Secret Societies Author:Jasper Ridley Why secret societies are founded, how they work, where they have operated (and are operating today), and to what effect-all fall under historian Jasper Ridley's scrutiny in this compelling volume. Whether they originated in criminal greed or high-minded ideals, in revolutionary impulses or establishmentarian paranoia, in radical economic agenda ... more »or blind religious fervor, covert organizations for the most part share essential features that Ridley identifies and examines before proceeding to profile in detail the secret societies that have most significantly affected the course of history in the Middle East, central and western Europe, South Africa, Asia, Great Britain, and the United States. Among the many and varied secret orders illuminated are the Vehmgericht in medieval Germany and the Muslim "assassins" of the Middle Ages who, under the influence of hashish, murdered their Christian enemies; the Fenians in Ireland and the Molly Maguires in America; the Chinese triads and the Italian Mafia; and more recent newsmaking terrorist organizations like Al Qaeda, Bader-Meinhof, and the I.R.A.« less