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NEW YORK TIMES EDITORS &’ CHOICE • In Ai Weiwei&’s widely anticipated memoir, &“one of the most important artists working…
in the world today&” ( Financial Times ) tells a century-long epic tale of China through the story of his own extraordinary life and the legacy of his father, the nation&’s most celebrated poet. NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY Time • BookPage • Kirkus Reviews • &“With uncommon humanity, humbling scholarship, and poignant intimacy, Ai Weiwei recounts a life of courage, argument, defeat, and triumph. His is one of the great voices of our time.&”—Andrew Solomon Hailed as &“an eloquent and seemingly unsilenceable voice of freedom&” by The New York Times, Ai Weiwei has written a sweeping memoir that presents a remarkable history of China over the last hundred years while also illuminating his artistic process. Once an intimate 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. 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
Author of How the Beatles Destroyed Rock 'n' Roll (DB 71861) researches the origins of Mississippi Delta blues. Recaps the…
life of African American singer Robert Johnson (1911-1938) and his influence on white performers who revived the genre in the 1960s. Debunks stereotypes and myths surrounding the music. 2004
Canadian digital-marketing expert offers advice for integrating social media and personal branding into a new business model with the potential…
of reaching a larger consumer base. Offers examples of people who used Facebook, blogs, smartphones, and netbooks to successfully expand their businesses. 2009
Baltimore director of cult films Pink Flamingos and Hairspray pens essays about the people he admires, including singers Johnny Mathis…
and Little Richard, writer Tennessee Williams, former Charles Manson groupie Leslie Van Houten, gay pornographers, and bar owners. Strong language and some explicit descriptions of sex. Bestseller. 2010
American diplomat and foreign correspondent uses overseas archives to document French fashion designer Coco Chanel's collaboration with the Nazis during…
World War II. Discusses Chanel's childhood; emergence on the social scene as a couture, perfume maker, and mistress of titled men; anti-Semitism; and involvement with the Nazi Schutzstaffel (SS). 2011
Biography of Dutch artist van Gogh (1853-1890) by the Pulitzer Prize-winning authors of Jackson Pollock (DB 33540). They use primary…
documents from the van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam to analyze his family life, work, and death at age thirty-seven--and raise doubts that van Gogh killed himself. 2011
Journalist Carr expands upon his 2008 article in The Atlantic Monthly entitled "Is Google Making Us Stupid?" Citing neurology research,…
he argues that humans are losing our capacity for concentration, contemplation, and reflection as advancing technology changes our neural pathways. Pulitzer Prize finalist. 2010
Allen, who cofounded Microsoft in 1975, traces the early years of the computer company and his relationship with his business…
partner and high school friend Bill Gates. Discusses his career blunders, ownership of the Seattle Seahawks and Portland Trail Blazers, recovery from Hodgkin's lymphoma, and philanthropic pursuits. 2011
Author of Genius (DB 36181) and Chaos (RC 27005) chronicles the history of humanity's efforts to store, access, and communicate…
information--from Paleolithic cave paintings to early-twenty-first-century search engines. Discusses prominent inventors Charles Babbage, Ada Byron, Samuel Morse, Alan Turing, and Claude Shannon. 2011
Biography of American artist Chuck Close (born 1940), famous for his larger-than-life photo-imitative portraits. Close discusses his learning disabilities, his…
marriage to his former student Leslie Rose, the bohemian 1960s New York, the challenges of balancing career and family, his paralysis at age forty-eight, and his return to painting. 2010
Biography of entrepreneur Steve Jobs (1955-2011) chronicles his childhood, education, entry-level jobs in California's Silicon Valley, 1976 cofounding of Apple…
computer in his parents' garage, and leadership in spearheading the iPod, iPhone, and iPad. Discusses Jobs's personal and professional relationships and his 2003 cancer diagnosis. Some strong language. Bestseller. 2011
Historical analysis of mass-communication media--radio, telephone, television, and film--introduced during the twentieth century. Examines each technology's trajectory from being free…
and open for public access to becoming closed and controlled by a single corporation or cartel led by Adolph Zukor, David Sarnoff, and others. 2010
Smithsonian Institution curator details the invention and development of computing, from punch cards to smartphones. Focuses on four themes: the…
coding of information in binary form, the convergence of different technologies, advances in solid-state electronics, and the interaction between people and machines. 2012
Software-company CEO posits society is at the tipping point of the Information Revolution, which he compares to the Agricultural and…
Industrial revolutions. Explores the history of computing and the rise of mobile technologies and social networks and analyzes their impact on entertainment, commerce, and health care. 2012
Biography of Seattle photographer Edward Curtis (1868-1952), who in 1900 became enamored of Native American culture. Sponsored by J.P. Morgan,…
Theodore Roosevelt, and others, Curtis spent three decades living with different tribes, creating films, and producing the twenty-volume publication The North American Indian. Discusses Curtis's legacy. National Book Award. 2012
Technology historian examines the creation of one of the first computers: the Universal Machine proposed by Alan Turing in 1936.…
Chronicles the 1945 gathering of scientists, led by mathematician John von Neumann, who constructed the theoretical machine that would later assist early weather modeling and nuclear weapons development. 2012
Biography of the graffiti artist known as Banksy details his early work in Bristol, England; the success of his Oscar-nominated…
film Exit through the Gift Shop; and his efforts to maintain his anonymity. Explores the culture of outsider art and Banksy's place in it. Young adult appeal. 2012
Author of The Lunar Men (DB 58797) presents a biography of Sarah Losh (1786-1853), who designed a uniquely decorated church…
in the village of Wreay, England, in 1842. Details her family history, her architectural and artisan endeavors, and the socioeconomic and cultural changes that influenced her. 2012
Recounts the life and career of the late founder of Apple, Steve Jobs (1955-2011). Covers his adoption and childhood, his…
friendship with Steve Wozniak, and his dynamic relationship with Apple--as chairman, head of the Mac department, advisor, and CEO--until his death. For junior and senior high and older readers. 2012
Grammy Award-winning gospel singer Cissy Houston recalls the life of her daughter, singer/actress Whitney (1963-2012). Discusses Whitney's career and family…
relationships, including her tumultuous marriage to fellow entertainer Bobby Brown. Speculates on Whitney's drug use and the pitfalls of fame. Foreword by Dionne Warwick. 2013