This title deals with the hidden powers of clandestine organisations from the Ancient World to the present day. Throughout history Man's search for knowledge has revealed strange truths. "A Brief History of Secret Societies" explores the allure and the hidden history of the esoteric religious beliefs and investigates how these societies have come to gain a powerful hold upon the popular imagination. David Barrett brilliantly presents an unbiased and balanced history of our desire for secret knowledge and of the societies that preserve it.