Perfectibilists: The 18th Century Bavarian Order of the Illuminati [Paperback]

Possibly the most important English language work on the Bavarian Illuminati ever published to date. Based on documentation translated from French and German sources, Melanson keeps hysteria and paranoia to a minimum and provides an incredible reference work that outlines the history of the Order and its far-reaching cast of characters. Researched, footnoted and sourced in great detail, with documents never seen in English. Not the first book to pick up, as it assumes a certain amount of prior knowledge of the subject (see the Illuminati section of Vernon Stauffer's 'New England and the Bavarian Illuminati', which contains one of the best introductions on the Order to date), but VERY highly recommended to the serious scholar.

Only two reservations. First, the 'Skull & Bones' chapter seems to have flown in from another planet (or possibly a marketing department's request), and it stands out oddly. Second, Melanson makes no distinction between the different factions of Freemasonry that were expanding in continental Europe in the 1700s. Stauffer does a good job pointing out the differences in his book between the social club Anglo-Saxon Masons; the mystical Rosicrucian-style Masons who were attempting to make their brand more mysterious; and the Enlightenment social reformers of the Grand Orient of France who were involved in political movements. One style of Masonry was not the same as the next, and each had very different goals. But this is possibly a minor point and my own obsession.

I disagree strongly with Melanson's[...] website on a regular basis, and I think he and his fellow bloggers there seek boogeymen and a hyper-competent all-seeing, all-knowing criminal class of evildoers that control the world. But The Perfectibilists does not engage in the hysterics of that website. Melanson has produced a solid work of scholarship, and he is to be commended.

I have studied the Illuminati for years through various conspiracy books and websites. There can be a lot of confusion and misconceptions about who they were and what they were trying to accomplish. If I only had this book years ago, my research would have been faster and more complete. The book is well sourced, giving follow up reading, websites as well as known members. This is probably the most in depth volume on the Illuminati that you can find without having to learn German. Hopefully this trend will continue, and the public will take more interest in the enlightenment societies that shaped our nation and western civilization for that matter.

I had been awaiting this book for some time and it was indeed worth the wait. Having being fascinated with the idea of "societies with secrets" and subversive movements for some time that begun with readings from the author's website that is chiefly concerned with the Bavarian Illuminati (not to be confused with the catch all term "Illuminati" in use in the present day to describe any super-elite group that is theorised to control the world in a monolithic conspiracy), the subversive organisation started by one Adam Weishaupt of Ingolstadt, Bavaria in order to install the rule of reason in place of the irrational and elitist dominion of the monarchy & religious institutes of the day. A product indeed of the Enlightenment, this group's hidden multiplicity of hands had the status quo in a tither as to what to do in order to counter Weishaupt's plan to eliminate the rule of kings (while having the genius to use some members of the aristocracy to this end) and institute a Rousseauian flavoured primitivist, egalitarian Utopia in it's place throughout Europe and the world. Well, at least on the surface of things.

As referenced in Melanson's book, Peggy Pawlowski in her doctoral thesis described the Bavarian Illuminati thus: "...the Illuminati can be thought of as the executive arm of the Aufklärung [the German Enlightenment]."

This does appear to be so. The intellectual might that was invested as members of the order is impressive. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe; Johann Pestalozzi, a pioneer of modern educational methods; the philosopher & theologian Johann Gottfried von Herder; philosopher Jacob Friedrich von Abel; amongst some of the most notable. Numerous members of the royal milieu of Europe at the time such as Karl, Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel was an important member, through him the Rothschild dynasty truly begun, and Ernest II, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg also was an Illuminatus, direct through him emanated the British Royal line of modern times.

There is a dearth of decent scholarly works on the Bavarian Illuminati in the present day, especially considering the primary and secondary sources available to the willing seeker now (mostly in German it seems) so the information mined by the author from various texts in different languages is translated to English and makes its first appearance in that tongue. There is much brand new material here for the English speaking world.

My only real gripe with the book is that the interior design is a bit busy at times with the placement of relevant photos and diagrams, but the content therein more than makes up for this minor issue. There are a wealth of footnotes and references here for the amateur researcher, as well as the more serious scholar, to enrich their knowledge of this truly fascinating order whose design and vision for a globalized Utopia devoid of nation states, whose doctrinal influence may indeed be shown in the writings of Marx & Engels, who also perhaps pioneered the form of the subversive revolutionary cell and thought as we know it, and thus the Bavarian Illuminati, while not existing today as a monolithic cabal that controls the world, seems to have had a hand in helping to shape the political, educational, philosophical, and intellectual landscape of the modern world.

This is not a book about "conspiracy theory". Its a book of genuine history and constitutes conspiracy fact. Its worth a read.