Here is a multidimensional playland of ideas from the world'smost eccentric Nobel-Prize winning scientist. Kary Mullis islegendary for his invention of PCR, which redefined the world ofDNA, genetics, and forensic science. He is also a surfer, a veteranof Berkeley in the sixties, and perhaps the only Nobel laureate todescribe a possible encounter with aliens. A scientist of boundlesscuriosity, he refuses to accept any proposition based on secondhandor hearsay evidence, and always looks for the "money trail" whenscientists make announcements.

Soon after the fall of the Taliban, in 2001, Deborah Rodriguezwent to Afghanistan as part of a group offering humanitarian aid tothis war-torn nation. Surrounded by men and women whose skills–asdoctors, nurses, and therapists–seemed eminently more practicalthan her own, Rodriguez, a hairdresser and mother of two fromMichigan, despaired of being of any real use. Yet she soon foundshe had a gift for befriending Afghans, and once her professionbecame known she was eagerly sought out by Westerners desperate fora good haircut and by Afghan women, who have a long and proudtradition of running their own beauty salons. Thus an idea wasborn. With the help of corporate and international sponsors, the KabulBeauty School welcomed its first class in 2003. Well meaning butsometimes brazen, Rodriguez stumbled through language barriers,overstepped cultural customs, and constantly juggled the challengesof a postwar nation even as she learned how to empower her studentsto become their families’ breadwinners

This stunningly personal document and extraordinary history ofthe turbulent sixties and early seventies displays James Baldwin'sfury and despair more deeply than any of his otherworks. In vivid detail he remembers the Harlem childhoodthat shaped his early conciousness, the later events that scoredhis heart with pain—the murders of Martin Luther King and MalcolmX, his sojourns in Europe and in Hollywood, and his retum to theAmerican South to confront a violent America face-to-face.

In 1773, the great Samuel Johnson–then 63–and his young friendand future biographer, James Boswell, traveled together around thecoast of Scotland, each writing his own account of the 83-dayjourney. Published in one volume, the very different travelogues ofthis unlikely duo provide a fascinating picture not only of theScottish Highlands but also of the relationship between two menwhose fame would be forever entwined. Johnson's account contains elegant de*ions and analysesof what was then a remote and rugged land. In contrast, theScottish-born Boswell's journal of the trip focuses on thepsychological landscape of his famously gruff and witty companion,and is part of the material he was already collecting for hisfuture Life of Samuel Johnson, the masterly biography that wouldmake his name. Read together, the two accounts form both a unique classic oftravel writing and a revelation of one of the most famous literaryfriendships.

The definitive story of one of the greatest dynasties inbaseball history, Joe Torre's New York Yankees. When Joe Torre took over as manager of the Yankees in 1996, theyhad not won a World Series title in eighteen years. In that timeseventeen others had tried to take the helm of America’s mostfamous baseball team. Each one was fired by George Steinbrenner.After twelve triumphant seasons—with twelve straight playoffappearances, six pennants, and four World Series titles—Torre leftthe Yankees as the most beloved manager in baseball. But dealingwith players like Jason Giambi, A-Rod, Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera,Roger Clemens, and Randy Johnson is what managing is all about.Here, for the first time, Joe Torre and Tom Verducci take readersinside the dugout, the clubhouse, and the front office, showingwhat it took to keep the Yankees on top of the baseball world.

As he magnificently combines meticulous scholarship withirresistible narrative appeal, Richardson draws on his closefriendship with Picasso, his own diaries, the collaboration ofPicasso's widow Jacqueline, and unprecedented access to Picasso'sstudio and papers to arrive at a profound understanding of theartist and his work. 800 photos.

Filled with keen observations,autobiographical notes, and the seeds of many of Maugham's greatestworks, A Writer's Notebook is a unique and exhilarating lookinto a great writer's mind at work. From nearly five decades, Somerset Maugham recorded anintimate journal. In it we see the budding of his incomparablevision and his remarkable career as a writer. Covering the yearsfrom his time as a youthful medical student in London to a seasonedworld traveler around the world, it is playful, sharp witted, andalways revealing. Undoubtedly one of his most significant works, A Writer's Notebook is a must for Maugham fans and anyoneinterested in the creative process.

Who are the pivotal figures in American history, the men andwomen who have helped shape us as a people and have influenced howwe perceive ourselves as Americans? In this companion to hispopular 1001 Events That Made America, Alan Axelrod looks into allareas of our collective past and highlights the famous as well asthe infamous, the virtuous as well as the notorious, from thenation’s earliest days to the present. Serving up history in lively, accessible bites, the book presentsa Who’s Who in American politics, arts, science, business,religion, and pop culture, along with concise explanations of eachfigure’s historical significance. Featured personalities range fromJesse James to Al Capone, Harriet Beecher Stowe to Betty Friedan,George Washington to George W. Bush, Harriet Tubman to MartinLuther King, Jr., Stephen Foster to Elvis, John L. Sullivan toMuhammad Ali, Edwin Booth to Marlon Brando, Washington Irving toThomas Pynchon, and John Jacob Astor to Bill Gates. Packed with informatio

Paris. The name alone conjures images of chestnut-linedboulevards, sidewalk cafés, breathtaking fa?ades around everycorner--in short, an exquisite romanticism that has captured theAmerican imagination for as long as there have beenAmericans. In 1995, Adam Gopnik, his wife, and their infant son left thefamiliar comforts and hassles of New York City for the urbaneglamour of the City of Light. Gopnik is a longtime New Yorkerwriter, and the magazine has sent its writers to Paris fordecades--but his was above all a personal pilgrimage to the placethat had for so long been the undisputed capital of everythingcultural and beautiful. It was also the opportunity to raise achild who would know what it was to romp in the Luxembourg Gardens,to enjoy a croque monsieur in a Left Bank café--a child (andperhaps a father, too) who would have a grasp of that Parisiansense of style we Americans find so elusive. So, in the grand tradition of the American abroad, Gopnik walkedthe paths of the Tuileries, enjoy

The first account—prodigiously researched, richly detailed—ofthe last remarkable twenty-five years of the life and art of one ofAmerica’s greatest and most beloved musical icons. Much has been written about Louis Armstrong, but most of itfocuses on the early and middle stages of his long career. Now,Ricky Riccardi—jazz scholar and musician—takes an in-depth look atthe years in which Armstrong was often dismissed as a buffoon?ish,if popular, entertainer, and shows us instead the inventiveness anddepth of expression that his music evinced during this time. These are the years (from after World War II until his death in1971) when Armstrong entertained crowds around the world andrecorded his highest-charting hits, including “Mack the Knife” and“Hello, Dolly”; years when he collaborated with, among others, EllaFitzgerald, Duke Ellington, and Dave Brubeck; when he recorded withstrings and big bands, and, of course, with the All-Stars, hisprimary performing ensemble for more than

A Founding Father of the U.S., Franklin was a true Renaissanceman: writer, publisher, scientist, inventor, and diplomat. Duringhis life, he offered advice on attaining wealth, organized publicinstitutions, and negotiated with foreign powers to ensure hiscountry's survival. Collected here are some of his greatest andmost timeless writings.

Originally published in 1965, The Painted bird establishedJerzy Kosinski as a major literary figure. Called by the LosAngeles Times "one of the most imposing novels of the decade," itwas eventuallly translated into more than thirty languages. A harrowing story that follows the wanderings of a boy abandonedby his parents during World War II, The Painted Bird is a darkmasterpiece that examines the proximity of terror and savagery toinnocence and love. It is the first, and the most famous, novel byone of the most important and original writers of this century. A harrowing story that follows the wanderings of a boyabandoned by his parents during World War II, this classic novel,originally published in 1965, is a dark masterpiece that examinesthe proximity of terror and savagery to innocence and love. It isthe first, and the most famous, novel by one of the most importantand original writers of this century.

在线阅读本书 Book De*ion An American classic rediscovered by each generation, The Storyof My Life is Helen Keller’s account of her triumph overdeafness and blindness. Popularized by the stage play and movie TheMiracle Worker, Keller’s story has become a symbol of hope forpeople all over the world. This book–published when Keller was only twenty-two–portrays thewild child who is locked in the dark and silent prison of her ownbody. With an extraordinary immediacy, Keller reveals herfrustrations and rage, and takes the reader on the unforgettablejourney of her education and breakthroughs into the world ofcommunication. From the moment Keller recognizes the word “water”when her teacher finger-spells the letters, we share her triumph as“that living word awakened my soul, gave it light, hope, joy, setit free!” An unparalleled chronicle of courage, The Story of MyLife remains startlingly fresh and vital more than a centuryafter its first publication, a timeless testament to an indo

There is a superstition that if an emptied theater is ever leftcompletely dark, a ghost will take up residence. To prevent this, asingle "ghost light" is left burning at center stage after theaudience and all of the actors and musicians have gone home. FrankRich's eloquent and moving boyhood memoir reveals how theateritself became a ghost light and a beacon of security for a childfinding his way in a tumultuous world. Rich grew up in the small-townish Washington,D.C., of the 1950s and early '60s, a place where conformity seemedthe key to happiness for a young boy who always felt different.When Rich was seven years old, his parents separated--at a timewhen divorce was still tantamount to scandal--and thereafter he andhis younger sister were labeled "children from a broken home."Bouncing from school to school and increasingly lonely, Rich becameterrified of the dark and the uncertainty of his future. But therewas one thing in his life that made him sublimely happy: theBroadway theater. Rich's parents w

They called him Neutron Jack. They called him the world'stoughest boss. And then Fortune called him "The Manager of theCentury." In his twenty-year career at the helm of GeneralElectric, Jack Welch defied conventional wisdom and turned an agingbehemoth of a corporation into a lean, mean engine of growth andcorporate innovation. In this remarkable autobiography-a classicbusiness book and runaway New York Times bestseller now updatedwith a new afterword by the author-Jack Welch takes us on therough-and-tumble ride that has been his remarkable life. From hisworking-class childhood to his early days in G.E. Plastics to hislife at the top of the world's most successful company, Welch tellshis intensely personal story with his well-known fire and candor.And although it chronicles billion-dollar deals and high-stakescorporate standoffs, Jack is ultimately a story about people-from aman who based his career on demanding only the best from others andfrom himself.

Sex, intrigue and adultery in the world of high politics andhuge wealth in late eighteenth-century England. Georgiana, Duchessof Devonshire, was one of the most flamboyant and influential womenof the eighteenth century. The great-great-great-great aunt ofDiana, Princess of Wales, she was variously a compulsive gambler, apolitical savante and operator of the highest order, a drug addict,an adulteress and the darling of the common people. Thisauthoritative, utterly absorbing book presents a mesmerizingpicture of a fascinating world of political and sexual intrigues,grand houses, huge parties, glamour and great wealth -- always onthe edge of being squandered by the excesses and scandals ofindividuals. Georgiana's extraordinary life has now been made intoa major film - starring Keira Knightley and Ralph Fiennes - whichis due for release in summer 2008. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Paul Newman, the Oscar-winning actor with the legendary blueeyes, achieved superstar status by playing charismatic renegades,broken heroes, and winsome antiheroes in such revered films as TheHustler, Cool Hand Luke, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, TheVerdict, The Color of Money, and Nobody’s Fool. But Newman was alsoan oddity in Hollywood: the rare box-office titan who cared aboutthe craft of acting, the sexy leading man known for the stayingpower of his marriage, and the humble celebrity who madephilanthropy his calling card long before it was cool. The son of a successful entrepreneur, Newman grew up in aprosperous Cleveland suburb. Despite fears that he would fail tolive up to his father’s expectations, Newman bypassed the familysporting goods business to pursue an acting career. Afterstruggling as a theater and television actor, Newman saw his starrise in a tragic twist of fate, landing the role of boxer RockyGraziano in Somebody Up There Likes Me when James Dean was killedin a car a

modern-day classic. "Gift from the Sea is like a shell itself inits small and perfect form . . . It tells of light and life andlove and the security that lies at the heart."--New York Times BookReview.

Michael Jackson: The Making of "Thriller" is an illustratedtribute to the King of Pop and his groundbreaking music video, withnever-before-seen photos of its creation. The book features over200 exclusive, behind-the-scenes photographs of the artist on setduring the 1983 production of the Grammy award winning videodirected by John Landis. Considered to be the most successful project of all time,"Thriller" is beloved the world over, inspiring imitation and acult-like following of millions of fans. Documenting the creationof the most popular and iconic music video of all time, this bookcelebrates the artist and his music at the top of his career. Famed photographer Douglas Kirkland and journalist Nancy Griffinwere the only members of the media allowed on the set of the video.The resulting photos capture Jackson both in high performance modeand relaxing on the set and depict his transformation into thecharacters in the video as well capturing the public and privatefaces of Michael Jackson.