The Peacekeeper

This is the true memoir of a gentle giant, Ron Hauser, who, as a young child, had to learn how to keep the peace between his warring parents, who fancied themselves a latter-day Bonnie and Clyde. Penny's bootleg liquor skills and beauty kept her in the good graces of the mob, while Jack, who stole automobiles and robbed travelers, was always just two steps ahead of the law.

But they differed on priorities. Penny's son and daughter were perpetual obstacles to her preferred pursuits. Her husband Jack, however, was an Elmer Gantry-style con man, who took over evangelist prayer meetings for fun and profit, yet had a deep faith. He cared deeply for his son, whom Penny forbade him to visit. From age two to his teens, young Ronnie had to mediate between the two of them, placating his mom so he could see his caring dad. Only her divorce from Jack and marriage to Lee Hauser in Chicago enabled Ron to establish his life on a new and constructive path.

In his own country voice, Ron tells the stranger than fiction tale of his selfish mom and two dads, while filling in his family's involvement with the early days of the Dust Bowl, native tribes, and the settlement of lawless Oklahoma, to modern times and the mob in post-Capone, Tony Accardo and Sam Giancana days. This autobiographical memoir is a one of a kind, unforgettable, and not to be missed document of an era.