christoph. The Secret History of the Sword: Adventures in Ancient Martial Arts. Baltimore: Multi-Media Books, 1999.

Andrews, John Williams. History of the Founding of Wolf’s Head. New Haven (privately printed), 1934.

Bergroth, Tom Christian. Kungliga Carl den XIII:s Orden. Stockholm: Svenska Frimurare Orden, 2002.

Cook, Stephen, and Stuart Russell. Heinrich Himmler’s Camelot: The Wewelsburg Ideological Center of the SS, 1934-1945. Kressmann-Backmeyer: 1999.

Dumas, Alexandre. The Count of Monte Cristo. Various editions.

Goodrick-Clarke, Nicholas. The Occult Roots of Nazism: Secret Aryan Cults and Their Influence on Nazi Ideology. New York: NYU Press, 1992.

Graves, Charles. Leather Armchairs: The Chivas Regal Book of London Clubs. (Foreword by P.G. Wodehouse). London: Cassell, 1963.

Lejeune, Anthony. The Gentlemen’s Clubs of London. London: Dorset Press, 1984.

Lejeune, Anthony. White’s: The First Three Hundred Years. London: A&C Black, 1993.

Martin, Malachi. Windswept House: A Vatican Novel. New York: Doubleday, 1996.

Masonic and Esoteric Heritage: New Perspectives for Art and Heritage Policies. The Hague: OVN, 2005.

Molnar, Thomas. Twin Powers: Politics and the Sacred. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1988.

More Tales from the Travellers: A further collection of tales by members of the Travellers Club, London. Oxford: Michael Tomkinson Publishing, 2005.

Nicol, Donald. The Immortal Emperor: The Life and Legend of Constantine Palaiologos, Last Emperor of the Romans. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1992.

Österreichisches Freimaurermuseum Schloss Rosenau bei Zwettl. Vienna: Museumverein Schloss Rosenau, 1994.

Riley-Smith, Jonathan. “Religious Warriors: Reinterpreting the Crusades.” The Economist, 23 December 1995: 37-41.

Riley-Smith, Jonathan. “Why has The Da Vinci Code been so Successful?” Emmanuel College Magazine, Volume LXXXVIII, 2005-2006: 49-62.

Robbins, Alexandra. Secrets of the Tomb: Skull and Bones, the Ivy League, and the Hidden Paths of Power. Boston: Little, Brown, 2002.

Seward, Desmond. The Monks of War: The Military Religious Orders (Arkana). London: Penguin, 1995.

Sire, H.J.A. The Knights of Malta. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1994.

“The Good Network Guide: Being one of us.” The Economist, 26 December 1993: 20-24.

Toumanoff, Cyril. “Princely Rank: Origin or Function.” The Double Tressure (Journal of the Heraldry Society of Scotland), No. 25, 2002: 18-30.

Travellers’ Tales: A collection of tales by members of the Travellers Club, London. London: Castlereagh Press, 1999.

True Fellowship in All Its Glory: Remembrances of C.S.P. New Haven: Kingsley Trust Association, 1992.

Warner of Craigenmaddie, Gerald. The Sacred Military Order of St Stephen Pope and Martyr. Pisa: Edizioni ETS, 2004.

Wechsberg, Joseph. The Merchant Bankers. New York: Pocket Books, 1966.

Ziegler, Philip, and Desmond Seward. Brooks’s: A Social History. London: Constable, 1991.