"Facts are stubborn things…" - John Adams
Winner of a national book award, He Can See Heaven is the fast tale of Ellen Shea, an intrepid doctoral candidate on a dangerous search, first for a cache of ancient scrolls, and then for her lost faith. Along the way Ellen learns that the real history of early Christians and their literature has been hiding in plain sight and that like the New Testament, it's been much altered by time and human nature. She interacts with a parade of intriguing characters including two alluring men, sharing their spiritual perspectives while trying to resist their corporal charms.
There are tales within the tale, one of the scrolls' hazard-filled journey from their creation in Asia Minor, through Roman, medieval, and modern worlds, and another of the young Hierophant's emergence into the present, culminating in the realization of his startling prophecy.
The Da Vinci Code collides with Misquoting Jesus.
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"If you start dancing on tables, fanning yourself, feeling sleepy when you pick up a book, developing a sense of rhythm, making love whenever you feel like it, then you know... The South has got you.” — Susan Sontag"
It's 1964. Jack Shea is a precocious, bold, intellectually engaged Northern schoolboy molded by his bucolic small-town ethic and inspired by his colorful immigrant family. Passionate about baseball, girls, and reading, in that order, he declines minor league offers and heads south in search of a draft-deferring scholarship.
He's intrigued by the Deep South's exotic culture but cringes at Jim Crow segregation and some Southerners' hostility toward Yankees. Arriving in a much kinder South Louisiana for his final tryout, Jack is enchanted by the setting and lovestruck by a complex Acadian beauty, then embarks on a quest filled with promise and danger.
After winning the experienced young woman with the aid of a sensual and older Cajun love coach, he urges his inimitable back-bayou manager to recruit talented local black players and converts their mediocre team into a champion, along the way discovering a spectrum of allies and adversaries as well as heartbreak and tragedy.
"All stories are about wolves." - Margaret Atwood
Told as a deathbed confession, this is the raw story of an American generation, its near defeat, daring struggles, and ultimate triumph.
As the oldest in his family of nine children, the imperfect but intrepid boy who’ll become the Commander is steeled by a childhood handicap, and because of it thrives on adversity, assuming his lifelong role as a leader at a tender age. Gifted athletically and linguistically, the bold teen excels as an athlete, exploits his facility with foreign languages, and leaves home for a lifelong adventure as the roaring 20’s come to an end. Enveloped in the dark storm of the country’s economic depression, he emigrates to New York City seeking fortune, and as a summertime pro baseballer and walk-on football player for the fledgling New York Giants, ingratiates himself into a gaggle of powerful New Yorkers including mobsters and wealthy dilettantes. Recruited by Tammany Hall’s political machine for his social skills and decisive character, he becomes the precinct’s Ward Heeler and for the remainder of his life, a dominant operative in the rise and extended rule of the Democratic Party. Betrayed by friends and rivals and despite his growing family, he’s exiled into the wartime navy, and after four perilous years at sea, achieves the rank of Commander, a title which becomes both moniker and mission.