A nuanced and deeply researched case for the entwined nature of two complex belief systems.
A Freemason explores the symbolic connections between the fraternal order and the Jewish tradition of Kabbalah mysticism in this debut nonfiction work.
“To me, Masonry and Kabbalah go together like peanut butter and jelly,” writes computer scientist Cardilla—a Past Master of the Freemasons’ Confidence Lodge #110 in Soquel, California, and a decorated member of the Societas Philologi Masonic philosophical society—in the book’s opening lines. Many authors have tried to connect the two belief systems, he notes, but have failed, in part due to the fact that many attempt to equate Kabbalah with “alchemy and magic.” The author also fears that many 21st-century Masons have disengaged themselves from the order’s rich symbolism as the society has shifted “away from a philosophical focus to a social one.” With this work, he aims to clear misconceptions about both schools of thought, as well as help fellow Freemasons to value their organization’s rich symbolic history more highly by appreciating Masonic imagery and philosophy through the lens of Kabbalistic thought. He eschews the notion of presenting the “real meaning” of Masonic symbols, instead emphasizing that they should be approached on a personal level that illuminates the observer’s own life. For example, he notes that both Kabbalah and Freemasonry use the sun and moon to represent male/female dichotomies and the human quest for enlightenment. By focusing on both the two traditions’ iconography and philosophy, the book effectively relates how people often “rely on others, at first to reflect light,” but also that the journey they’re on eventually brings “us into the light ourselves.” Cardilla displays a firm knowledge of Masonic ideology, as well as the Zohar (Kabbalah’s foundational work), to present a learned exploration of two oft-misunderstood ideologies, and he informatively accompanies it with a network of endnotes and bibliographic citations. Moreover, despite the notorious reputation of both Masonry and Kabbalah for esoterism, the book’s prose style is welcoming to lay readers, and its emphasis on accessibility is strengthened by dozens of photos and illustrations, some credited to the author.
A nuanced and deeply researched case for the entwined nature of two complex belief systems.Pub Date: Nov. 11, 2025
ISBN: 9798992344516
Page Count: 232
Publisher: Brave Walrieux Publishing
Review Posted Online: July 22, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A virtuoso performance and an ode to an undervalued medium created by two talented artists.
The veteran actor, comedian, and banjo player teams up with the acclaimed illustrator to create a unique book of cartoons that communicates their personalities.
Martin, also a prolific author, has always been intrigued by the cartoons strewn throughout the pages of the New Yorker. So when he was presented with the opportunity to work with Bliss, who has been a staff cartoonist at the magazine since 1997, he seized the moment. “The idea of a one-panel image with or without a caption mystified me,” he writes. “I felt like, yeah, sometimes I’m funny, but there are these other weird freaks who are actually funny.” Once the duo agreed to work together, they established their creative process, which consisted of working forward and backward: “Forwards was me conceiving of several cartoon images and captions, and Harry would select his favorites; backwards was Harry sending me sketched or fully drawn cartoons for dialogue or banners.” Sometimes, he writes, “the perfect joke occurs two seconds before deadline.” There are several cartoons depicting this method, including a humorous multipanel piece highlighting their first meeting called “They Meet,” in which Martin thinks to himself, “He’ll never be able to translate my delicate and finely honed droll notions.” In the next panel, Bliss thinks, “I’m sure he won’t understand that the comic art form is way more subtle than his blunt-force humor.” The team collaborated for a year and created 150 cartoons featuring an array of topics, “from dogs and cats to outer space and art museums.” A witty creation of a bovine family sitting down to a gourmet meal and one of Dumbo getting his comeuppance highlight the duo’s comedic talent. What also makes this project successful is the team’s keen understanding of human behavior as viewed through their unconventional comedic minds.
A virtuoso performance and an ode to an undervalued medium created by two talented artists.Pub Date: Nov. 17, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-250-26289-9
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Celadon Books
Review Posted Online: Aug. 30, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2020
PERSPECTIVES
A pleasure for fans of old-school historical narratives.
Avuncular observations on matters historical from the late popularizer of the past.
McCullough made a fine career of storytelling his way through past events and the great men (and occasional woman) of long-ago American history. In that regard, to say nothing of his eschewing modern technology in favor of the typewriter (“I love the way the bell rings every time I swing the carriage lever”), he might be thought of as belonging to a past age himself. In this set of occasional pieces, including various speeches and genial essays on what to read and how to write, he strikes a strong tone as an old-fashioned moralist: “Indifference to history isn’t just ignorant, it’s rude,” he thunders. “It’s a form of ingratitude.” There are some charming reminiscences in here. One concerns cajoling his way into a meeting with Arthur Schlesinger in order to pitch a speech to presidential candidate John F. Kennedy: Where Richard Nixon “has no character and no convictions,” he opined, Kennedy “is appealing to our best instincts.” McCullough allows that it wasn’t the strongest of ideas, but Schlesinger told him to write up a speech anyway, and when it got to Kennedy, “he gave a speech in which there was one paragraph that had once sentence written by me.” Some of McCullough’s appreciations here are of writers who are not much read these days, such as Herman Wouk and Paul Horgan; a long piece concerns a president who’s been largely lost in the shuffle too, Harry Truman, whose decision to drop the atomic bomb on Japan McCullough defends. At his best here, McCullough uses history as a way to orient thinking about the present, and with luck to good ends: “I am a short-range pessimist and a long-range optimist. I sincerely believe that we may be on the way to a very different and far better time.”
A pleasure for fans of old-school historical narratives.Pub Date: Sept. 16, 2025
ISBN: 9781668098998
Page Count: 208
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: June 26, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2025
SEEN & HEARD
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