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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
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
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 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
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
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
Winner of seventeen Grammy Awards, singer Bennett (born 1926) reminisces about growing up in New York City, his sixty years…
in the entertainment industry, and his friendships with musicians. Forward by Mitch Albom, author of The Time Keeper (DB 75616). 2012
Biography of painter Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (1571-1610). Chronicles his formative years in Milan, time in Rome, exile to the…
island of Malta, and his death at the age of thirty-eight. Examines his preferred subjects of religious scenes using everyday models, including prostitutes and the poor. Some violence. 2010
'Rollicking . . . with roguish tales as vivid as his era-defining photos' Daily Mail 'Brilliant' Telegraph Eye-opening and candid,…
David Bailey's Look Again is a fantastically entertaining memoir by a true icon. David Bailey burst onto the scene in 1960 with his revolutionary photographs for Vogue . Discarding the rigid rules of a previous generation of portrait and fashion photographers, he channelled the energy of London's newly informal street culture into his work. Funny, brutally honest and ferociously talented, he became as famous as his subjects. Now in his eighties, he looks back on an outrageously eventful life. Born into an East End family, his dyslexia saw him written off as stupid at school. He hit a low point working as a debt collector until he discovered a passion for photography that would change everything. The working-class boy became an influential artist. Along the way he became friends with Mick Jagger, hung out with the Krays, got into bed with Andy Warhol and made the Queen laugh. His love-life was never dull. He propelled girlfriend Jean Shrimpton to stardom, while her angry father threatened to shoot him. He married Catherine Deneuve a month after meeting her. Penelope Tree's mother was unimpressed when he turned up on her doorstep. 'It could be worse, I could be a Rolling Stone,' Bailey told her. He went on to marry Marie Helvin and then Catherine Dyer, with whom he has three children. He is also a film and documentary director, has shot numerous commercials and has never stopped working. A born storyteller, his autobiography is a memorable romp through an extraordinary career
Author of Lovers at the Chameleon Club, Paris 1932 (DB 79323) profiles the life of modern art advocate Peggy Guggenheim…
(1898-1979). Discusses the influence of her Jewish heritage on her life; the artists she championed, including Jackson Pollock and Man Ray; and her at times chaotic personal life. 2015
Memoir by winner of the Pulitzer Prize and MacArthur Foundation "Genius Grant" for her work in photojournalism. Addario (born 1973)…
details her early life and how an off-hand present from her father led to her career. Describes ways she found recognition by capturing conflicts across the world. Violence. Bestseller. 2015
Musician and friend of Ol' Dirty Bastard, Monk--with English professor Hess--details the life of the cofounder of the Wu-Tang Clan.…
Details ODB's childhood in Brooklyn, his work with Wu-Tang Clan, his solo musical efforts, and the challenges he faced before his early death by drug overdose. Some strong language. 2014
Biography of fashion designer Schiaparelli (1890-1973). Details her childhood in Italy as the daughter of an aristocratic and intellectual family,…
her personal and professional relationships, the development of her fashion career between World Wars I and II, and her legacy. 2014
Profile of artist Andy Warhol (1928-1987) and an account of the road trip he took from New York to California.…
Describes artistic and business influences of Warhol, his personal relationships, and the works he accomplished. Argues that this trip was a pivotal point in his career progression. 2015
Journalist examines the life of Renaissance Italian artist Michelangelo Buonarotti (1475-1564) through the lens of six of his works: the…
Pietà, his statue of David, the Creation of Adam ceiling fresco in the Sistine Chapel, the Medici tombs, The Last Judgment, and the Basilica of St. Peter's in Rome. 2014
Profiles six notable women who personified the changing mores of the 1920s: actresses Tallulah Bankhead and Diana Cooper, poet and…
heiress Nancy Cunard, painter Tamara de Lempicka, author Zelda Fitzgerald, and dancer Josephine Baker. 2013