The King of Kreskin Avenue

A powerful tale of the bond between Mario Colucci, a highly decorated, PTSD-crippled Korean War hero whose trauma turns him into an oddity neighbors call the King of Kreskin Avenue, and a sixteen-year-old neighborhood kid, Robbie Shumstein, trying to come to grips with the death of his brother in Vietnam.Set in Buffalo, NY amidst the anger, polarization and chaos of the late 1960's, Robbie asks the King to smuggle his cousin into Canada to avoid being drafted. Mario struggles to decide, conflicted by love of country, anguish, conscience, and the need to put his demons to rest. Ultimately, he becomes a key part of a pipeline that dramatically affects the lives of thousands of families.Fifty years after the end of the Vietnam War, readers will be asked to consider a compelling question: is the King of Kreskin Avenue a traitor or still a hero?