Jesus Crawdad Death is the third publication in Third Man Books limited edition chapbook series. Betsy Phillips's collection features three speculative fiction stories spanning Jesus as a professional wrestler; the romance between a woman and her creek; and conversations between Death, and the ghosts of St. Francis of Assisi, William Faulkner, and Willam Gay.

As Henry Wadsworth Longfellow says in “A Psalm of Life,” “(The) lives of great men all remind us we can make our lives sublime, and, departing, leave behind us footprints on the sands of time.” But one man, a man called Jesus, claims to have shown us how to transcend the sands of time that inexorably slip through our fingers like the sands of an hourglass. This man Jesus, who declares to be the Son of God, teaches us the paradoxical secret of this timeless life is dying! The enigmatic story of this peasant born child turned king has stirred the hearts of men and women for nearly 2000 years but at the same time has provoked the fury of many others. His life is associated with miraculous healing, prophetic fulfillments, and profound teachings but these are not the issues which provoke such conflicting views. The controversy surrounding His life centers on His claim of divine origin and equality with God. And nowhere is this more pointedly debated than with His alleged crucifixion, death, and resurrection. These events (specifically, the crucifixion, death, and resurrection of Jesus) have piqued my curiosity and stimulated my study for many years and have led, through a circuitous route, to the book you now hold.

"This is a book about the most dramatic day in the history of the world, the day on which Jesus of Nazareth died. It opens at 6 P.M. -- the beginning of the Hebrew day -- with Jesus and ten of the apostles coming through the pass between the Mount of Olives and the Mount of Offense en route to Jerusalem and the Last Supper. It closes at 4 P.M. the following afternoon, when Jesus was taken down from the cross. . . . The fundamental research was done a long time ago by four fine journalists: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. The rest has been added in bits and pieces from many men whose names span the centuries."--from the Foreword

NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE The #1 New York Times bestselling worldwide sensation with more than 15 million copies sold, “a painfully beautiful first novel that is at once a murder mystery, a coming-of-age narrative and a celebration of nature” (The New York Times Book Review). For years, rumors of the “Marsh Girl” have haunted Barkley Cove, a quiet town on the North Carolina coast. So in late 1969, when handsome Chase Andrews is found dead, the locals immediately suspect Kya Clark, the so-called Marsh Girl. But Kya is not what they say. Sensitive and intelligent, she has survived for years alone in the marsh that she calls home, finding friends in the gulls and lessons in the sand. Then the time comes when she yearns to be touched and loved. When two young men from town become intrigued by her wild beauty, Kya opens herself to a new life—until the unthinkable happens. Where the Crawdads Sing is at once an exquisite ode to the natural world, a heartbreaking coming-of-age story, and a surprising tale of possible murder. Delia Owens reminds us that we are forever shaped by the children we once were, and that we are all subject to the beautiful and violent secrets that nature keeps.

For seventy years, we have been taught that Jesus died on the cross from asphyxiation (strangulation) because in the hanging position he was unable to exhale. This theory is not based on sound science. This book explains the medical cause of Jesus's death and why even Pilate was surprised how soon Jesus had died. The dramatic changes that took place in Jesus's body from the Last Supper until death are described in layman's terms. To add to the injustice, Jesus's condemnation to death was illegal under the Jewish law of his time--a fact supported by a review of the political and religious dynamics. Profits from the sale of this book are being donated to organizations that support the Christian presence in the Holy Land.