Book excerpt: One of Freemasonry most respected and widely read authors gives us his account of the Crusades and the often reported connections between the Knights Templar and Freemasonry. Mackey was prolific as an author and his books included the History of Freemasonry in seven volumes, the Encyclopedia of Freemasonry in two volumes, Symbolism of Freemasonry, Masonic Jurisprudence, Manual of the Lodge, Book of the Chapter, Principles of Masonic Law, Lexicon of Freemasonry and the Mystic Tie. Included in this work is a biography of Mackey by Robert I. Clegg, who revised later editions of Mackey's classic Encyclopedia of Freemasonry.