FREEMASONRY ON BOTH SIDES OF THE ATLANTIC Essays concerning the craft in the British Isles, Europe, the United States, and Mexico. Edited by R. William Weisberger, Wallace McLeod and S. Brent Morris. East European Monographs, Boulder. Distributed by Columbia University Press, New York, 2002. Hardback, 942 pages, £45. ISBN 0-88033-992-6

The appearance of a book on Freemasonry published by an American university press, weighing in at 942 pages, containing nearly 40 articles by leading American and British scholars of Freemasonry, covering subjects ranging from Freemasonry in Hungary to the symbols on the American dollar bill, and including a useful review of recent periodical literature on Freemasonry, is clearly a major event in masonic scholarship. Unfortunately, lack of care in planning, editing and presentation means that this publication is far from being a 'landmark in the world of scholarship', as it is described by one of its associate editors. The aim of the volume is unclear. If it is intended to present a rounded view of the history of Freemasonry in both Europe and America, the lack of any articles on Dutch, German and Italian Freemasonry or French Freemasonry after 1789, is puzzling. It is strange to include a section on Freemasonry in Mexico, but to leave out South America. The audience at which the volume is aimed is unclear, with some articles directed primarily at Freemasons, and others towards scholars with a limited understanding of Freemasonry. While it is helpful to include reprints of articles which are otherwise difficult to obtain, such as Tony Fels' first-rate article on Jews and Freemasonry in 19th-century San Francisco, there is little justification in reprinting material already in book form, such as the chapter from Steven Bullock's standard study, Revolutionary Brotherhood.
    Of the new material, two papers stand head and shoulders above the others: David Stevenson's masterly and thought-provoking reappraisal of James Anderson; and a gem of an essay by Rebecca Coombes on the Library and Museum of Freemasonry in London, which not only gives a succinct guide to these collections, but also provides fascinating case studies in masonic bibliography. These two essays, together with the solidly researched and clear pieces by Lisa Kahler on early Scottish lodges, Jennifer Macleod on music and freemasonry in 18th-century Edinburgh, Matthew Scanlan on the Acception, Lauren Leighton on Pushkin, Richard Rutyna on Virginia freemasons, and Kathleen Kutolowski on the Anti-Masonic party, mean that the book will become a standard reference, but all users will quickly conclude that it is a bloated volume, which would have been twice as good if half the size. The book is sadly marred by poor copy editing and proof reading, and lacks an adequate index, essential in a book of this size.
    Andrew Prescott