Secrets of the Tomb: Skull and Bones, the Ivy League and the Hidden Paths of Power

The Ivy League is full of societies and clubs, some public and some very private. But none is as secret as Yale's Skull and Bones, a tiny, mysterious society that has spawned three U.S. presidents, including William H. Taft, George W. Bush, and his father. Skull and Bones' cloak-and-dagger secrecy has prompted people worldwide to attribute to it some of the most staggering conspiracies in modern history-as well as events including the drop of the atom bomb, the rise of Hitler, and the invasion of the Bay of Pigs. From their nearly windowless crypt in the middle of the Yale campus, the Bonesmen, it is said, plot to dominate the world. In Secrets of the Tomb, acclaimed journalist Alexandra Robbins slips through the veil of secrecy to investigate, through society documents and interviews with dozens of members, the truth about Skull and Bones' influence and operations. She also explains why this old-boy 19th century throwback, a product of another time, still thrives in 21st-century America.