Book excerpt: The Signature Edition of Manly P. Hall’s Esoteric Classics on America Fully reset and newly introduced by PEN Award-winning historian Mitch Horowitz, The Secret Destiny of America (1944) and America’s Assignment with Destiny (1951) are Manly P. Hall’s core statements on the esoteric purpose and occult backstory of the United States. In these two volumes appears Hall’s thrilling thesis that democracy and personal liberty are part of a “Great Plan” extending from the pharaonic era to Hellenic secret societies to illumined intellects such as Francis Bacon and Christopher Columbus to modern expressions of Rosicrucianism and Freemasonry, finally blossoming among the ideals of America’s Founders. In his introduction, Mitch explores the historicism of Hall’s writing on America, highlighting lasting points and augmenting the record where new information is available. Mitch specifically considers the Atlantean thesis from the perspective of the twenty-first century; reviews Hall’s career-long influence on President Ronald Reagan; examines the eye-and-pyramid of the Great Seal of the United States; contextualizes the impact of Freemasonry on the nation’s founding; explores Mesoamerican civilization and its complexities; and critically considers the role of secret societies in modern life. “Hall ranks among the few historical writers who at least recognized the inceptive role of Freemasonry in America’s founding,” Mitch writes, “a perspective only recently granted overdue treatment in scholarly literature.” Indeed, it was Manly P. Hall alone who kept alive the light of esoteric ideas—and their role in the nation’s formation—during the time he produced these seminal volumes. They are presented here, with a substantial historical introduction, in their definitive form.