THE WORLD UP CLOSE: 15 Personal Stories of Bicycling, Growth & Discovery
Bicyclist Kameel Nasr has created a fascinating and personal introduction to the world’s people, sharing diverse episodes from his 40,000 mile bicycle journey through 70 countries. Nasr offers his readers a vicarious view across the handlebars as he tackles the Appalachians, the Andes, the Himalayas…crosses Sinai in the summer…shares the ever-present fears of political unrest in Central America…explores Morocco’s Hashish Trail. Nasr’s book will certainly be taken by fellow cyclists as an inviting challenge to take to the road as he has, but you don’t have to be a bicycle buff to proclaim this book your reading adventure of the year. Nasr has made this much more a book of people than of places. In high festival or the despair of abject poverty, here are the world’s people–very close up yet presented with breathtaking perspective.
THE MUSEUM HEIST: A Tale of Art and Obsession
Based on the biggest robbery in history at the Isabella Stewart Gardner museum, which remains unsolved, THE MUSEUM HEIST weaves a tale of art stretching from classical Greece to modern forgeries. Through the miracle of fiction, a classical scholar who calls himself Paris finds the stolen art but not the thieves. The earthy police Lieutenant Lowell is called to solve the mystery. Paris, who had done time for art forgery and believes he’s a reincarnation of the fabled Odysseus, wants to use the reward money to start his own museum of antiquity. He and Lowell work as a complementary pair of misfits, using Paris’ ability to create forged art and Lowell’s interest in digestion to solve the mystery.
“Transforming disaster into positivity!”
“A rewarding and fulfilling mystery. Anyone who loves art and romance will fall in love with this book.”
THE SYMPHONY HEIST: A Tale of Music and Desire
The book that’s got classical music lovers raving!
Melody Cavatina, the Boston Symphony Orchestra’s new and amazingly talented cellist, is scheduled to premiere a finger-cracking solo in Rio in conjunction of the signing of a controversial trade agreement. It’s her first ever solo, and she’s traumatized, barely able to play normally let alone in front of a hall of world leaders. As the orchestra heads to the airport, their priceless instruments are hijacked.
The earthy police Lieutenant Lowell is called to find the truckload of instruments. Most people suspect a populist group trying to stop the trade agreement. Lowell narrows the list of suspects, which includes Melody.
She must conquer her psychological shock and clear her name. She must get to Rio and dedicate her performance to a person she had wronged. She must use her perfect pitch and sensitivity to sound to find the thieves.
Told with a focus on music, irreverent and witty, THE SYMPHONY HEIST is a feel-good mystery, fun and informative. Lowell is one of the most delightful characters in literature. Anyone who likes to solve a mystery or enjoys music will fall in love with this book.
Kameel Nasr’s love of music comes through clearly. His father was a church organist in Lebanon, and he started playing clarinet with the San Francisco Boys Club Band. The Symphony Heist follows The Museum Heist, a series of upbeat Boston-based mysteries celebrating art and music. He is a dancer, amateur astronomer, spiritual seeker, social activist, athlete, and world traveler who toured the globe by bicycle. He is also a resident in Sardinia, Italy, where he can be heard serenading the sheep near his property on his highland bagpipe.
