The American Fraternity - (Hardcover)

About the Book

The American Fraternity is a mysterious photo and ritual book that lifts the veil on America's oldest and most influential male tradition.

Book Synopsis

The American Fraternity is a mysterious photo and ritual book that lifts the veil on America's oldest and most influential male tradition. The text comes from a decaying ritual manual from a prominent college fraternity. Seventy-five percent of modern U.S. presidents, senators, justices, and executives have taken arcane oaths of allegiance like the ones it contains. Six decades of red ceremonial wax stain it like blood. It is filled with dark power.

Review Quotes

"...released amid a nationwide conversation about toxic masculinity sparked by the #Metoo movement...",
- Time, September 17, 2018
"...a historical document of a powerful--and aggressive--American subculture.",
- Vice, October 4, 2018
"This is a naked look inside the American frat house.",
- The New York Post, September 27, 2018
Also featured by:
Photo District News - Notable Photo Books of 2018
The Guardian
British Journal of Photography

About the Author

Nicholas L. Syrett is professor of women, gender, and sexuality studies at the University of Kansas and author of The Company He Keeps: A History of White College Fraternities and American Child Bride: A History of Minors and Marriage in the United States.