Jim Tresner, 33°, Grand Cross
P.O. Box 70, Guthrie, Oklahoma 73044–0070
Book Reviews Editor, The Scottish Rite Journal

January is a month for reflection, for rethinking what we know and believe. It's a chance to reconsider and take stock, particularly of one's self. That theme connects the books for this month.

Stephen Joel Trachtenberg, 33°, Grand Cross, Reflections on Higher Education, The Oryx Press, 2002. Hardcover, 119 pages. Available on the Internet for $22.00. The Oryx Press, 88 Post Road West, Westport, CT 06881, www.oryxpress.com

Illustrious Brother Trachtenberg, Grand Cross, is the President of The George Washington University and one of America's outstanding educators. This book is a collection of speeches given to various groups about the nature and role of higher education. Many of us have, at best, a relationship of armed neutrality with higher education. We're prepared to admit it is important. We want the doctors who treat us, the lawyers who resolve our legal issues, and the engineers who design the bridges over which we drive to have the very best education possible. At the same time, we suspect the world of the campus of being a little artificial, an "ivory tower" separated from real life, and we are, perhaps, suspicious of the apparent "social engineering" taught and practiced there. I spent part of my life professing on a college campus, and I know there is reality in some of these concerns. Speaking frankly and openly to these issues, Ill. Trachtenberg insists "there is no ivory and not that much ivy on campus." That one of the book's chapters is the text from a talk by Ill. Trachtenberg during one of his visits as a guest speaker to a Masonic Lodge in Washington, D.C., gives the book a special Masonic interest.

The remaining two items are from Macoy Publishing and Masonic Supply Company, so I'll put the ordering information here. Macoy Publishing and Masonic Supply Co., Inc., P.O. Box 9759 / 3011 Old Dumbarton Road, Richmond, VA 23228-0759 (804) 262-6551; Fax (804) 266-8256 VISA/Discover/MasterCard

Defense of the Ruffians: A Dialogue with Conscience, a one-act play, paperbound booklet, catalogue order #M013 $3.00 ISBN-0-88053-007-3

For years I have promised myself I am going to direct this one-act play. But I recommend it to you for reading as well as for performance. It is an edgy work. It has only two actors, and only one of whom is ever seen. That character is the third ruffian from our Degrees. The unseen voice is that of his conscience. The first two ruffians are dead, and the third is awaiting execution. Staging is easy-simply place a tall stool in an area of the Lodge Room where everyone can see the actor. Spotlight it and let the actor, in costume or not, sit on and move around the stool. That's all you need, plus, of course, a very good actor and, offstage, a Brother with a good voice to read the part of the third ruffian's conscience. Reading the play provides some profound reflections. Seeing the play performed will make these thoughts even more compelling. The author plants you firmly on the hook at the beginning and does not let you off until the last line. What really motivated the murder of Hiram? How did the fact that King Solomon, for all intents and purposes, made slaves of his own people to build the Temple affect the outcome? There is a compelling honesty to the play's words, and those moments when Jubelum comes close to self-realization make the play psychologically dramatic and moving. Reading or seeing this play may make you a little uncomfortable, but it will also make the Master Mason Degree fresh and new for you.

Woodrow W. Morris, The Greatest of These, hardbound, 114 pages, catalogue order #M328, $10.00 ISBN 0-88053-080-4

This book is a collection of quotations from many different sources on such topics as charity, benevolence, etc. Thought-provoking and eloquent, many of the quotations are especially useful as a resource when speaking at Friends Nights, talking to a civic club about Masonic charity, or writing an article for the local newspaper about a Masonic charity or fund-raising event. The quotations are about philanthropy generally, not specifically Masonic charity in most cases, but the book is still a useful resource and a thoughtful read.
Editor's Note: Unless otherwise noted, most books are available at or through your local bookstore or over the Internet. Prices may vary.
Jim Tresner is Director of the Masonic Leadership Institute and Editor of The Oklahoma Mason. A frequent contributor to the Scottish Rite Journal and its book review editor, Ill. Bro. Tresner is also a volunteer writer for The Oklahoma Scottish Rite Mason and a video script consultant for the National Masonic Renewal Committee. He is the Director of the Thirty-third Degree Conferral Team and Director of Work at the Guthrie Scottish Rite Temple in Guthrie, Oklahoma, as well as a Life Member of the Scottish Rite Research Society, author of Albert Pike, The Man Beyond the Monument, and Vested in Glory. A member of the steering committee of the Masonic Information Center, Ill. Tresner was awarded the Grand Cross, the Scottish Rite's highest honor, during the Supreme Council's October 1997 Biennial Session.