Agents of Influence reveals the secret history of an intelligence agency gone out of control, accountable to no one but itself and intent on subverting Western politics on a near-inconceivable scale. In 1985, 1,300 KGB officers were stationed in the USA. The FBI only had 350 counter-intelligence officers. Since the early days of the Cold War, the KGB seduced parliamentarians and diplomats, infiltrated the highest echelons of the Civil Service, and planted fake news in papers across the world.

More disturbingly, it never stopped. Putin is a KGB man through and through. Journalist Mark Hollingworth reveals how disinformation, kompromat and secret surveillance continue to play key roles in Russia’s war with Ukraine. It seems frighteningly easy to destabilise Western democracy.

‘The Craft is a shadow history of modernity. Though more sober than most lodge meetings, it is, like its subject, ingenious and frequently bizarre… The Craft is well-crafted and sensible, making good use of English archives which have only recently been opened.’ – Spectator

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Insiders call it ‘the Craft’.

To the rest of us, Freemasonry is mysterious and suspect. Yet its story is peopled by some of the most distinguished men of the last three centuries: Winston Churchill and Walt Disney; Wolfgang Mozart and Shaquille O’Neal; Benjamin Franklin and Buzz Aldrin; Rudyard Kipling and ‘Buffalo Bill’ Cody; Duke Ellington and the Duke of Wellington.

Founded in London in 1717 as a set of character-forming ideals and a way of binding men in fellowship, Freemasonry proved so addictive that within two decades it had spread across the globe. Masonic influence became pervasive. Under George Washington, the Craft became a creed for the new American nation. Masonic networks held the British empire together. Under Napoleon, the Craft became a tool of authoritarianism and then a cover for revolutionary conspiracy. Both the Mormon Church and the Sicilian mafia owe their origins to Freemasonry.

The Masons were as feared as they were influential. In the eyes of the Catholic Church, Freemasonry has always been a den of devil-worshippers. For Hitler, Mussolini and Franco the Lodges spread the diseases of pacifism, socialism and Jewish influence, so had to be crushed.

Professor Dickie’s The Craft is a surprising and enthralling exploration of a movement that not only helped to forge modern society, but still has substantial contemporary influence. With 400,000 members in Britain, over a million in the USA, and around six million across the world, understanding the role of Freemasonry is as important now as it has ever been.

Did you know that every 37th man in the UK is a Freemason? Or that the design of Washington DC includes no fewer than 30 Masonic Zodiacs?

The Shadow of Solomon is perfectly timed to coincide with publication of the forthcoming novel from Da Vinci Code author, Dan Brown – The Lost Symbol – which focuses on the Masonic principles that lie beneath the establishment of the United States and its constitution. But who are the Freemasons today and where did they they come from?

Gardner’s in-depth research presents a fascinating historical detective trail that leads from the most ancient records of the fraternity to modern times. This is a truly adventurous saga stretching from Noah and Moses to the elite lodge of the Knights Templars, George Washington, spies, secret agents and clandestine cabals on both sides of the Atlantic.

But Gardner goes further. Stories of the biblical King Solomon and his Jerusalem Temple reside at the heart of Freemasonry, and they are reckoned to be the guardians of ancient secrets connected to the Ark of the Covenant and the Philosopher’s Stone – what are these secrets that have been lost to modern Freemasons for nearly three centuries?