Tuscan Son

A UNIVERSITY VICE PRESIENT FINDS HIMSELF THRUST INTO A HELLISH PANAMANIAN PRISON AT THE MERCY OF UNKNOWN FORCES.. When a university receives a bequest of a village in Tuscany to use as a study-abroad site Bill the Vice President is put in charge of negotiating the terms with the donor’s angry son who thinks the village rightfully belongs to him. Bill discovers that something is very wrong with the deal and is determined to get to the bottom of it. As he begins to suspect that organized crime is involved he is lured to Panama supposedly to sign the transfer papers. Instead he is thrown into prison and denied any contact with the outside. As hope of ever being released fades he realizes that his cellmate’s drug-dealing family is his only hope for freedom but is the price they demand too high?. Early Praise for Tuscan Son“Tuscan Son is a great read and Berne has a prescient understanding of academic politics. I thought my DC experience would prepare me for the academy but Tuscan Son is just what I needed.”—Robert M Shrum Warschaw Professor at the University of Southern California. “Tuscan Son is a tour de force adventure within the modern university that is both a great read and eerily familiar. Bob Berne captures the university’s inner workings and foibles with nuance and cynicism and the novel kept me guessing throughout. This is a terrific and unique addition to the entertaining genre of the academic novel and I can’t wait to find out what comes next at Olmsted University.”—John Sexton President Emeritus New York University. “Tuscan Son is a fast paced journey through the intertwined stories of a seemingly mundane chapter in university decision-making and the worryingly plausible consequences. It is impossible to put down with the fate of the ironic and cool-headed honest but pragmatic university administrator at stake.”—Ellyn Toscano Executive Director Hawthornden Foundation. “Intrigue follows Bill a gutsy college administrator across three countries—as he launches an international enterprise for Olmstead University. Tuscan Soncomes to heart throbbing life with deception in Tuscany survival in a corrupt Panamanian prison and deception on the New York-based university’s board of directors. Fighting for his life Bill’s instincts cunning and luck make it impossible to put down. “—Candace Greene Global Marketing Consultant. One minute I was a first-time visitor to Panama City here on university business and the next I was dragged out of my hotel room by the national police at least that’s who they said they were and put in this dirty stinking cell. Having received only one speeding ticket in my nearly sixty-two law-abiding years I was shocked though admittedly I was involved in a complex and unusual situation. Looking back I probably should have known better.They tied my wrists in front of me with plastic handcuffs and we left the room. They took me through the glitzy lobby where all eyes were on me into a waiting police van with two additional cops inside. Needless to say we did not stop to check-out of the downtown InterContinental. Nausea was building up in my gut but I reassured myself that we’d straighten all this out when we got to the police station.