Secret Life of Genius: How 24 Great Men and Women Were Touched by Spiritual Worlds »

John Chambers has a Master of Arts in English from the University of Toronto and spent three years at the University of Paris. His previous translations include “Phase One: C. E. Q. Manifesto” in Quebec: Only the Beginning. He has published numerous articles on subjects ranging from ocean shipping to mall sprawl to alien abduction, seven of his articles appearing in Forbidden Religion: Suppressed Heresies of the West. The director of New Paradigm Books publishing company (newpara.com), he lives in Florida.

A look at the metaphysical experiences that shaped 24 great men and women from the Renaissance to modern times. The Secret Life of Genius chronicles our changing relationship with God, nature, and spirituality from the 16th to the 20th century.

Introduction Prague's Other Universe 1

1 (1500-1571) The Goldsmith and the Guardian Angel Benvenuto Cellini 8

2 (1503-1566) The Art of Astral Medicine Michel de Nostradamus 18

3 (1572-1637) The Occult as Confidence Game Ben Johnson 32

4 (1642-1727) In Search of the Historical Noah Sir Isaac Newton 41

5 (1749-1832) The Battle Over Light Johann Wolfgang von Goethe 60

6 (1757-1827) The Horse's Mouth William Blake 68

7 (1790-1869) The Fall of an Angel Alphonse de Lamartine 78

8 (1797-1851) The Last Man Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley 94

9 (1799-1850) Triumph and Tragedy of the Inner Self Honoré de Balzac 104

10 (1802-1885) What the Shadow's Mouth Says Victor Hugo 116

11 (1828-1905) The Prophet as Peter Pan Jules Verne 131

12 (1828-1910) The Fruits of Enlightenment Leo Tolstoy 141

13 (1831-1891) Mistress of Hidden Wisdom Madame Helena Blavatsky 151

14 (1865-1939) Metaphors for Poetry William Butler Yeats 164

15 (1866-1946) Did the Father of Science Fiction Have a Near-Death Experience? H. G. Wells 179

16 (1871-1950) "It Was Not Possible-But It Happened" Thomas Mann 187

17 (1874-1926) Ultimate Escape Harry Houdini 197

18 (1874-1965) Encounter in the Transvaal Winston S. Churchill 207

19 (1875-1961) Speaker for the Dead Carl G. Jung 215

20 (1882-1944) A Guest in the House of Krishna Sri Yashoda Ma 226

21 (1919-) Canopus in Argos: Archives Doris Lessing 240

22 (1923-2007) Boxing with the Devil Norman Mailer 249

23 (1925-1970) Martyr-Genius of Japan Yukio Mishima 260

24 (1926-1995) I and Mine Hold It Back Brothers James Merrill 283

Notes 302

Bibliography 319