Terry Melanson, Perfectibilists (2009).

This is a superb, insightful and intelligent history of the Order of the Illuminati of Bavaria. It is the foundation stone upon which any modern proper understanding of the Illuminati should be based. Mr. Melanson treats his subject objectively and with precise care, never exaggerating but instead providing all the essential details. The thoroughness of his research is self-evident. Because I have read many of the books upon which he relies, I can confirm his accuracy. I read carefully to find even a single error, and found none. Mr. Melanson's book will therefore for a long time to come fill in the dark gaps in history regarding the Illuminati, and hopefully bring to a close the current chapter where hype and conjecture are taken as a factual account.