Local building owner covers up recent Graffiti at downtown location; Michael Tracey

Michael Tracey and Celestina Adams’ latest book is a masterpiece of photography and prose, soulfully documenting the lives and stories of people who live in the shadows of famous walls throughout the world.  Visiting such sites as The Great Wall of China, the Berlin Wall, and Hadrian’s Wall, they have captured the raw beauty and humanity in the lives of individuals and communities whose histories have been inextricably intertwined with the walls about them – and those on the other side.

You can pick up a copy for sale here: http://______________

Er, umm…. that’s the problem, really.  You can’t buy this book yet, on Biblio.com or anywhere else.  It hasn’t been released yet.  Actually, it hasn’t been written yet, either.

But it could be, and you can help make it happen by supporting the Breach the Wall project.  Michael and Amie (Celestina’s non-de-plume) have submitted their project for a grant sponsored by Microsoft and Lenovo – the winner of which will be chosen from among the top 20 vote-getters. And, the winner of which will receive a grant for $50k to pursue their dream project. Right now, Michael and Amie are ranking at #29 (with voting ending Friday), so if this is a book you want to see published, please vote!

So, why am I schilling for this book on a blog that rarely reviews used books, much less new books or yet-to-be books? First of all, because I don’t work for a soulless megacorp; I work for a small business, where being an individual with an opinion is actually valued. Reason #29,487 why small businesses create a better world for real people. Defensive rant now over, Secondly…

I believe in this project.

I have known Michael for 20 years, at times as a roommate, a colleague, a business partner, or a schoolmate, and always as a close friend. Interestingly, I remember sitting in his living room in 1989  watching the televised coverage of the fall of the Berlin Wall together. As an artist, he is brilliant. And he’s a committed guy with a work ethic (I know, weird in an artist, unless you’re talking about the other committed). Put those two traits together and if there’s a pinch of human dignity, a crumb of soulfulness, or an ounce of empathy in the world around us, Michael will have sniffed it out before most of us have had our morning coffee.

Amie (Celestina Adams) is an insightful and razor sharp writer. She serves her metaphors with alacrity and her homilies are topped with just enough wryness to leave you guessing. She plays somewhat in the tradition of Charles Dickens, Mark Twain, and Kurt Vonnegut. Yep, she’s really good.

All this to say, this is going to be a dazzling book. Timely, too. Just peek at your local, national, or international news: isn’t it a great time we all stop and think about what the walls we build around ourselves really mean? How they affect and define our children, our neighbors, our communities? Ourselves?

You’re going to love this book. Please vote.

And, I personally promise to help you get your copy signed by both authors.