The Secret Destiny of America or Looking for History

The Secret Destiny of America

Author: Manly Palmer Hall

Manly P. Hall's two classic works on the hidden history and occult mission of America—The Secret Destiny of America and America's Assignment with Destiny— each redesigned and reset in this special two-in-one volume.

Drawing upon often neglected fragments of history, The Secret Destiny of America presents evidence for a mysterious Great Plan at the core of the nation's founding. Preeminent occult scholar Manly P. Hall argues that humanistic, esoteric, and mystical orders collaborated in setting aside the American continent for a world-shaking experiment in enlightened self-government and religious liberty.

The author locates the seeds for this plan one thousand years before the beginning of the Christian era, exploring figures such as the Pharaoh Akhnaton, Plato, and Plotinus. Once hatched in the colonial age, the great experiment involved: · Christopher Columbus, who may have been an agent of esoteric order connected with Lorenzo de' Medici and Leonardo da Vinci;

• English intellectuals Bacon and Raleigh, who played unique roles in the court intrigue surrounding the settlement of the continent;

• founders Washington and Franklin, who had esoteric associations;

• and a network of Rosicrucians, mystics, and Freemasons whose ideals of religious freedom traveled to American soil.

Whether discussing the symbolism of the Great Seal of the United States, the prophecy at George Washington's birth, or the role of a mysterious stranger who swayed the signers of the Declaration of Independence, The Secret Destiny of America is the sole volume to link together the fascinating strandsof esoteric history that lie at America's heart.

Books about: Qigong Fever or Immortality

Looking for History: Dispatches from Latin America

Author: Alma Guillermoprieto

From the esteemed New Yorker correspondent comes an incisive volume of essays and reportage that vividly illuminates Latin America’s recent history. Only Alma Guillermoprieto, the most highly regarded writer on the region, could unravel the complex threads of Colombia’s cocaine wars or assess the combination of despotism, charm, and political jiu-jitsu that has kept Fidel Castro in power for more than 40 years. And no one else can write with such acumen and sympathy about statesmen and campesinos, leftist revolutionaries and right-wing militias, and political figures from Evita Peron to Mexico’s irrepressible president, Vicente Fox.

Whether she is following the historic papal visit to Havana or staying awake for a pre-dawn interview with an insomniac Subcomandante Marcos, Guillermoprieto displays both the passion and knowledge of an insider and the perspective of a seasoned analyst. Looking for History is journalism in the finest traditions of Joan Didion, V. S. Naipaul, and Ryszard Kapucinski: observant, empathetic, and beautifully written.

Publishers Weekly

Guillermoprieto (The Heart That Bleeds: Latin America Now), Latin America correspondent for the New Yorker and the New York Review of Books, presents a collection of essays focusing on Colombia, Cuba and Mexico in the 1990s, accompanied by wonderfully elegant sketches of Eva Per"n of Argentina and Mario Vargas Llosa of Peru. There is some repetition, but this flaw does not seriously detract from her message that although Latin American political culture in the latter half of the 20th century is largely shrouded in myth, particularly because of its potent relationship with the U.S., it does indeed have "its own independent life." Apparent throughout is the author's ability to capture a historical moment and place it in context: for example, her observations of the pope's visit in January 1998 to a Cuba led by Fidel Castro dressed in a dark suit, and not his usual army fatigues, who made many political concessions for the privilege of paying homage to the pope. The chapter on John Paul II is flanked by portraits of Che Guevara and of Castro, the former steeped in romantic fanaticism, the latter seen as clinging to power long after his revolution has been bypassed by history. Guillermoprieto's writing seems unaffected by any obvious political bias; she excoriates the violence of the left (the murderous guerrilla brigades of Colombia) and of the right (the murderous Colombian paramilitary forces). Above all, the author displays an insightful grasp of the absurdities and chaos (one of the root causes of which is the U.S.'s inexhaustible appetite for drugs) that, in her view, permeate Latin American politics. (Apr. 18) Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

Library Journal

Guillermoprieto, a staff editor at The New Yorker, is a well-known and astute observer of Latin America. This collection of 17 of her essays, all adapted from pieces published in The New Yorker and the New York Review of Books, focuses on recent political events in the region. The essays are primarily about three countries: Cuba, where revolutionary idealism had to face reality; Colombia, where revolutions have always failed; and Mexico, a land of political fantasy. Among the stories, book reviews, and descriptions are perceptive and insightful observations of Latin American politics and society that help illuminate this important part of the world. This volume will be of interest to Latin American collections as well as current affairs libraries. Mark L. Grover, Brigham Young Univ., Provo, UT Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

Clear-eyed essays focusing chiefly on political events of the past decade in Colombia, Mexico, and Cuba. New Yorker writer Guillermoprieto (The Heart That Bleeds, 1994) is the very model of the intrepid reporter. With astounding energy, she braves the snarls of politics and the perils of mountains and jungle to hack her way to the heart of the matter and lay out the facts for her reader. Whether she is making her way through the nearly impenetrable wilds of Colombia to meet with leaders of that nation's oldest guerilla group (the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia, alias FARC) or being awakened in the middle of the night to talk with Subcomandante Marcos, military leader of the Zapatistas, her commitment to the story is unshakeable. She stays alert through six hours of a Castro press conference, and awakens at 5 a.m. to witness the Pope's historic outdoor mass in Havana. For all of this physical action, however, it is her fluency with the political territory that is truly remarkable. Tracing the histories of political parties and alliances, Guillermoprieto provides insight into movements that usually seem absolutely opaque. The nebulous War on Drugs in Colombia is laid out piece by piece, with the guerillas and government actors labeled and interviewed. The Zapatistas are made human and comprehensible. Cuba's citizenry is seen up close and personal. Looking at massive movements and political machinery, Guillermoprieto insists on understanding the very human motivations behind them and their impact on millions of regular people who contribute to them and must live with their effects. She's equally impressive analyzing Eva Perón or Mario Vargas Llosa. Atrulyinstructive work.