The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown

The Lost Symbol

by

Dan Brown

One of my go to author's is Dan Brown.  I have read and watched the movies of both The DeVinci Code and Angels and Demons.  And Friday night I finished reading The Lost Symbol.  I enjoy the symbols and puzzles in his books and I enjoy the pace of his stories.  I also enjoy the questions his novels raise about the mores and belief systems that are commonly held by people.  The Lost Symbol takes place in Washington DC and explains how the symbolism in the architechure and art of our capital contain Masonic icons that were designed to keep our nation headed in the direction our forefathers intended.  The book raises the question as to whether or not the founding fathers as Masons built into the actual physical structure of our capital a protective aura.   And the book seems to say that the Masons may have a lot of influence in our governmental decisions  because of men in high levels of office that are Masons.   I have a photograph that was taken after the civil war of my great great grandfather wearing what I believe to be a Masonic uniform and I know of several members of my family through out the last 150 years that were Masons.  My great grandmother was in Eastern Star and there is at least one person in my generation related to me that is a member.  When I was in high school I was invited to attend the Rainbow Girls which is the first level for the female arm of the organization.   My great grandmother was very disappointed in me when I chose not to be involved.  But my decision was due to the practice of black balling.  A closed organization votes on who can be a part of it.  I had a problem with this practice because in the area I went to high school in the time period that I went to high school that meant the group was white only.  I can remember arguing with my great grandmother that was not okay to exclude certain groups and her explaining that there were separate groups for different races and that the organization at large did not exclude any one race or group.  But I was not a proponent of "separate but equal" so I did not chose to attend the group meetings.  As a result, in spite of the number of family members involved,  I did not know much about the Masons before reading The Lost Symbol.  It was very informative.   I intend to watch the movie soon.  Click on the the author's name and book title at the beginning of this post to follow links to more information.  And enjoy the videos that follow of an interview of the author.  I highly recommend this book.  It is a very enjoyable book and left me with a  badly needed sense of hope in this very turbulent time  for our nation polictically.