America S Assignment With Destiny

The story of unfolding of the esoteric tradition in the Western Hemisphere is told, beginning with the rites and mysteries of the Mayas and Aztecs. Parallels are drawn between the miracles of the North American Indian medicine priests and those of the wonder workers of India. Also included: an account of the Incas of Peru and their possible contact with Asia. Space is devoted to the riddle of Columbus, the role of Lord Bacon in organizing the English settlements in America, and the contributions of the German mystics through the Pietists, Mennonites, Dunkers, and Quakers. The American Revolutionary period and important personalities of that time are examined, as are the Latin American patriots such as Simon Bolivar, Miguel Hidalgo, and Benito Juarez.

From the author of the landmark Secret Teachings of All Ages comes two classic works on the mysterious origins and unique mission of America: The Secret Destiny of America and America's Assignment with Destiny. Focusing on often-forgotten moments in history, Manley P. Hall proposes that there was a Great Plan put forth one thousand years before our nation's founding: humanistic and mystical organizations wished for the continent to be the location for an experiment in self-government and religious freedom. As one of the leading esoteric scholars of the twentieth century, Hall offers an intriguing view of our past, discussing everything from the symbolism of the Great Seal of the U.S. to the prophecy announced at George Washington's birth.

2013 Reprint of 1949 Edition. Full facsimile of the original edition, not reproduced with Optical Recognition Software. Early modern history comes alive in this fascinating account of the history of secret doctrines in Europe from antiquity to the end of the Age of Chivalry. The account begins with Manes, whose philosophy has survived into modern times as the impelling force behind Christian Mysticism. The glory of the Guilds unfolds the traditions of the first organization to put into solemn practice the concept of the brotherhood of man. The troubadour, minnesinger, and meistersinger are considered, as well as the troubled story of the Knights Templar of Jerusalem. Taliesin, the Adept of Britain, finds his proper place in the descent of the wisdom of the Druids and the secret assemblies of Wales. Through Merlin, the magician, the reader meets King Arthur and there is an interpretation of the Round Table legendary. The wonderful stories of the Holy Grail, the Grail Kings, Parsifal, and Lohengrin are discussed, as well as early Christian contacts with China and other Eastern lands. The account ends with the search for the mysterious temple of Shamballah, said to stand on the Imperishable Island in the midst of the Gobi Desert in Mongolia.

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • In this brilliant biography, Pulitzer Prize–winning author Jon Meacham chronicles the life of George Herbert Walker Bush. NAMED ONE OF THE TEN BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY THE WASHINGTON POST AND ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY The New York Times Book Review • Time • NPR • St. Louis Post-Dispatch Drawing on President Bush’s personal diaries, on the diaries of his wife, Barbara, and on extraordinary access to the forty-first president and his family, Meacham paints an intimate and surprising portrait of an intensely private man who led the nation through tumultuous times. From the Oval Office to Camp David, from his study in the private quarters of the White House to Air Force One, from the fall of the Berlin Wall to the first Gulf War to the end of Communism, Destiny and Power charts the thoughts, decisions, and emotions of a modern president who may have been the last of his kind. This is the human story of a man who was, like the nation he led, at once noble and flawed. His was one of the great American lives. Born into a loving, privileged, and competitive family, Bush joined the navy on his eighteenth birthday and at age twenty was shot down on a combat mission over the Pacific. He married young, started a family, and resisted pressure to go to Wall Street, striking out for the adventurous world of Texas oil. Over the course of three decades, Bush would rise from the chairmanship of his county Republican Party to serve as congressman, ambassador to the United Nations, head of the Republican National Committee, envoy to China, director of Central Intelligence, vice president under Ronald Reagan, and, finally, president of the United States. In retirement he became the first president since John Adams to see his son win the ultimate prize in American politics. With access not only to the Bush diaries but, through extensive interviews, to the former president himself, Meacham presents Bush’s candid assessments of many of the critical figures of the age, ranging from Richard Nixon to Nancy Reagan; Mao to Mikhail Gorbachev; Dick Cheney to Donald Rumsfeld; Henry Kissinger to Bill Clinton. Here is high politics as it really is but as we rarely see it. From the Pacific to the presidency, Destiny and Power charts the vicissitudes of the life of this quietly compelling American original. Meacham sheds new light on the rise of the right wing in the Republican Party, a shift that signaled the beginning of the end of the center in American politics. Destiny and Power is an affecting portrait of a man who, driven by destiny and by duty, forever sought, ultimately, to put the country first. Praise for Destiny and Power “Should be required reading—if not for every presidential candidate, then for every president-elect.”—The Washington Post “Reflects the qualities of both subject and biographer: judicious, balanced, deliberative, with a deep appreciation of history and the personalities who shape it.”—The New York Times Book Review “A fascinating biography of the forty-first president.”—The Dallas Morning News

A compilation of rare works on the untold history and destiny of America by acclaimed occult writer Manly P. Hall. Writer and scholar Manly P. Hall (1901-1990) is one of the most significant names in the study of the esoteric, symbolic, and occult. His legendary book The Secret Teachings of All Ages has been an underground classic since its publication in 1928. The Secret History of America expands on that legacy, offering a collection of Hall’s works—from books and journals to transcriptions of his lectures—all relating to the hidden past and unfolding future of our nation. Hall believed that America was gifted with a unique purpose to explore and share principles of personal freedom, self-governance, and independent thought. PEN Award-winning historian, Mitch Horowitz has curated a powerful collection of Hall’s most influential and insightful works that capture and explore these ideas. Never before collected in one volume, the material in The Secret History of America explores the rich destiny, unseen history, and hidden meaning of America.

The Battle of Midway is traditionally held as the point when Allied forces gained advantage over the Japanese. In Islands of Destiny, acclaimed historian and military intelligence expert John Prados points out that the Japanese forces quickly regained strength after Midway and continued their assault undaunted. Taking this surprising fact as the start of his inquiry, he began to investigate how and when the Pacific tide turned in the Allies’ favor. Using archives of WWII intelligence reports from both sides, Prados offers up a compelling reassessment of the true turning in the Pacific: not Midway, but the fight for the Solomon Islands. Combat in the Solomons saw a series of surface naval battles, including one of the key battleship-versus-battleship actions of the war; two major carrier actions; daily air duels, including the aerial ambush in which perished the famous Japanese naval commander Admiral Yamamoto Isoroku; and many other hair-raising exploits. Commencing with the Allied invasion of Guadalcanal, Prados shows how and why the Allies beat Japan on the sea, in the air, and in the jungles.