Presenting an advanced and authoritativeperspective, this definitive study chroniclesthe rise and fall of the Order of the Illuminati, a mysterious Enlightenment-era guild surrounded by myth. Describing thisenigmatic communityin meticulous detail, more than 1,000endnotes are included, citing scholars, professors, and academics. Contemporary accounts and the original documents of the Illuminati themselves are covered as well. Copiously illustrated andfeaturing biographies of more than 400 confirmed members, this survey brings to light a 200-year-old mystery."