MMC: A Bibliogtaphy of Masonic Ritual

Here are some of the books I am using to prepare for the class along with a short description of each:

• "The Early Masonic Catechisms" by Knoop, Jones, and Hamer (1943)
  The eighteen catechisms detailed in this text make it invaluable for the historian of Masonic ritual. If you have never read this text, take pains to find it.
  
  
• "History and Evolution of Freemasonry" by Delmar D. Darrah (1954)
  This is a classic text which had aged a bit, but still covers all the basics.
  
  
• "History of Masonry" by George Thornburgh (1914)
  This text includes an intriguing mention of a book called "The Ritual of Operative Freemasons" by Thomas Carr, M.D.. I hope to be able to read Carr's book at some point. I have not yet
  
  
• "Masonry Dissected" by Samuel Pritchard (1730)
  This is the text which first exposed the Master Mason degree and was a valuable resource to Freemasons evidenced by its numerous reprints. It also spawned the second rejoinder text titled, "The Perjur'd Free Mason Detected". Can you get better than this?
  
  
• "The Old Gothic Constitutions" by Wallace McLeod (1985)
  This text contains reprints of the Roberts (1722), Briscoe (1724), Cole (1729) and Dodd (1739) manuscripts, along with an excellent overview of the text families (including a great classification) by McLeod. This text contains one of my favorite commentaries.
  
  
• "The Origins of Freemasonry" by David Stevenson (1988)
  I have read one of Stevenson's other books titled "The First Freemasons", which I found to be a thrilling ride through the minutes and history of the early Scottish Lodges. This book is more focused on the people and events of early Scottish Masonry rather than particularly lodges.
  
  
• "Richardson's Monitor of Freemasonry" by Jabez Richardson
  This post-Morgan exposure is essentially a copy of Morgan's own text, but this was the first ritual exposure I ever owned. It has a special place in my heart.
  
  
• "Speculative Masonry" by A. S. MacBride, J.P. (1924)
  This work remains quite useful despite its age, but it may be better to read Gould's work instead.
  
  

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