Freemasonry and British Imperialism

The most recent book I'm reading is Builders of Empire: Freemasonry and British Imperialism 1717-1927 by Jessica L. Harland-Jacobs. Pietre-Stones has a brief review here.

This summer I'm enrolled in an on-line class about India. I came across a reference to this book and I thought it might relate to what I'm studying for my class. I'm enjoying the book quite a bit. The author argues that Freemasonry aided Britain's empire building in part due to its emphasis on universal brotherhood. She does an excellent job supporting her claims with references to primary source documents. In the book's opening few pages she thanks numerous people including the librarian at the Iowa Masonic Library, Bill Krueger.