Reading Recommendations: Cemetery John, The Undiscovered Mastermind of the Lindbergh Kidnapping, Robert Zorn, Foreword by John Douglas and Mark OlshakerFor eighty years, the kidnapping and murder of the infant son of world famous aviator Charles Lindbergh has gone unsolved. Evidence, opinion, and logic have discredited the notion that Bruno Richard Hauptmann, who was executed for the crime in 1936, acted alone. The man who collected the $50,000 ransom, a shadowy figure referred to as "Cemetery John", was initially assumed to be Hauptmann. But the facts tell a different story. In this meticulous and authoritative account of the crime, the trial, and the events surrounding the Lindburgh kidnapping, Robert Zorn clears away decades of ungrounded speculation and uncovers new information suggesting the true mastermind behind it all, a man whose name incredibly appears nowhere in the 250,000 files on the case. Beginning with his father's eyewitness account of his neighbor's curious meeting with a man named Bruno. Zorn presents the clearest ever picture of the criminal partnership forged among three German immigrants from the Bronx, who plotted and executed the kidnapping that would set off the greatest man hunt in the nation's history.Drawing upon personal possessions and documents from the early 1930's, never before seen photographs provided by members of the mastermind's own family, new forensic evidence, behavioral profiling, and keen detective work; Zorn presents a compelling new account of the "crime of the century". From the first tragic night that would shake America's sense of security to the horror of the New Jersey morgue where Lindburgh insisted on seeing his son's remains; Cemetery John gives this larger than life story definite shape, revealing the true story behind the crime for the first time.And, Remember Ben Clayton, a novel, Stephen HarriganFrancis "Gil" Gilheaney is a sculptor of boundless ambition. But bad fortune and his own prideful spirit have driven him from New York into artistic exile in Texas just after World War I. His adult daughter, Maureen, serves as his assistant, although she has artistic ambitions of her own and is beginning to understand how her own career, perhaps even her life, has become hostage to her driven father's "wild pursuit of glory." When Lamar Clayton, an aging, heartbroken rancher, offers Gil a commission to create a memorial statue of his son, Ben, who was killed in the war, Gil seizes the opportunity to create what he believes will be his greatest achievement.As work proceeds on the statue, Gil and Maureen come to realize that their new client is a far more complicated man than he appeared to be on first acquaintance, and that Lamar is guarding a secret that haunts his relationship with his son even in death. But Gil is haunted as well, by the fear that his work will be forgotten and by an unconscionable lie whose discovery could cost him his daughter's love. The creation of the statue leads to a chain of dramatic encounters, through which Maureen will test the boundaries of her independence and Gil and Lamar, each in his own painful way, will confront their worth as fathers.Remember Ben Clayton vividly depicts a rich swath of American history, from the days when the Comanches ruled the Southern plains to the final brutal months of World War I. It ranges from the settlements on the Texas frontier to the cafes of Paris, from Indian encampments to the forgotten battlefield in France where he died. It shows us the all-consuming labor that a monumental work of sculpture demands, and the price it extracts from both artist and patron. And with unforgettable power and compassion it presents a deeply moving story about the bonds between fathers and children, and about the power and purpose of art. The reader will never forget this one!One other little book I'd like to mention:An Outlaw's Christmas, Ida Lael Miller. This is a light, easy to read tale, one the reader could pick up for a moment of relaxation to escape the hustle, bustle of the holidays.On a more serious note, may you have a safe, joyous holiday and blessings extending into 2013.See you at Rylander!