Albert Pike

by James T. Tresner

Albert Pike was a pioneer, a crusader for justice for Native Americans, a practical joker, a reformer, a journalist, a philosopher, a prominent Washington lawyer, and a Civil War general. Perhaps the main focus of his life was the fraternity of Freemasonry. He was the organizer and, for many years, the leader of the Scottish Rite, one of Masonry's largest organizations. He was also the author of Morals and Dogma, a seminal work for many Freemasons. The book has been the subject of lively and often acrimonious debate from its publication in 1871 up until the present day. Albert Pike: The Man Beyond the Monument is an anecdotal biography of Pike. Much of it is in his own words. Illustrated throughout with black and white drawings and photographs, this is a book for everyone interested in the history of America's coming of age in the nineteenth century.