Black Helicopters Black helicopters are believed by some to be used for the surveillance of patriotic groups opposed to the takeover of the United States by foreign powers. Those sinister, silent, Black Hawk Down-style copters are hard to miss, but what exactly is their role? The British Royal Family According to Lyndon LaRouche, the British royal family are imperial masters of the planet. Is it possible that Satan lives in Buckingham Palace? The Illuminati So powerful are the Illuminati that they are said to mastermind events and completely control world affairs, but how much do we actually know about them? Le Cercle A transnational, clandestine cabal of influential individuals, the group prides itself on complete anonymity. Only a handful of articles are known to have been written about the group, so what do we really know about them? MK-ULTRA What went on under MK-ULTRA? And did anybody ever receive reasonable compensation? New World Order How powerful is this group that seek to enable a one-world government? Omega Agency The Omega Agency and its allies, the aliens, are devising a plan to restore the planet's environment after the OA take over New World Order dictatorship. P2 (Propaganda Due) Did P2 set out a plan for a fascist coup in which unions would be banned and the media would be placed under state control? Skull and Bones "It's so secret we can't talk about it," George W. Bush said on the membership of Skull & Bones. Does this organisation control the US?

Cover subtitle: Inside history's most mysterious organizations.

This provocative and controversial book explores the world of secret societies and their role in shaping political and cultural movements throughout history. Drawing on a range of historical sources and extensive research, the author traces the development of these groups from ancient times to the present day, shedding light on their goals, motivations, and influence. A must-read for anyone interested in conspiracy theories and the hidden forces that shape our world. This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the "public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

1848. The present volume is devoted to the history of three celebrated societies which flourished during the middle ages, and of which, as far as we know, no full and satisfactory account is to be found in English literatures. These are the Assassins, or Ismailites, of the East, whose name has become in all the languages of Europe synonymous with murderer, who were a secret society, and of whom we have in general such vague and indistinct conceptions; the military order of the Knights Templars, who were most barbarously persecuted under the pretext of their holding a secret doctrine, and against whom the charge has been renewed at the present day; and, finally, the Secret Tribunals of Westphalia, in Germany, concerning which all our information has hitherto been derived from the incorrect statements of dramatists and romancers.

Throughout history, there have been societies of closed membership and covert purpose. In this comprehensive work, David Barrett explores these movements from the earliest times to the present day. He covers the ancient widsom of the Mediterranean civiliaztions which formed the basis of many gourps and whose tenets and principles, and esoteric religious beliefs, surfaced in medieval times and are still to be found in secretive societies today. He considers in particular depth the origins, history and beliefs of Freemasonry, together with its interrelationships with the Templars, Rosicrucians, Illuminati and other groups. In addition, he describes movements once formed by fraternal desire to protect, but which have become corrupted to such a degree that today their names are synonymous with organized crime -- the Sicilian-originated Mafia and the Chinese-originated Triads. In parallel, he considers bodies such as the Ku Klux Klan and occult societies linked to the Nazis.