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2015 Mid-West Best Regional Nonfiction, Independent Publisher Book Awards
2014 Mom's Choice Gold Award recipient
"Richard Cerasani’s book, Love Letters from Mount Rushmore: The Story of a Marriage, a Monument, and a Moment in History, provides an up-close and personal perspective on the day-to-day creation of Mount Rushmore and a glimpse in to the character of its main sculptor, Gutzon Borglum, in the almost daily letters that flew back and forth between Mary and Arthur Cerasani in 1940. The book is a memoir by their son, Richard, constructed around the treasure trove of letters and photos he found in an old trunk after his mother’s death in 2004. The resulting book takes the reader into the heart of the operation at Mount Rushmore as well as the heartbreak of the Cerasani family as they dealt with a 2000-mile separation for six months."—The Imaginative Conservative
"This monumental true story involving History, Art, and Family is personal. We get the inside details of the ordinary things that happened when something unique, gigantic, historic and beautiful was built. We get the story by seeing and reading the letters of everyone who was there. They aren't telling us a story. They are the story. It's given to us in beautiful photographs that were taken as it was happening. . . . Surprising moments of chance drop into the story like magic. It's superb!"—Mariclare Costello
"This book touched my heart. Who has not seen in person or in pictures Mount Rushmore one of our national treasures and wonder how it was created. This is the story of one of the sculptors involved with that project and the family he left behind. This family kept in touch with daily letters that not only poured out their love for each other but shared the history of this monumental project. Not only a history lesson but a love story. Loved the book."—Michele J. Littell
"I recommend this book to others very heartily."—Truman Bullard
The discovery of an old trunk leads to a story of love, opportunity, and yearning set during the carving of Mount Rushmore.
From March to September of 1940, Arthur Cerasani, a sculptor and artist from Rochester, New York, worked on Mount Rushmore, while his family remained over fifteen hundred miles away. Over this vast distance, he and his wife, Mary, stayed connected through letters. Their daily correspondence reveals the trials of carving sixty-foot heads on a mountain top and highlights the strength of the human spirit. Despite isolation, spring blizzards, summer heat, and the unpredictable moods and fortunes of master sculptor Gutzon Borglum, Arthur Cerasani manages to connect with the carvers of the great monument and grow as an artist.
In telling his father’s experience, Richard Cerasani gives readers the tale of many workers on the mountain, some separated from family, all hoping for a future. Using letters and photographs, he shows the human side of the monumental struggle to create Mount Rushmore National Memorial.
Read More:
'Love Letters' tells story of family, Rushmore, Rapid City Journal