  C. M. MAYOAuthor of Metaphysical Odyssey into the Mexican Revolution, etc. |
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METAPHYSICAL ODYSSEY INTO THE MEXICAN REVOLUTION: FRANCISCO I. MADERO AND HIS SECRET BOOK, SPIRITIST MANUAL  WINNER, NATIONAL INDIE EXCELLENCE AWARD FOR HISTORY |
 "In my
fifteen years of researching the life of President Francisco
I. Madero, I have never read a more complete book as the one
just written by C.M. Mayo. It will simply surprise any reader.
The research is impeccable and the narrative well-rounded."Manuel Guerra de Luna, author of Los Madero: La Saga Liberal "Having finished her fascinating The Last Prince of the Mexican Empire, C.M. Mayo offers another dazzling work in her own fluid, poetic and highly visual prose. Her translation of the Spiritist Manual of Don Francisco Madero (intellectual, revolutionary, mystic and President of Mexico until his assassination in 1913,) makes this work available for the first time in 100 years. It is enhanced by Mayo’s account in the first third of the book of the history of spiritualism from Swedenborg to the present day and in the second third by her galloping history of Mexican independence. The last third translates Madero’s Manual Espírita, concerning the meaning of life. Those who are familiar with the ideas of New Thought, Swedenborg, metaphysical churches, the Bhagavad Gita, White Brotherhood, reincarnation or the Theosophists will find themselves on familiar ground, but the Manual, laid out in a format of Q & A, makes the Mysteries so simple that even readers with no spiritualist background will find themselves drawn in. By the time I finished I wished for a Don Francisco Madero to guide us today, a politican who is also a mystic and intellect. Sophy Burnham, author of A Book of Angels and The President's Angel "Mayo does brilliant job combining the known facts of the Mexican Revolution and Madero's role within it, and creates an intellectual bridge to the president's spiritist belief structure. He was not the hopeless idealist so many historians have proclaimed him to be. Neither was he inept or indecisive. Rather, his personality was deeply rooted in a sharply defined vision for a future Mexico. .. With her translation of the Spiritist Manual, C.M. Mayo opened this incredible window into the metaphysical side of the Mexican Revolution that might otherwise have been forgotten." Heribert von Feilitzsch author of In Plain Sight: Felix Sommerfeld, Spymaster in Mexico "Mayo... provides not only an English translation of Madero's Spiritist Manual, but also a lively introduction... The author argues effectively that Madero's manual is essential to understanding his revolutionary zeal." Kirkus Reviews "Metaphysical Odyssey into the Mexican Revolution paints a complex picture of a curious crossroads in history, where the rise and fall of a regime coincided with a spiritual and social awakening with the potential to rewrite a country's future. Kudos to Mayo for introducing us to both the man and his message." San Francisco Book Review "Ever astonishing are the greats whose inner tracks wholly diverge from their renown. Such a case is Francisco I. Madero, first president of Mexico after the 1910 revolution, whose political genius was immersed in mysticism, and equally extraordinary is C. M. Mayo's account of this paradox in Metaphysical Odyssey into the Mexican Revolution. Threading the tortuous path of Madero from birth to assassination, and culminating in the first translation into English of the little-known Spiritist Manual of this master of statecraft, Mayo's account brings to life the duality of the singular founder of Mexican democracy." Bruce Berger, author of The Telling Distance: Conversations with the American Desert "How many Spiritualists in the United States and Europe are aware that Francisco I. Madero, leader of the 1910 revolution and President of Mexico, 1911-1913 was a practicing medium, regularly sat in a home circle and even authored a book for mediumship development? Madero's personal library included a large assortment of classic Spiritualist literature including Spanish translations of works in English and French by such pioneers as J.M. Peebles and Allan Kardec. C.M. Mayo provides an extremely informative introduction to the first English translation of the secret book written by one of Mexico's major national heroes. Anyone interested in the history of international Spiritualism as well as mediumistic unfoldment will find this manual invaluable." Reverend Stephen A. Hermann, National Spiritualist "Suspend your disbelief, dear reader, and spend a few moments with the Spiritist Manual. After its introduction by Mayo, I started in on it, expecting to be bored silly as I usually am by most ritualistic spiritual manuals— excluding writers like Blavatsky...and what some now refer to as the "Neo-Modernist Buddhists:" Jack Kornfeld, Mark Epstein, Jakusho Kwong Rosh, Alan Watts, and the late prison guru, Bo Lozoff. Despite my affection for these writers, it was with heavy heart that I embarked on the pages of The Metaphysical Odyssey. But, I am here to tell you: they were, if you pardon the expression, a revelation..." The Review of Arts, Literature, Philosophy, and the Humanities "Few have read and interpreted the soul of Mexico as Mayo has... Mayo’s signal achievement is to be the first translator of a much stranger book of Madero’s, his Spiritist Manual (Manual Espírita, 1911), and to include it in her study of Madero’s metaphysical vision...[Mayo's] translator’s notes and her research into Madero and related arcana such as the Biblioteca Orientalista have produced a long and winding study that satisfies both with its thoroughness and with its titillating other-worldiness.... Metaphysical Odyssey is as entertaining as it is informative. In the end, though, it is more. It’s somewhat haunting. This derives partly from Madero’s valor and genuineness and partly from the cri de coeur of an entire nation seeking a new way." EZRA Translation Journal "Interesting, in an odd way, as the 90 page “Spiritist Manual” is, it is Mayo’s own story of how she came to translate the book, that holds you. The strange paths of research and scholarship it led her into that makes up the bulk of her own “Metaphysical Odyssey into the Mexico Revolution”....we are embarking on a journey into the — not unknown, but forgotten — intellectual past. Mayo — who after all is a travel writer, among her several talents — is our guide on what is as much her own "Metaphysical Odyssey” as a journey down roads less traveled, but with one heck of an unusual view." The Mex Files "Don't be thrown off by the academic-sounding title—this book is like a rambling conversation with a really smart friend who knows a great deal more than you do, but truly enjoys telling the story to you, and does it in an entertaining and enlightening way." Jennifer Silva Redmond, My Fave Books of 2014 "C.M. Mayo's lively, clear style drew me right into Metaphysical Odyssey into the Mexican Revolution. Her academically impeccable scholarship, conveyed with wit and humour, makes this fascinating subject irresistible." Sandra Gulland, internationally bestselling author of the Josephine B. Trilogy "I found C.M. Mayo’s book to be very engaging and well-written. This is not your typical history, or even esoteric history book. Mayo is a profoundly creative and insightful artist who is able to bring her own perspective into the frame while enhancing our understanding of her subjects. This is a masterful introduction to a topic that hasn’t been explored in this accessible way before, and may never be again. If you enjoy esotericism, history, politics, and the way that they sometimes intersect, I highly recommend you read C.M. Mayo’s Metaphysical Odyssey into the Mexican Revolution." Greg Kaminsky, host of Occult of Personality  |
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MIRACULOUS AIR |
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"A luminous exploration
of Baja California, from its southern tip at Cabo San Lucas to
its 'lost city' of Tijuana... [Mayo] takes the fiction writer's
impulse and blends it with the instincts of a journalist to create
a work of nonfiction that elides into modern myth" |
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MEXICO: A TRAVELER'S LITERARY COMPANION |
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"Discovering
it was like opening a door and walking into a brightly lit room
filled with all kinds of literary treasures" |
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SKY OVER EL NIDO |
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"C.M. Mayo
writes some of the most exquisitely fashioned, perfectly measured
prose alive in the world today. Her stories glitter with delicious
odd details. They feel electrically charged, richly mysterious,
and rhythmic. I love her layering of cultures, her offbeat humor,
her potent instinct for voices. Bravo! Captivating! Yes, yes,
yes!" |
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