Longtime Laguna Beach resident Stephen Ricker (also known as Len, the wine guy), is hosting a book launch and signing of his 450-page novel, “The Kaserne,” Sunday, June 24, from 1-4 p.m. at Laguna Coffee Company, 1050 S. Coast Highway
Ricker worked in Europe for 14 years as a civilian Defense Department cold-warrior until 1989 when the Soviet Union dissolved.
After the manner of “Catch-22” and “MASH,” “The Kaserne” reveals the human comedy and catastrophe of good-hearted American young men and women coping with unfamiliar conditions on a forlorn U.S. Army base during the height of the cold war in West Germany. Since 1945, millions have served several years on similar bases at the saber’s point of what might have become another world war. Theirs is a story as yet untold, Ricker believes.
As his contribution to a peace dividend, in addition to losing a job he enjoyed, Ricker resolved to address the historical omission of forgotten cold-warriors in his novel.
The book is available for $4.99 through the web site: www.thekaserne.com.
