'Cold Fact' by the artist simply known as Rodriguez was one of the world's great lost albums. It is now gaining attention through the documentary 'Searching For Sugarman' which tells the remarkable story of this mysterious singer. 'Cold Fiction' is a book of 12 short stories, each inspired by the 12 tracks on Rodriguez' album. The stories are not a re-telling the songs, but rather they take inspiration from a line or lines in the lyrics, the title of the song, and in one case from a rumour that sprung up in South Africa about Rodriguez' death. Warning: This book does contain some adult themes and is not suitable for young people.

The narrative of facts probably best exemplified in the literature of exploration was an immensely popular genre in mid-nineteenth-century America. In White Lies, John Samson offers full contextual readings of Melville's five major narratives of facts Typee, Omoo, Redburn, White-Jacket, and Israel Potter. Samson demonstrates that in these novels Melville critically rewrote the sources on which he drew, in effect making the genre itself a subject of his writing.

In his introduction, Samson discusses Melville's knowledge of the genre and its ideology. He then reads each novel in terms of Melville's confrontation with its sources. In each, Samson says, an unreliable narrator represents particular ideological tendencies in Melville's sources. Melville heightens and extends these tendencies, exposes the contradictions and biases within them, and ends by showing the narrator evading or denying experiences that conflict with his ideology. According to Samson, Melville sees the concept of historical progress as the basis of these biases and evasions.

In these five novels, Melville reveals the conflict between democratic, humanitarian, and individualistic principles, on the one hand, and the forces of racial superiority, religious bigotry, economic determinism, and political conservatism, on the other. Taken together, Samson asserts, these novels deconstruct the intellectual foundations of the form of historical narration endorsed by white patriarchal culture.

Scholars and students of nineteenth-century American literature, specialists in the novel, and other readers of Melville will welcome Samson's provocative reinterpretation of these key works in American culture."

"Sometimes a single misapprehension or sticky question stands in the way of an honest believer's examination of the doctrines of grace. John Samson answers those questions with a pastoral heart, yet with biblical fidelity." - Dr. James White, Alpha & Omega Ministries. One man said, "This book helped me enormously. My understanding of God's grace has soared to new heights." Another said, "This is the one book I wish had been placed in my hands as a new Christian. There is a lifetime of insight here." Still another revealed, "There were times reading this when I just had to stop, fall to my knees and thank God for His measureless grace in my life." Whether you are brand new to the subject, or still wrestling with these weighty concepts, Twelve What Abouts will prove to be an indispensable resource in your search for the truth.

The narrative of facts probably best exemplified in the literature of exploration was an immensely popular genre in mid-nineteenth-century America. In White Lies, John Samson offers full contextual readings of Melville's five major narratives of facts Typee, Omoo, Redburn, White-Jacket, and Israel Potter. Samson demonstrates that in these novels Melville critically rewrote the sources on which he drew, in effect making the genre itself a subject of his writing.

In his introduction, Samson discusses Melville's knowledge of the genre and its ideology. He then reads each novel in terms of Melville's confrontation with its sources. In each, Samson says, an unreliable narrator represents particular ideological tendencies in Melville's sources. Melville heightens and extends these tendencies, exposes the contradictions and biases within them, and ends by showing the narrator evading or denying experiences that conflict with his ideology. According to Samson, Melville sees the concept of historical progress as the basis of these biases and evasions.

In these five novels, Melville reveals the conflict between democratic, humanitarian, and individualistic principles, on the one hand, and the forces of racial superiority, religious bigotry, economic determinism, and political conservatism, on the other. Taken together, Samson asserts, these novels deconstruct the intellectual foundations of the form of historical narration endorsed by white patriarchal culture.

Scholars and students of nineteenth-century American literature, specialists in the novel, and other readers of Melville will welcome Samson's provocative reinterpretation of these key works in American culture."