Russ Vassallo- Virginia Vassallo Russ has written four books which he will be bringing to the Redbud.  Tears and Tales: Stories of Animal and Human Rescue recounts stories of animals Russ has rescued and how they rescued him from cancer and the resulting depression while he was going through chemotherapy.  The Horse with the Golden Mane is a collection of three long stories.  “Eric” recounts the story of a German concentration camp survivor and his relationship with a Doberman pinscher.  The remaining two stories are based on horses that are on Russ’s farm today.  Heart of an Animal contains eleven short stories about animals that Russ has had on his farm in Casey County, Kentucky.  Streetwise: Mafia Memoirs contains Russ’s memories of growing up in a Mafia family in Newark, NJ, during the 1940s and 50s.  It tells the true story of what it was like, not the Godfather version.  Russ will also be bringing with him Virginia Vassallo’s book, Unsung Patriot: How the Stars and Stripes Began, which tells the story of Virginia’s grandfather who founded the army’s newspaper during World War I.  All of these books have won awards.