In this perceptive and illustrative look at the expressive and practical use of stone throughout history, Richard Rhodes unlocks the underlying principles of this ancient material—and explains the closely guarded Sacred Rules of the Freemasons guild for the first time ever.

The relationship between mankind and stone is elemental and deeply ingrained into all of us. Stone, after all, has been the primary building material for more than five thousand years of human history, and it continues to record our triumphs and failures. In this searching history of the expressive and practical use of stone, Richard Rhodes unlocks the underlying principles of stone;s highest and best use, and he illuminates rules codified by the medieval Freemason's guild.

Century after century of stone use gradually produced the closely-guarded Sacred Rules as they are collectively known, considered to be the most important and closely-kept property of the ancient stone guildsmen. Previously available only to the initiated, the rules are explained here through historical examples and photographs for the first time ever. In these times of rapid development and expansive urbanization, Rhodes implores us to explore the essential qualities of stone that emerge from the Sacred Rules, not only to rediscover the ancient and traditional knowledge that governed its use for so long, but also to find a roadmap for how future generations might thoughtfully recapture the power this material offers.