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The “intimate and expansive” (Time) memoir of “one of the most important artists working in the world today” (Financial Times), telling a remarkable history of China over the last hundred years while also illuminating his artistic process   “Poignant . . . An illuminating through-line emerges in the many parallels Ai traces between his life and his father’s.”—The New York Times Book Review (Editors’ Choice)   ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: Time, BookPage, Booklist, Kirkus Reviews   Once a close associate of Mao Zedong and the nation’s most celebrated poet, Ai Weiwei’s father, Ai Qing, was branded a rightist during the Cultural Revolution, and he and his family were banished to a desolate place known as “Little Siberia,” where Ai Qing was sentenced to hard labor cleaning public toilets. Ai Weiwei recounts his childhood in exile, and his difficult decision to leave his family to study art in America, where he befriended Allen Ginsberg and was inspired by Andy Warhol and the artworks of Marcel Duchamp. With candor and wit, he details his return to China and his rise from artistic unknown to art world superstar and international human rights activist—and how his work has been shaped by living under a totalitarian regime. Ai Weiwei’s sculptures and installations have been viewed by millions around the globe, and his architectural achievements include helping to design the iconic Bird’s Nest Olympic Stadium in Beijing. His political activism has long made him a target of the Chinese authorities, which culminated in months of secret detention without charge in 2011. Here, for the first time, Ai Weiwei explores the origins of his exceptional creativity and passionate political beliefs through his life story and that of his father, whose creativity was stifled.At once ambitious and intimate, Ai Weiwei’s 1000 Years of Joys and Sorrows offers a deep understanding of the myriad forces that have shaped modern China, and serves as a timely reminder of the urgent need to protect freedom of expression.

During their latest mission--traveling to their classmates' home planets--Jide, Petra, and the other students prank each other, perform at an open mic night, and play a game of brgbllbll.

"Smithsonian. National Museum of African American History & Culture."

Fans of Ada Twist, Scientist will want to join Dr. Cosmic's class of clever monsters as they explore the dark depths of the ocean in the fourth book of the Mad Scientist Academy series.The students in Dr. Cosmic's class take their lessons underwater when they're introduced to his latest invention, the SKWID--a special submarine that explores the ocean and looks like a real giant squid!With the guidance of oceanographer Professor Fathom, the class embarks on an exploration of the deep sea. Their next assignment? Identify the smallest producers and consumers of the ocean.But when a giant whale approaches the SKWID, mistaking it for an actual squid, the students must use their trusted scientific handbooks to find a way to escape the submarine and return to the undersea lab--before they become the whale's lunch!Don't miss more from the Mad Scientist Academy series!--The Dinosaur Disaster, The Weather Disaster, and The Space Disaster."Dr. Cosmic is plainly a colleague of Ms. Frizzle [of The Magic School Bus], and the mix of pithy banter, tumultuous field-trip mishaps, and science fact is as familiar as it is winning. Fans of the Frizz will be dino-delighted. Mad fun." --Kirkus Reviews, starred review of Mad Scientist Academy: The Dinosaur Disaster

Two Nobel Peace Prize winners--His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu--use their own childhood stories to show young readers how to embrace the transformative power of joy and share it with the world.

Real Solutions and Advice from the Sales TrenchesWhy did you choose sales as a career? In a word, money! Your new profession has the potential to be both financially rewarding and personally satisfying. But let's face it: Your first year in sales will likely be your most challenging. So, is it possible to enjoy your new career and be a successful salesperson from day one? The answer is yes.In this revised and updated edition of Your First Year in Sales, professional speaker and sales veteran Tim Connor offers simple, proven strategies to overcome those first-year obstacles and position yourself for lifelong success. You'll find savvy, step-by-step techniques for learning how your skills and talents-your motivation, strengths, willingness to sacrifice, and expectations-can put you on the fast track to being a sales leader. Be your best from your first sales call by knowing how to: - Adopt an attitude for sales success and present yourself as wise beyond your years.- Achieve financial results-immediately.- Use new technology and social networking to your best possible advantage. NEW!- Set-and reach-important career goals.- Overcome adversity, especially during tight economic times. NEW!- Create and maintain professional sales relationships.- Obtain an early balance between your life and your career.- And so much more! With quizzes, strategies, and resources, and more, this informative, inspirational, and motivational book is your personal mentor, guiding you toward a rewarding sales career. "Tim Connor is a mater salesman-no one is more qualified to share wisdom on selling."-Charlie "Tremendous" Jones, full-time speaker, trainer, and bestselling author

Isn't it time you knew the honest-to-goodness truth? We've all come to believe hundreds of "false facts”—myths that we've blindly accepted as truth, misconceptions that we've ignorantly retold to others—Contrary to Popular Belief provides an instant remedy for your pounding head full of misinformation, giving you quick relief with enlightening and entertaining facts.Inside you'll learn:George Washington was not the first president of the United States.Leap year does not occur every four years.The ostrich does not bury its head in the sand.Thomas Edison did not invent the light bulb.Ship captains cannot perform marriages at sea.Sound does not travel at the speed of sound.The needle on a compass does not point to the North Pole.Leonardo da Vinci did not paint the Mona Lisa.And more than two hundred other bits of conventional "wisdom” that are completely bunk.

The Right Address sears through the upper crust of New York's glittering Park Avenue scene to dish the dirt on the ladies who lunch, the gents who club, and the desperate climbers who will stop at nothing to join the backstabbing, champagne-sipping, socialite-eat-socialite stratosphere. When Melanie Sartomsky, wily Floridian flight attendant, snares billionaire divorcée Arthur "the coffin king” Korn, she is catapulted into the crème de la crème of Park Avenue society, where hiring the wrong decorator is tantamount to social suicide, and where, if you're anyone, your personal assistant has a personal assistant. But Melanie quickly discovers that in the world of the rich and idle, malicious gossip is as de rigeur as owning twenty pairs of Manolo Blahniks. And despite her frenzied plunge into the charity circuit and the right dinner reservations, her neighbors are Givenchy-clad vultures who see her as nothing more than a reinvented trailer trollop. To make matters worse, when a snide society-rag journalist rakes her over the coals, Melanie's reputation is toast. Meanwhile, Melanie is not the only billionaire in the neighborhood coming unhinged. Kleptomania, adultery, plagiarism, and a grisly Harlem sex murder are just a few of the secrets swirling under the pedigreed patina of furs and emeralds on Park Avenue. Authors Jill Kargman and Carrie Karasyov know a thing or two about their subject matter. They met at the Upper East Side's chic Spence School and claim that The Right Address is inspired by "the insane socialites we've eavesdropped on our entire lives.” Meow. So kick off your Jimmy Choos, crack open the Veuve Clicquot, and get ready for a rollicking, unforgettable tour of the richer-and-bitchier-than-thou set.

Years ago, Chris Bohjalian and his wife traded their Brooklyn co-op for a century-old Victorian house in Lincoln, Vermont (population 975). Bohjalian, a bestselling novelist, began chronicling life in that gloriously quirky little village with a wide variety of magazine essays and his newspaper column, "Idyll Banter.” These pieces, written over the course of twelve years, are honest, funny, and deeply affecting reflections on the unique idiosyncrasies of small-town life (annual outhouse races) and the universal experiences (our hunger for neighborliness) that unite us all.

From critically acclaimed historical novelist Diane Haeger comes The Ruby Ring, an unforgettable story of love, loss, and immortal genius . . .Rome, 1520. The Eternal City is in mourning. Raphael Sanzio, beloved painter and national hero, has died suddenly at the height of his fame. His body lies in state at the splendid marble Pantheon. At the nearby convent of Sant'Apollonia, a young woman comes to the Mother Superior, seeking refuge. She is Margherita Luti, a baker's daughter from a humble neighborhood on the Tiber, now an outcast from Roman society, persecuted by powerful enemies within the Vatican. Margherita was Raphael's beloved and appeared as the Madonna in many of his paintings. Theirs was a love for the ages. But now that Raphael is gone, the convent is her only hope of finding an honest and peaceful life.The Mother Superior agrees to admit Margherita to their order. But first, she must give up the ruby ring she wears on her left hand, the ring she had worn in Raphael's scandalous nude "engagement portrait.” The ring has a storied past, and it must be returned to the Church or Margherita will be cast out into the streets. Behind the quiet walls of the convent, Margherita makes her decision . . . and remembers her life with Raphael—and the love and torment—embodied in that one precious jewel. In The Ruby Ring, Diane Haeger brings to life a love affair so passionate that it remains undimmed by time. Set in the sumptuous world of the Italian Renaissance, it's the story of the clergymen, artists, rakes, and noblemen who made Raphael and Margherita's world the most dynamic and decadent era in European history.

The essential book for any sports fan, from one of the reigning kings ofsports talk radio, Christopher "Mad Dog” RussoSports fansWhich was the greater achievement, Ted Williams's .406 season or Joe DiMaggio's 56-game hitting streak?Who would dominate the ultimate Pebble Beach showdown? Ben Hogan or Tiger Woods?Who was really the most important athlete of the twentieth century?If you love sports, there's only one thing better than a good game—and that's a good argument. Who's the best ever? The worst ever? Underrated? Overpaid? Now, in his long-awaited and completely original book—updated for the 2003 sports season—Christopher "Mad Dog” Russo sets up and breaks down the hundred greatest sports arguments of all time. In classic Mad Dog style, each chapter tackles a classic sports debate and takes sides with the lively and authoritative opinions that have made him one of the top radio personalities in the country. Whether you agree with The Dog—or agree to disagree with the book's often controversial conclusions—The Mad Dog 100 is the perfect companion for any sports fan.