I found this myself, but was told it is a "Must read" too.

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Two books recommended to me by a Freemason.

I've often found, that the Idiot's and Dummy's series too dumbed down for anything I wanted to research.  But these both do a good job of explaining the basics of Freemasonry and aren't for "Idiots" or "Dummies."

 

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In 1907, young Nikos Kazantzakis was initiated as a Freemason.

In 1907, young Nikos Kazantzakis was initiated as a Freemason.

The Beginnings of My Masonic Interests.

I first became aware of the Freemasons during college, after reading the works of Hermann Hesse and Carl Jung, two Swiss Freemasons (my son Matt recently traced back part of our family to Switzerland.)   I remember being relieved discovering Jung, after studying Freud and  Behavioralism.  Jung understood that sometimes, trees in dreams were just "trees in dreams" and not phallic symbols.   And we are not just biological machines.   Two books by Hesse that were  important to me were Siddartha and Journey to the East.   Siddhartha got me curious about Buddhism and my mother's family's Japanese heritage.  Also, believe it or not, a role playing game titled Bushido, got me interested in the Samurai.     After studying and living in Japan for 8 years, and coming back to Minnesota, I started exploring the traditions and culture of my father's side of the family.   Journey to The East is a thinly disguised story about Freemasonry.
     I would have to say,  Jung and Hesse, along with Joseph Campbell, were important in the development of my world view.
     I remember trying to find out about Masonry back then, in the early '70s.  But I knew no Masons and we didn't have the World Wide Web at the time.  Things have really changed!

George Washington's Masonic Apron

You can read more about the symbolism at The Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of Pennsylvania