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Who doesn't love Santa Claus? From award-winning photographer Ron
Cooper comes a beautifully curated collection of fifty professional
Santas from across the country. We Are Santa is a fascinating
glimpse into the lives of those who slip into the red suit to
spread Christmas cheer. Before and after portraits,
behind-the-scenes stories of custom made costumes and specialized
training, and surprising anecdotes of on-the-job encounters bring
these Santas to life. Just as Humans of New York captures the lives
of everyday people, We Are Santa celebrates the humanity of
everyday Santas. From a third-generation Kris Kringle to an
Orthodox Jew who has been playing Santa for fifty years, Cooper's
portraits are a testament to the holiday spirit. When Santa Mike, a
Navy veteran and aircraft mechanic, meets a six-year-old girl with
a prosthetic hand just like his own, he says, "Her eyes got big,
and she threw her arms around my neck. It was the highlight of my
season. That's why I'm Santa."
"When Purvis Driggers, a South Carolina Low Country loser with
little judgment and even less chance for a decent life beyond his
parents' house, home town, and whatever part-time work he can
scrounge up, seeks to rob an old man of the rumored millions hidden
in his house and fails, he's drawn to the sound of music across the
creek. There, he discovers a beautiful woman in a white gown being
baptized in the water. Surely Martha, beautiful Martha, will give
Purvis the escape he imagines. With the Martha boat come to his
rescue, Purvis decides, he'll never have to worry about drowning.
But Martha Umphlett is trapped, too. Made to take care of her obese
mother and forced to participate in a baptism she has no interest
in whatsoever, Martha, in her own way, is every bit as desperate as
Purvis, but far more capable and a good deal more dangerous. As
funny as it is sad, as beautiful as it is ugly, as authentic as it
is shocking, and as powerful as anything you'll ever read, Ron
Cooper's Purple Jesus is a mystery, a love story, a religious
allegory, and, most importantly, a dark and comic descent into the
lives and world views of these unbelievable and unforgettable
characters. Purvis Driggers is a South Carolina Low Country loser.
With little judgment and even less chance for a decent life beyond
his parents' house, home town, and whatever part-time work he can
scrounge up, he's sure he's figured a way out: Rob an old man of
the rumored millions hidden in his house. But all he finds is the
old man dead and the money, if there was any, already gone.
Disappointed and defeated, Purvis is drawn to the sound of music
across the creek. There, he discovers a beautiful woman in a white
gown being baptized in the water. Surely Martha, beautiful Martha,
will give Purvis the escape he imagines. With the Martha boat come
to his rescue, Purvis decides, he'll never have to worry about
drowning. But Martha Umphlett is trapped, too. Married and just as
quickly divorced, Martha's been condemned to return to the home
she'd once escaped. Made to take care of her obese mother and
forced to participate in a baptism she has no interest in
whatsoever, Martha, in her own way, is every bit as desperate as
Purvis, but far more capable and a good deal more dangerous. Their
paths cross with that of Brother Andrew, a monk at a nearby
monastery whose call more and more is not to God, but to nature,
and more importantly, to somewhere else. He wanders the swamp to
watch birds, practice archery, and meditate, but it becomes clearer
and clearer to him that the answers he seeks are not to be found in
his monastery, his vow of silence, or the life he's thus far known.
But maybe the answer is in the girl he, too, sees being baptized
across the creek. Perhaps Martha will make Andrew happy. All three
want and need something different in their lives, but the paths
they'll take are neither clear nor pretty, and they will not end
well. Infatuated with Martha, and certain she's the answer to his
dreams, Purvis sets out to do whatever is necessary to prove his
love, all the while terrified that the FBI will pin the old man's
murder on him. Is he demented, or just crazy with love? Does Martha
care for Purvis, or will she simply exploit him? Is Brother Andrew
straying too far toward both of them and too far away from his
faith? And just what is necessary for Purvis to prove himself to
Martha? Told from the characters' alternating points of view, this
darkly humorous story wends its way through a web of murder and
dismemberment, a twisted love triangle, and a woodland monster
known as the Hairy Man. As funny as it is sad, as beautiful as it
is ugly, as authentic as it is shocking, and as powerful as..."
Barely adequate philosophy professor Legare Hume has a mind-body
problem. No matter how far he goes, no matter how hard he thinks,
he can't escape the world he lives in. On the run from his wife
Tally, Legare joins brilliant but exceptionally awkward colleague
Saul Grossman to attend the American Philosophical Association's
Charleston, SC conference. Legare's mission is simple enough: put
up with the conference, read a paper he never thought anyone would
want to hear, receive the tenure he isn't sure he wants, and
return, or not, to the wife who nearly killed him before he left.
But his plans are hijacked by a botched hotel reservation and the
all-too-convenient presence of the Southern family Legare has
worked very hard all his adult life to avoid. Circumstances --
namely the inconvenient death of a mentally challenged uncle --
bring the whole family together. Meanwhile, wrestlers in the guise
of religious figures enact the Apocalypse. And through it all,
there's Lucian, Legare's late brother, who killed himself years
ago. What does his death mean? What's the family secret Legare has
been hiding from? What's there to learn from this rapid-fire
collision of worlds, where all kinds of people and all kinds of
views are inherently and bizarrely connected? And what will it take
for Legare to be both in and of the world?
An ancient legend says that Jesus had a twin brother, Thomas. An
extra-Biblical text that dates from perhaps as early as the late
first century CE (which would make it the same age as the Biblical
Gospels) claims to be the secret teachings of Jesus as recorded by
Judas Didymos Thomas. The Greek word Didymos and the Aramaic word
Thomas both mean twin. While only several Greek fragments of this
manuscript, dating to the early second century CE, actually exist,
a manuscript written in Coptic from the fourth century was
discovered in 1945. This Gospel of Thomas contains 114 purported
sayings of Jesus, many of which resemble passages in the New
Testament. Drawing upon years of extensive research in early Jewish
and Christian history and recent work on the historical Jesus,
acclaimed novelist Ron Cooper focuses on Thomas of Nazareth, old
and bitter after years of self-imposed exile from his homeland, who
returns to Jerusalem to write a book about his identical twin
brother Jesus. Disgusted by how others have perverted his brothers
message, Thomas wants to set the record straight. But in doing so,
he must try to unravel the enigma that was Jesus. Provocative,
inventive, and sure to be controversial, The Gospel of the Twin
draws upon scriptural and ancient, non-Biblical sources to present
an imaginative version of the founding of Christianity through
scenes of violence, tenderness, and mistaken identity that will
change the way the world thinks about Jesus. For fans of such books
as Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth by Reza Aslan,
Killing Jesus by Bill OReilly, and even such Dan Brown novels as
The Da Vinci Code, Coopers The Gospel of the Twin will also appeal
to readers of such sophisticated Bible scholars as Bart Erhman,
Marcus Borg, John Dominic Crossan, and Elaine Pagels, all of whom
have written academic works as well as books more accessible to the
general reader. With The Gospel of the Twin, Cooper provides a
potentially controversial, compellingly human, and thoroughly
readable page-turner-his own brilliant version of what many call
the greatest story ever told.
When Purvis Driggers, a South Carolina Low Country loser with
little judgement and even less chance for a decent life beyond his
parents' house, home town, and whatever part-time work he can
scrounge up, seeks to rob an old man of the rumoured millions
hidden in his house and fails, he's drawn to the sound of music
across the creek. There, he discovers a beautiful woman in a white
gown being baptised in the water. Surely Martha, beautiful Martha,
will give Purvis the escape he imagines. With the Martha boat come
to his rescue, Purvis decides, he'll never have to worry about
drowning. But Martha Umphlett is trapped, too. Made to take care of
her obese mother and forced to participate in a baptism she has no
interest in whatsoever, Martha, in her own way, is every bit as
desperate as Purvis, but far more capable and a good deal more
dangerous. As funny as it is sad, as beautiful as it is ugly, as
authentic as it is shocking, and as powerful as anything you will
ever read, Ron Cooper's Purple Jesus is a mystery, a love story, a
religious allegory, and, most importantly, a dark and comic descent
into the lives and world views of these unbelievable and
unforgettable characters.
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