Reading Recommendations: Chasing Shadows A special Agents lifelong hunt to bring a Cold War Assassin to justice, Fred Burton and John Bruning.On a warm Saturday night in July 1973 in Bethesda, Maryland, a gunman stepped out from behind a tree and fired five point-blank shots into Josef Alon, an unassuming Israeli Air Force pilot and family man. Alon's 16 year old neighbor, Fred Burton, was deeply shocked by this crime that rocked is sleepy suburban neighborhood. As it turned out, Alon wasn't just a pilot, he was a high ranking military official with intelligence ties. The assassin was never found, and the case was closed. In 2007, Fred Burton, who has since become a State Department counterterrorism special agent, reopened the case. Here, Burton spins a gripping tale of the secret agents, double dealings, terrorists, and heroes he encounters as he chased leads around the globe in an effort to solve this decades old murder. From swirling dog fights over Egypt and Hanoi to gun battles over the streets of Beirut, this action packed thriller looks into the dark heart of the cold war to show how power is used, misused, and sold to the most convenient bidder.And, Love and Other Impossible Pursuits, A novel, Ayelet Waldman.For Emilia Greenleaf, life is by turns a comedy of errors and an emotional mine field, yes, she's a Harvard Law grad who married her soul mate. Yes, they live in elegant comfort over the upper West Side of Manhattan. But with her one and only, Jack, came a stepson, a know it all preschooler named William who has become her number one responsibility every Wednesday afternoon. With William Emilia encounters a number of impossible pursuits, such as the pursuit of cab drivers who speed away when they see Williams industrial-strength car seat and the pursuit of lactose-free strawberry flavored patisserie-quality cupcakes, despite the fact that William's allergy is a figment of his over protective mother's imagination.As much as Emilia wants to find common ground with William, she becomes completely preoccupied when she loses her newborn daughter. After this, the sight of any child brings her to tears, and Wednesdays with William are almost impossible. When his increasing questions turn to the baby's death, Emilia is at a total loss. Doesn't anyone understand that self pity is a full time job? Ironically, it is only through her blundering attempts to bond with William that she finally heals herself and learns what family really means.And, Gideon's Sword, Introducing Gideon Crew, Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child.At twelve, Gideon Crew witnessed his father, a world class mathematician, accused of treason and gunned down. At twenty four, summoned to his dying mother's bedside, Gideon learned the truth: His father was framed and deliberately slaughtered. With her last breath, she begged her son to avenge him. Now, with a new purpose in his life, Gideon crafts a one time mission of venegeance, aimed at the perpetrator of his father's destruction. His plan is meticulous, spectacular, and successful.But from the shadows, someone is watching. A very powerful someone, who is impressed by Gideon's special skills. Someone who has need of just such a renegade.For Gideon, this operation may be only the beginning.See you at Rylander!