Bøker av Ron Cooper

What if Erma Bombeck and James Michener took off in an RV together to see America, wandering from place to place with no particular destination or schedule? "e;Boldly Going Somewhere"e; is a lighthearted account of our two years and 100,000 miles living on the road, experiencing our big, wild country and its quirky denizens. Written in a feisty back-and-forth style and filled with love and laughter, it gives the reader a close look at the things that make America a fascinating place to explore, while providing insight into the not-so-glamorous moments that make living in an RV an adventure for any relationship.

Former academic now veteran Deputy Sheriff Blevins Bombardi tries to solve a freakish murder of a cryptozoologist seeking the elusive Skunk Ape in a national forest in north central Florida. He is distracted, though, by struggles with his inner demons: heavy drinking, depression, suicidal thoughts, and torment from the recent murder of his wife for which he was responsible. Also, his daughter ran away two years before when her mother was killed and may have joined up with a vagabond cult that moves with the seasons around the country and is now camping nearby in Florida, and he has spent countless hours traveling from state to state trying to find her. In the meantime a category five hurricane rushes toward Florida in the unlikely month of February, the bears and monkeys (an odd piece of Florida history) in the national forest are mysteriously slaughtered by arrows, and politicians and evangelists join forces in a push to privatize all public lands. When a bizarre and perhaps severely mentally disturbed ex-con shows up insisting that Bombardi help him locate a former lover (who may be imaginary), the Deputy Sheriff may have to step far outside the law to restore any order to his off-balance world. All My Sins Remembered joins Ron Cooper's previous novels as part mystery, part philosophical inquiry, and part tragi-comedy. Winner of a Florida Book Award. Praise for ALL MY SINS REMEMBERED: "Please meet Major Blevins Bombardi, a deputy in the middle-of-nowhere central Florida, a man unknowingly haunted by the first line of Camus's The Myth of Sisyphus. He's part Spencer from Robert B. Parker's detective novels, and part TV's House. All My Sins Remembered is a fast-paced whodunit-or whodunabunchofthings-with a cast of secondary characters worthy of any swamp-dweller chronicle." -George Singleton, author of Between Wrecks and The Half-Mammals of Dixie "Ron Cooper was born and raised on the edge of the swamp, and that curious upbringing shows through in just the right places. A mystery and love story to boot, All My Sins Remembered is a red-hot ball of iron marvel." -William P. Baldwin, author of Charles Town and The Hard to Catch Mercy "Cooper combines philosophical reflection with a rural setting, working-class characters, an engaging storyline, and vernacular to create a rare, pleasurable experience for the reader...a lesson in what a good novel of ideas can and should achieve aesthetically." -American Book Review "Ron Cooper has his own unique voice, and what a marvelous, darkly comic voice it is. He is an immensely talented writer." -Ron Rash, author of The Risen and Serena "Cooper is a superb writer, and a daring one too." -Steve Yarbrough, author of The Unmade World and The Realm of Last Chances "A prose style that snaps like garters." -Fred Chappell, author of I am One of You Forever and Look Back All the Green Valley

In this groundbreaking and deeply personal book, Ron Cooper—a leading voice in the artisanal mezcal movement, and the person largely responsible for popularizing the spirit in the United States—shares everything he knows about this storied, culturally rich, and now hugely in-demand spirit, along with 40 recipes.In 1990, artist Ron Cooper was collaborating with craftspeople in Oaxaca, Mexico, when he found mezcal—or, as he likes to say, mezcal found him. This traditional spirit was virtually unknown in the United States at the time, and Cooper founded Del Maguey Single Village Mezcal in order to import it. Finding Mezcal recounts Cooper''s love affair with the spirit and the people who make it; its meteoric rise in popularity; and the delicate balance between sharing mezcal with the world and facilitating its preservation. Each chapter introduces a new mezcal, its producer, and its place of origin, while also covering mezcal production methods and the botany of the maguey (aka agave) plant, from which mezcal is distilled. Featuring 40 recipes developed for Del Maguey by chefs and bartenders from around the world, the book is copiously illustrated with photographs, as well as Cooper''s artwork and that of his friend Ken Price, who illustrated Del Maguey''s now-iconic labels.

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".

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?