by C.M. Mayo ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 23, 2014
The author argues effectively that Madero’s manual is essential to understanding his revolutionary zeal.
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An introduction to and translation of Mexican revolutionary Francisco Madero’s Spiritist Manual.
In the winter of 1911, as Mexican revolutionaries battled to oust the dictator Porfirio Diaz, an author identified only as “Bhîma” published Manual espirita, a slim volume that promised to provide readers with “the foundations of a very lofty philosophy” known as Spiritism. The human spirit, the author wrote, “is a higher entity than our body,” its life not limited to one incarnation but reincarnated repeatedly as it evolves into ever greater states of consciousness. Bhîma, it turns out, was not some Eastern mystic but none other than Francisco Madero, who helped depose Diaz and served as president of Mexico from November 1911 to his murder in February 1913. In her book, Mayo, the pen name of Catherine Mansell, wife of a prominent Mexican economist, provides not only an English translation of Madero’s Spiritist Manual, but also a lively introduction to a text that had sunk into “almost complete obscurity” but, she argues, is essential to “understanding Madero himself, why and how he led Mexico’s 1910 Revolution, and the seething contempt of those behind the overthrow of his government and his assassination.” Madero discovered Spiritism, Mayo writes, as a student in Paris in 1891 when he stumbled upon a magazine called La Revue spirite. After reading the works of Spiritism guru Allan Kardec, he became convinced “he had incarnated on this planet in order to usher in a golden age.” But while he was motivated by his Spiritism and detailed messages he believed were sent to him by the dead, Madero had to promote his philosophy anonymously in Catholic Mexico, remaining “coyly, and sometimes very lumpily, behind the curtains.” In one message, a spirit named José purportedly reminded him, “You have been selected by your Heavenly Father to fulfill a great mission on Earth.” Mayo’s frequent digressions may irritate some readers, but she makes an effective case for taking Madero’s Spiritist beliefs seriously rather than simply dismissing them as “plumb crazy.” “One does not have to be a Spiritist to champion freedom and democracy,” Mayo concludes, “but for Madero, Mexico’s Apostle of Democracy, metaphysics and politics were inseparable.”
The author argues effectively that Madero’s manual is essential to understanding his revolutionary zeal.Pub Date: Jan. 23, 2014
ISBN: 978-0988797000
Page Count: 298
Publisher: Dancing Chiva
Review Posted Online: Jan. 9, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2015
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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by E.T.A. Hoffmann ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 28, 1996
This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)
Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996
ISBN: 0-15-100227-4
Page Count: 136
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996
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by Ludwig Bemelmans ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 23, 1955
An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.
Pub Date: Feb. 23, 1955
ISBN: 0670717797
Page Count: -
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1955
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