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The Road Years: A Memoir, Continued . . .
Par Rick Mercer. 2023
THE INSTANT #1 BESTSELLERRick Mercer is back—again!—with the eagerly awaited sequel to his bestselling memoirAt the end of his memoir…
Talking to Canadians, Rick Mercer was poised to make the biggest leap yet in his extraordinary career. Having overcome a serious lack of promise as a schoolboy and risen through the showbiz ranks—as an aspiring actor, star of a surprisingly successful one-man show about the Meech Lake Accord, co-founder of This Hour Has 22 Minutes, creator and star of the dark-comedy sitcom Made in Canada—he was about to tackle his biggest opportunity yet. The Road Years picks up the story at that exciting point, with the greenlighting of what would become Rick Mercer Report. Plans for the show, of course, included political satire and Rick’s patented rants. But Rick and his partner, Gerald Lunz, were also determined to do something that comedy tends to avoid as too challenging: they would emphasize the positive. Rick would travel from coast to coast to coast in search of everything that’s best about Canada, especially its people. He found a lot to celebrate, naturally, and was rewarded with a huge audience and a run of 15 seasons. The Road Years tells the inside story of that stupendous success. A time when Rick was heading to another town—or military base, sports centre, national park—to try dogsledding, chainsaw carving, and bear tagging; hang from a harness (a lot); ride the “Train of Death;” plus countless other joyous and/or reckless assignments. Added to the mix were encounters with the country’s great. Every living prime minister. Rock and roll royalty from Rush to Randy Bachman. Olympians and Paralympians. A skinny-dipping Bob Rae. And Jann Arden, of course, who gets a chapter to herself. Along the way he even found the time to visit several countries in Africa and co-found and champion the charity Spread the Net, which has gone on to protect the lives of millions. Join the celebration, and revive a wealth of happy memories, with what is Rick Mercer’s funniest, most fascinating book yet.The History of Chinese Civilization (China Insights)
Par Xianqun Bu. 2023
This book tracks the entire history of Chinese civilization from a broad historical view. Its narrative spans a long period…
between primitive society and contemporary civilization, which makes it a unique academic works.From an academic point of view, this book is accurate in history and combines historical theories. Although brief, it captures the main thrust of the development of Chinese civilization and achieves a broad outline. Important figures, historical events, and achievements of civilization in all times are involved and discussed.From a theoretical point of view, based on the characteristics of early Chinese civilization, the book discusses the connotation of key concepts such as "civilization" and "Chinese civilization", which have certain theoretical value.From a contemporary and practical perspective, the book helps readers understand the history of Chinese civilization and promotes cultural exchanges between China and the world and leads to a better understanding of today’s China.Serenade: A Balanchine Story
Par Toni Bentley. 2022
Toni Bentley, a dancer for George Balanchine, the greatest ballet maker of the 20th century, tells the story of Serenade,…
his iconic masterpiece, and what it was like to dance—and live—in his world at New York City Ballet during its legendary era. "Reading Bentley's Serenade made me feel as alive as I felt on the stage the moment that I fell in love with ballet…. [A] delicate balance of personal memoir, rarefied elegance, history of the arts and pure human interest.&”—Misty Copeland, New York Times Book Review "[A] unique document about one of the greatest ballets ever created…. A beautiful read&”—Mikhail BaryshnikovAt age seventeen, Toni Bentley was chosen by Balanchine, then in his final years, to join the New York City Ballet. From both backstage and onstage, she carries us through the serendipitous history and physical intricacies and demands of Serenade: its dazzling opening, with seventeen women in a double-diamond pattern; its radical, even jazzy, use of the highly refined language that is ballet; its place in the choreographer&’s own dramatic story of his immigration to the United States from Soviet Russia; its mystical—and literal—embodiment of the tradition of classical ballet in just thirty-three minutes. Bentley takes us inside the rarefied, intense, and thrilling world Balanchine created through his lifelong devotion to celebrating and expanding female beauty and strength—a world that, inevitably, passed upon his death. An intimate elegy to grace and loss and to the imprint of a towering artist and his transcendent creation on Bentley&’s own life, Serenade: A Balanchine Story is a rich narrative by a dynamic artist about the nature of art itself at its most ephemeral and glorious.The American Way: A True Story of Nazi Escape, Superman, and Marilyn Monroe
Par Helene Stapinski, Bonnie Siegler. 2023
In this &“necessary and beautifully told story of struggle, compassion and serendipity&” (Forbes), the publisher of DC Comics comes to…
the rescue of a family trying to flee Nazi Berlin, their lives linking up with a dazzling cast of 20th-century icons, all eagerly pursuing the American Dream.Family lore had it that Bonnie Siegler&’s grandfather crossed paths in Midtown Manhattan late one night in 1954 with Marilyn Monroe, her white dress flying up around her as she filmed a scene for The Seven Year Itch. An amateur filmmaker, Jules Schulback had his home movie camera with him, capturing what would become the only surviving footage of that legendary night. Bonnie wasn&’t sure she quite believed her grandfather&’s story…until, cleaning out his apartment, she found the film reel. The discovery would prompt her to investigate all of her grandfather&’s seemingly tall tales—and lead her in pursuit of a remarkable piece of forgotten history that reads like fiction but is all true. A &“fast-moving American epic with a cast of refugees and starlets, publishers and bootleggers, comic-book creators and sports legends&” (The Washington Post), The American Way follows two very different men—Jules Schulback and his unlikely benefactor, DC Comics publisher (and sometimes pornographer) Harry Donenfeld—on an exuberant true-life adventure linking glamorous old Hollywood, the birth of the comic book, and one family&’s experiences during the Holocaust. It&’s an &“amazing&” story told &“with grace, verve, and compassion&” (The Jerusalem Post) of two strivers living through an extraordinary moment in American history, their lives intersecting with a glittering array of stars in a &“colorful&” and &“punchy&” (The New York Times Book Review) tale of hope and reinvention, of daring escapes and fake identities, of big dreams and the magic of movies, and what it means to be a real-life Superman.Modern Japan: All That Matters (All That Matters)
Par Jonathan Clements. 2014
Jonathan Clements charts the rise of Japan since the end of World War Two. Presenting the country as the Japanese…
themselves see it, he explains key issues in national reconstruction, the often-overlooked US Occupation, the influence of the Cold War, student unrest, political scandals, and the meteoric rise and sudden fall of the Japanese economy in the late 20th century.He chronicles changes in women's rights and consumer habits, developments in politics, education and health today, and the shadow of nuclear issues from Hiroshima to Fukushima. He also raises topics rarely covered by the foreign media - Japan's ethnic minorities and burakumin underclass, the influence of organised crime and the hard sell behind "soft" power.A final chapter examines the price Japan has paid for its meteoric rise, the problems of a greying population and a declining countryside, and the long-term implications of the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami.All That Matters about modern Japan. All That Matters books are a fast way to get right to the heart of key issues.Modern Korea: All That Matters Ebook (All That Matters)
Par Andrew Salmon. 2014
In no nation on earth has history accelerated with such speed as in Korea. A medieval dynasty at the end…
of the 19th century, it underwent a traumatic colonization, then, in its hour of liberation was divided by the great powers at the end of World War II. Devastated by a fratricidal war, the peninsula has remained divided ever since.South Korea is the greatest national success story of the 20th century. From the ashes of war, it transformed itself, against the odds - and against much advice - into an industrial powerhouse and thriving democracy. Now a high-tech wonderland, it is undergoing social and cultural transformations that add further layers to its dynamic DNA.North Korea is an economic, social and political disaster, successful only at totalitarianism. Having transmogrified from a blood-and-iron communist dictatorship into a bizarre, neo-fascist monarchy, it is a black hole at the heart of Asia. Engulfed by paranoia, the regime presides over a malnourished populace, a 1.1 million man army and a nuclear arsenal. From nuclear missiles to Samsung smartphones; from assassins to salarymen; from Kim Il-sung to Psy; this is the extraordinary story of the flashpoint peninsula that dominates talk in boardrooms and newsrooms. Korea, the author argues, provides two stark benchmarks for national development: Epic success and catastrophic failure. And its final chapter has yet to be written.This book presents a detailed assessment of the role of navies in the Korean War. It highlights that, despite being…
predominantly a land war, navies played a vital part. Moreover, the naval war was not solely a U.S. operation. Smaller navies from many countries made important contributions both in supporting the United States and carrying out independent and combined naval operations. This subject holds special importance since current Western strategic thinking and capabilities emphasise the necessity of combined naval operations involving multiple navies in any potential future naval conflict. The example set by the Korean War therefore offers valuable insights into the operational and strategic problems, and benefits and opportunities of contemporary and future combined coalition naval operations.Hits, Flops, and Other Illusions: My Fortysomething Years in Hollywood
Par Ed Zwick. 1976
This heartfelt and wry career memoir from the director of Blood Diamond, The Last Samurai, Legends of the Fall, About…
Last Night, and Glory, creator of the show thirtysomething, and executive producer of My So-Called Life, gives a dishy, behind-the-scenes look at working with some of the biggest names in Hollywood.&“I&’ll be dropping a few names,&” Ed Zwick confesses in the introduction to his book. &“Over the years I have worked with self-proclaimed masters-of-the-universe, unheralded geniuses, hacks, sociopaths, savants, and saints.&” He has encountered these Hollywood types during four decades of directing, producing, and writing projects that have collectively received eighteen Academy Award nominations (seven wins) and sixty-seven Emmy nominations (twenty-two wins). Though there are many factors behind such success, including luck and the contributions of his creative partner Marshall Herskovitz, he&’s known to have a special talent for bringing out the best in the people he&’s worked with, especially the actors. In those intense collaborations, he&’s sought to discover the small pieces of connective tissue, vulnerability, and fellowship that can help an actor realize their character in full. Talents whom he spotted early include Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Denzel Washington, Claire Danes, and Jared Leto. Established stars he worked closely with include Leonardo DiCaprio, Anthony Hopkins, Tom Cruise, Julia Roberts, Anne Hathaway, Daniel Craig, Jake Gyllenhaal, Bruce Willis, Demi Moore, and Jennifer Connelly. He also sued Harvey Weinstein over the production of Shakespeare in Love—and won. He shares personal stories about all these people, and more. Written mostly with love, sometimes with rue, this memoir is also a meditation on working, sprinkled throughout with tips for anyone who has ever imagined writing, directing, or producing for the screen. Fans with an appreciation for the beautiful mysteries—as well as the unsightly, often comic truths—of crafting film and television won&’t want to miss it.This book examines Israel’s civil-military relations (CMR) in order to explore alternatives to orthodox Western models of security sector reform…
(SSR) in post-conflict societies. This book argues that the guidelines of SSR have always tended to draw on theoretical work in the field of CMR and focus too heavily on Western, liberal democratic models of governance. Consequently, reform programs based on these guidelines, and intended for use in post-conflict and conflict-affected states, have had, at best, mixed results. The book challenges the necessity for this over-reliance on traditional Western liberal democratic solutions and instead advocates an alternative approach. It proposes that by drawing on an unconventional CMR model, that in turn references the specific context and cultural background of the particular state being subject to reform, there is a significantly higher chance of success. Drawing on a case study of Israel's CMR, the author seeks to provide practical assistance to those working in this area and considers the question of how this unorthodox CMR model might usefully inform post-conflict and conflict-affected SSR programmes. This book will be of interest to students of military studies, security studies, Israeli politics, and International Relations.What Have We Here: Portraits of a Life
Par Billy Dee Williams. 2024
WHAT HAVE WE HERE? follows Billy Dee Williams from his childhood growing up in Harlem to his days on Broadway…
and in Hollywood before landing the role in George Lucas' space opera that would win him everlasting fame.Over a 60-year career spanning Broadway, music, movies, and television, Billy's tales and travels include Lawrence Olivier, Marlon Brando, James Baldwin, Henry Fonda, Duke Ellington, Berry Gordy, Diana Ross, Richard Pryor, Sylvester Stallone, Diahann Carroll, and a world of less famous but no less colourful characters.And that's just his life on this planet. As hundreds of millions of Star Wars fans worldwide know, Williams is and always will be Lando Calrissian, the double-dealing, outlandishly handsome rogue from George Lucas' classic Star Wars adventures The Empire Strikes Back and The Return of the Jedi, a role he reprised in 2019's Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.The Long History of Partition in Bengal: Event, Memory, Representations
Par Rituparna Roy, Jayanta Sengupta, Sekhar Bandyopadhyay. 2024
This book focuses on the aftermath of the 1947 Partition of India. It considers the long aftermath and afterlives of…
Partition afresh, from a wide and inclusive range of perspectives and studies the specificities of the history of violence and migration and their memories in the Bengal region. The chapters in the volume range from the administrative consequences of partition to public policies on refugee settlement, life stories of refugees in camps and colonies, and literary and celluloid representations of Partition. It also probes questions of memory, identity, and the memorialization of events. Eclectic in its theoretical orientation and methodology, this book will be of interest to scholars and researchers of partition history, colonialism, refugee studies, Indian history, South Asian history, migration studies, and modern history in general.China's Civilian Army: The Making of Wolf Warrior Diplomacy
Par Peter Martin. 2021
The untold story of China's rise as a global superpower is chronicled through the diplomatic shock troops that connect Beijing…
to the world. China's Civilian Army charts China's transformation from an isolated and impoverished communist state to a global superpower from the perspective of those on the front line: China's diplomats. They give a rare perspective on the greatest geopolitical drama of the last half century. In the early days of the People's Republic, diplomats were highly-disciplined, committed communists who feared revealing any weakness to the threatening capitalist world. Remarkably, the model that revolutionary leader Zhou Enlai established continues to this day despite the massive changes the country has undergone in recent decades. Little is known or understood about the inner workings of the Chinese government as the country bursts onto the world stage, as the world's second largest economy and an emerging military superpower. China's Diplomats embody its battle between insecurity and self-confidence, internally and externally. To this day, Chinese diplomats work in pairs so that one can always watch the other for signs of ideological impurity. They're often dubbed China's "wolf warriors" for their combative approach to asserting Chinese interests. Drawing for the first time on the memoirs of more than a hundred retired diplomats as well as author Peter Martin's first-hand reporting as a journalist in Beijing, this groundbreaking book blends history with current events to tease out enduring lessons about the kind of power China is set to become. It is required reading for anyone who wants to understand China's quest for global power, as seen from the inside.How the World Hunger Problem Was not Solved (Routledge Studies in Modern History)
Par Christian Gerlach. 2024
The world food crisis (1972–1975) gave rise to new development concepts. To eradicate world hunger, small peasants were supposed to…
use ‘modern’ inputs like high-yielding seeds, fertilizer, pesticides and irrigation. This would turn subsistence producers into business owners, transform rural areas, invigorate national economies and the crisis-stricken world economy and thus stabilize capitalism.Together with an in-depth account of the world food crisis, this book analyses how this global scheme largely failed. It shows its diverse initiators, their reasoning and motives, its political breakthrough, the degrees to which it was implemented globally and nationally in the following decades and its socioeconomic effects in rural areas. Despite internationally coordinated policies and coercive means, the scheme failed on all levels: situation analysis, design, policies, incapable institutions (including big business), implementation and peasants’ responses. Selective realization in certain regions and for certain crops and the appropriation of funds by local elites often aggravated inequality and hunger. Case studies are about Bangladesh, Indonesia, Tanzania and Mali. The book shows limits to global social engineering, imperialism and state control.It is aimed at students, scholars, activists and non-specialists interested in development and the world food problem.A Murder in Hollywood: The Untold Story of Tinseltown's Most Shocking Crime
Par Casey Sherman. 2024
"A wild ride beneath the glitz and glamour of 1950s Hollywood, proving once again that Casey Sherman is a master…
of the genre."—Ben Mezrich, New York Times bestselling author of Dumb Money, Bringing Down the House, and The Accidental BillionairesThe dark story behind the bright lights of TinseltownFrom the outside, Hollywood starlet Lana Turner seemed to have it all—a thriving film career, a beautiful daughter, and the kind of fame and fortune that most people could only dream of. But when the famous femme fatale began dating mobster Johnny Stompanato, thug for the infamous west coast mob boss Mickey Cohen, her personal life became violent and unpredictable. Lana's teenage daughter, Cheryl, watched her beloved mother's life deteriorate as Stompanato's intense jealousy took over. Eventually, the physical and emotional abuse became too much to bear, and Lana attempted to break it off with Johnny—with disastrous consequences. The details of what happened that fateful night remain foggy, but it ended in a series of frantic phone calls and Stompanato dead on Lana's bedroom floor, with Cheryl claiming to have plunged a knife into his abdomen in an attempt to protect her mother. The subsequent murder trial made for the biggest headlines of the year, its drama eclipsing every Hollywood movie.New York Times bestselling author Casey Sherman pulls back Tinseltown's velvet curtain to reveal the dark underbelly of celebrity, rife with toxic masculinity and casual violence against women, and tells the story of Lana Turner and her daughter, who finally stood up to the abuse that plagued their family for years. A Murder in Hollywood transports us back to the golden age of film and illuminates one of the 20th century's most notorious true crime tales.This book presents a comprehensive narrative and historical analysis of the political and economic relations between China and Italy from…
the Treaty of Friendship and Commerce signed in October 1866 to the Second World War. Utilizing primary sources found in public and private archives, the volume acknowledges the relevance of eminent figures and their roles and contributions in developing the relations between Italy and China. It provides an extensive presentation of the close relations between the Chinese nationalist and Italian fascist regimes and their interaction in the interwar period. The Italian and Chinese governments had a prolonged political and economic dialogue, which lasted for almost a decade and involved the active mediation of politicians, economists, academics, and professionals at different levels and in diverse fields. International historiography mostly neglects the relevance of this period in broader historical contexts. This work overcomes the unjustified oversight and examines, with reliable primary sources, the relevance of this extraordinary season of international relations. With a valuable exploration of a wealth of sources, this book provides a new opportunity of reflection for scholars and students interested in Sino-European relations and international history.Dancing the Afrofuture: Hula, Hip-Hop, and the Dunham Legacy
Par Halifu Osumare. 2024
A Black dancer chronicles her career as a scholar writing the stories of global hip-hop and Black culture Dancing…
the Afrofuture is the story of a dancer with a long career of artistry and activism who transitioned from performing Black dance to writing it into history as a Black studies scholar. Following the personal journey of her artistic development told in Dancing in Blackness, Halifu Osumare now reflects on how that first career—which began during the 1960s Black Arts Movement—has influenced her growth as an academic, tracing her teaching and research against a political and cultural backdrop that extends to the twenty-first century with Black Lives Matter and a potent speculative Afrofuture. Osumare describes her decision to step away from full-time involvement in dance and community activism to earn a doctorate in American studies from the University of Hawai‘i. She emulated the model of her mentor Katherine Dunham by studying and performing hula, and her research on hip-hop youth culture took her from Hawai‘i to Africa, Europe, and South America as a professor at the University of California, Davis. Throughout her scholarly career, Osumare has illuminated the resilience of African-descendant peoples through a focus on performance and the lens of Afrofuturism. Respected for her work as both professional dancer and trailblazing academic, Osumare shares experiences from her second career that show the potential of scholarship in revealing and documenting underrecognized stories of Black dance and global pop culture. In this memoir, Osumare dances across several fields of study while ruminating on how the Black past reveals itself in the Afro-present that is transforming into the Afrofuture. Publication of this work made possible by a Sustaining the Humanities through the American Rescue Plan grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities and a University of California, Davis Edward A. Dickson Emeriti Professorship Award.Smoke And Ashes: Opium's Hidden Histories
Par Amitav Ghosh. 2024
'The writing is sublime, the research thorough, the eye for story superb' Sunday TelegraphWhen Amitav Ghosh began the research for…
his monumental cycle of novels the Ibis Trilogy, he was startled to find how the lives of the 19th century sailors and soldiers he wrote of were dictated not only by the currents of the Indian Ocean, but also by the precious commodity carried in enormous quantities on those currents: opium. Most surprising at all, however, was the discovery that his own identity and family history was swept up in the story.Smoke and Ashes is at once a travelogue, memoir and a history, drawing on decades of archival research. In it, Ghosh traces the transformative effect the opium trade had on Britain, India, and China, as well as the world at large. The trade was engineered by the British Empire, which exported Indian opium to sell to China and redress their great trade imbalance, and its revenues were essential to the Empire's financial survival. Yet tracing the profits further, Ghosh finds opium at the origins of some of the world's biggest corporations, of America's most powerful families and prestigious institutions (from the Astors and Coolidges to the Ivy League), and of contemporary globalism itself.Moving deftly between horticultural histories, the mythologies of capitalism, and the social and cultural repercussions of colonialism, in Smoke and Ashes Amitav Ghosh reveals the role that one small plant had in making our world, now teetering on the edge of catastrophe.Audrey in Paris
Par Caroline Young. 2024
A charming, illustrated gift book combining two timelessly stylish subjects - Audrey Hepburn and the city of Paris.Both classic, both…
inimitable, both fashion icons - Audrey Hepburn and Paris are a match made in heaven. Falling in love with the city at a young age, Audrey returned to Paris again and again in some of her most celebrated films (Sabrina, Funny Face, How to Steal a Million, Charade) wearing outfits from her favourite Parisian couturier, Hubert de Givenchy, and creating some of the most significant fashion moments of the twentieth century.Audrey in Paris brings together over 100 stunning photographs of her most iconic moments in the city, from film stills and behind-the-scenes shots to candid images of Audrey enjoying the city as a visitor. The book also includes a bespoke illustrated map showing her favourite spots. While dozens of successful books on Audrey have been published, this will be the first to document her time in the city of light.Tapping into Audrey's status as a fashion idol, which spans across the generations, as well as Paris's status as the world's capital of elegance, Audrey in Paris combines the gifty charm of How to be Parisian Wherever You Are with Audrey's forever appeal as a fashion muse.Gorgeous finishes will make this a stylish gift book to be treasured for years to come.Audrey in Paris
Par Caroline Young. 2024
A charming, illustrated gift book combining two timelessly stylish subjects - Audrey Hepburn and the city of Paris.Both classic, both…
inimitable, both fashion icons - Audrey Hepburn and Paris are a match made in heaven. Falling in love with the city at a young age, Audrey returned to Paris again and again in some of her most celebrated films (Sabrina, Funny Face, How to Steal a Million, Charade) wearing outfits from her favourite Parisian couturier, Hubert de Givenchy, and creating some of the most significant fashion moments of the twentieth century.Audrey in Paris brings together over 100 stunning photographs of her most iconic moments in the city, from film stills and behind-the-scenes shots to candid images of Audrey enjoying the city as a visitor. The book also includes a bespoke illustrated map showing her favourite spots. While dozens of successful books on Audrey have been published, this will be the first to document her time in the city of light.Tapping into Audrey's status as a fashion idol, which spans across the generations, as well as Paris's status as the world's capital of elegance, Audrey in Paris combines the gifty charm of How to be Parisian Wherever You Are with Audrey's forever appeal as a fashion muse.Gorgeous finishes will make this a stylish gift book to be treasured for years to come.Jingjiao: The Earliest Christian Church in China
Par Glen L. Thompson. 2024
A balanced, accessible, and thorough history of Jingjiao, the first Christian church in China Many people assume that the…
first introduction of Christianity to the Chinese was part of nineteenth-century Western imperialism. In fact, Syriac-speaking Christians brought the gospel along the Silk Road into China in the seventh century. Glen L. Thompson introduces readers to the fascinating history of this early Eastern church, referred to as Jingjiao, or the &“Luminous Teaching.&” Thompson presents the history of the Persian church&’s mission to China with rigor and clarity. While Christianity remained a minority and &“foreign&” religion in the Middle Kingdom, it nonetheless attracted adherents among indigenous Chinese and received imperial approval during the Tang Dynasty. Though it was later suppressed alongside Buddhism, it resurfaced in China and Mongolia in the twelfth century. Thompson also discusses how the modern unearthing of Chinese Christian texts has stirred controversy over the meaning of Jingjiao to recent missionary efforts in China. In an accessible style, Thompson guides readers through primary sources as well as up-to-date scholarship. As the most recent and balanced survey on the topic available in English, Jingjiao will be an indispensable resource for students of global Christianity and missiology.