Have you read ...?

Today is Black Friday, the day tradition has it that U.S. retailers finally become profitable each year. Each year the day after Thanksgiving becomes an orgy of consumerism with special sales, a limited number of loss leaders to get customers into stores, and unabashed hype. It seems to work. I try to avoid all stores between Thanksgiving and New Year's Day, instead looking through catalogs and shopping online. Neither requires getting dressed, wet, cold, or stressed. And I burn no gasoline in the process. If I need to get into the Christmas spirit, I can always watch Miracle on 34th Street again.

As some may have guessed, it's not unusual for people on my gift list to receive books. Since I can't send books to all of you, I send you instead a recommendation for a series you may have missed.

Jefferson Bass is the writing team of Dr. Bill Bass and Jon Jefferson. Dr. Bass is the well-known forensic anthropologist and founder of the University of Tennessee's Anthropology Research Facility, which author Patricia Cornwell dubbed The Body Farm, and by which name most people know it.

Jon Jefferson is a former Oak Ridge National Laboratory writer and technical editor who also has established credentials in journalism and documentary films. Their first collaboration was in writing Dr. Bass's 2003 memoir Death's Acre.

They have since collaborated on another non-fiction book and six novels. The Bone Yard (March 2011) is their most recent. Both are captivating speakers, and each is careful not to get too graphic when describing the real-life investigations that serve as the technical basis for the books. Many of their stories have become well-known, for Dr. Bass has consulted on some of the highest-profile cases we've all seen on television and in newspapers. Jon is an excellent writer, and Dr. Bass not only points him to fascinating cases, but also keeps the story lines technically accurate. I've certainly learned a bunch while being entertained by them.

To learn more about Jefferson Bass, click here.