Buckhead Business Association members got a little eastern mysticism with their coffee on July 14 as author Jeffrey Small showed them photos from his trips overseas that formed the basis for his book, “The Breath of God.”
The book, a fiction thriller in the same mold as the Da Vinci Code, is also Small’s commentary on the dangers of fundamentalism.
“I’ve got a number of scenes set in the south, scenes in Birmingham (Ala.), then the majority of the novel takes place in India,” Small said. “…One of the themes is this importance of interfaith dialogue.”
Small, a Harvard Law School grad, earned a Masters in the Study of Religion from Oxford University in England. He is also a blogger for Huffingtonpost.com. He founded MDH Partners, an Atlanta-based commercial real estate company, according to the BBA website.
After the meeting Small stuck around and signed copies of his book. Mark Shaver, who serves on the BBA board of directors, said he’d read the book and has visited the Taj Mahal where one of the book’s scenes is set. Shaver said many of the world’s religions are more alike than they realize.
“I think we have more things in common than we’d like to admit,” he said.
In other BBA business, Lt. Brian McGee, a community outreach commander with the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office, said there will be a “citizens academy” in September, which will be a seven-week class.
“We’re going to give them all the insights of law enforcement,” he said. “They’ll be travelling to different areas, court proceedings. They’ll have the opportunity to see the functions and duties of an officer on a day-to-day basis.”