The Real History of Secret Societies

Richard B. Spence

Book 0 of The Great Courses

Language: English

Publisher: The Great Courses

Published: Aug 1, 2019

Collection: Nonfiction
Reading Ease: 80.47
Page Count: 13
Topic: The Great Courses, History
Word Count: 49015

Description:

The audiobook contains the course lectures; the PDF is the course guide / summary.

Welcome to The Real History of Secret Societies, a historical look at the true-life groups which, if you believe the myths, are the unspoken power behind some of the world’s major turning points, from controlling the British crown to holding back the electric car and keeping Martians and Atlantis under wraps.

Prepare yourself. In this course brought to you in partnership with HISTORY®, you will be visiting some of history’s deepest rabbit-holes, across centuries and continents, in search of secret societies in all their varieties. You will journey to some very dark places, and frankly some odd and sometimes silly ones as well. During 24 eye-opening lectures, Dr. Richard B. “Rick” Spence, Professor of History at the University of Idaho, guides you through the fascinating, often mystifying - sometimes disturbing - world of brotherhoods, sisterhoods, orders, cults, and cabals that have influenced human culture from ancient times to the present.

You’ll understand how and why secret societies have attracted some of history’s most brilliant, and some of its most evil, minds. Often demonized by their enemies, many secret societies have become the stuff of myths and conspiracy theories. Why do they exist? And when they are invented or imagined, why would someone pretend they exist? What do secret societies believe? Who do they recruit? Most important, what influence do they have? Buckle up and get ready to find out.

Contents:

  1. Small-Town Secrets
  2. Secret Societies: The Underworld of History
  3. The Knights Templar
  4. Masonic Revolutions in America and France
  5. Bolsheviks, Masons, and Russian Revolution
  6. Adolf Hitler and the Thule Society
  7. Synarchy, Schemers, and Vichy France
  8. Ancient Mystery Cults
  9. The Islamic Assassins
  10. The Medieval Cathars
  11. The Rosicrucians
  12. The Illuminati
  13. The Freemasons
  14. Ireland's Secret War for Independence
  15. Debunking the Elders of Zion
  16. Mafia! Criminal Secret Societies
  17. Aleister Crowley, Occultism, and Espionage
  18. Red Octopus: The Communist International
  19. Japan's Black and Green Dragons
  20. Italy's Secret Government: The P2 Lodge
  21. From the KKK to the Black Shriners
  22. Bohemian Grove, Bilderbergers, and Elites
  23. Secret Societies for Aging Swingers
  24. Terrorism's Long Trail of Secret Cells
  25. Secret Societies: The Never-Ending Story