Regional borders-real or imagined-have always been artificial and limiting to creative writers with the serious intent of exploring human experience so that what they write illulminates in some way the mysteries and the complexities of human life.

After the end of Civil War in 1865, more than four million slaves were set free. There were several efforts to record the remembrances of the living former slaves. The Federal Writers' Project was one such project by the United States federal government to support writers during the Great Depression by asking them to interview and record the myriad stories and experiences of slavery of former slaves. The resulting collection preserved hundreds of life stories from 17 US states that would otherwise have been lost in din of modernity and America's eagerness to deliberately forget the blot on its recent past. This edition brings to you the complete collection of first hand experiences and voices from the past that makes one question whether is it safe to forget or keep the memories alive for bigger battles ahead. A must read for everyone who is interested in US History, race relations and authentic historical research. Contents: Alabama Arkansas Florida Georgia Indiana Kansas Kentucky Maryland Mississippi Missouri North Carolina Ohio Oklahoma South Carolina Tennessee Texas Virginia

Caspar Damion Splane, pitchman extraordinaire, had a voice so compelling that no one could pass within earshot without looking to see what kind of man was talking. He could sell anything. At a time when nylon stockings were impossible to find and very expensive, Caspar popped open his sample case, hawked silk rejects as the real McCoy, and sold them all in one afternoon. His power over people became an obsession, a tool for control and power, a compensation for years of loneliness and suffering. At the Kinderwall Sunshine Mission, revivalist Ma Kinderwall saves souls and feeds the poor from her soup kitchen. Followers flock to hear her. She has a gift, they say. During a down and out period of Caspar Splane's life, he and the Sunshine Mission collide, and in no time at all, he discovers a new audience for his madness. He adds "reverend" to his name and turns Ma's audience inside out. In the guise of selling peace, he grows rich on selling hate. Published in 1953, The Hate Merchant, is a timeless and unforgettable account of the power of manipulation and the tragedies that result when rhetoric, slanted facts, suggestions of secrecy, and imagined threats are unleashed into the world unchallenged and unchecked.