Inner Traditions • Bear & Company
| The Secrets of Masonic Washington by James Wasserman |
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Staff Pick by Jeanie Levitan, Managing Editor
 This book is a winner. With incredibly diverse and vivid photographs, Jim Wasserman helps us to see our nation’s capitol in a new light. His artist’s eye captures views that both zero in on the familiar in an unfamiliar way (see the bas-relief pictured on pages 112 [top] and 113) as well as single out the richness of the details nested in rooms so abundant in symbolism that the eye cannot possibly absorb it all in its totality (see the Library of Congress Reading Room pictured on pages 9 and 22-23, and the Great Hall on pages 95-99). Jim is an author who was already in love with this country, who found even more reasons for pride in the vision and ideals of our founders as he examined the important subtext behind the artwork and symbols within and adorning the many buildings on the National Mall and its environs. His opening essay Hidden in Plain Sight says it all: It’s all right there before us. We just need Jim’s expert eye to show us where to look and his meticulous research to help us understand the meaning behind and legacy of the magnificent gems we will see. |
