From October to December of 1888, Paul Gauguin shared a yellowhouse in the south of France with Vincent van Gogh. They were theodd couple of the art world -- one calm, the other volatile -- andthe denouement of their living arrangement was explosive. Makinguse of new evidence and Van Goghs voluminous correspondence, MartinGayford describes not only how these two hallowed artists paintedand exchanged ideas, but also the texture of their everyday lives.Gayford also makes a persuasive analysis of Van Goghs mentalillness -- the probable bipolar affliction that led him to commitsuicide at the age of thirty-seven. The Yellow House is a singularbiographical work, as dramatic and vibrant as the work of thesebrilliant artists.

A PRESIDENTIAL DYNASTY. AN ARAB TERRORIST ATTACK. DEMOCRACYUNDER SIEGE. Mario Puzo envisioned it all in his eerily prescient1991 novel, The Fourth K. President Francis Xavier Kennedy is elected to office, in largepart, thanks to the legacy of his forebears–good looks, privilege,wealth–and is the very embodiment of youthful optimism. Too soon,however, he is beaten down by the political process and, disabusedof his ideals, he becomes a leader totally unlike what he has beenbefore. When his daughter becomes a pawn in a brutal terrorist plot,Kennedy, who has obsessively kept alive the memory of his uncles’assassinations, activates all his power to retaliate in a series ofviolent measures. As the explosive events unfold, the world andthose closest to him look on with both awe and horror.

The philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau burst unexpectedly ontothe eighteenth-century literary scene as a provocateur whose workselectrified readers. An autodidact who had not written anything ofsignificance by age thirty, Rousseau seemed an unlikely candidateto become one of the most influential thinkers in history. Yet thepower of his ideas is felt to this day in our political and sociallives. In a masterly and definitive biography, Leo Damrosch traces theextraordinary life of Rousseau with novelistic verve. He presentsRousseau's books -- The Social Contract, one of the greatest workson political theory; Emile, a groundbreaking treatise on education;and the Confessions, which created the genre of introspectiveautobiography -- as works uncannily alive and provocative eventoday. Jean-Jacques Rousseau offers a vivid portrait of thevisionary’s tumultuous life.

Elizabeth Taylor passed away on March 23, 2011 in Los Angelesat the age of 79. For decades, Elizabeth Taylor has been a part of our lives. Nowacclaimed biographer J. Randy Taraborrelli looks past the tabloidversion of Elizabeth's life and offers the first‐ever fullyrealized portrait of this American icon. You'll meet hercontrolling mother who plotted her daughter's success from birth,see the qualities that catapulted Elizabeth to stardom in 1940sHollywood, understand the psychological and emotional underpinningsbehind the eight marriages, and, finally, rejoice in Elizabeth'smost bravura performance of all: the new success in family,friendships, and philanthropy she achieved despite substance abuseand chronic illness. It's the story of the woman you thought youknew, and now can finally understand.

In honor of the sixtieth anniversary of the end of World War II,Nobel Prize winner Winston Churchill's essential, abridged memoirsof that time are reintroduced with an updated cover and a new lowprice. The quintessence of the war as seen by it's greatest player,in a one-volume abridged edition that captures all the drama of theoriginal volumes.

In this elegant collection of essays, one of modernliterature's most enchanting masters reminisces about Italy'santifascist resistance and the whirl of ideas that blossomed in thepost-war era. In America, Calvino follows Nixon's election hopeswhile marvelling at colour television and American cars, butdescribes with loathing his first experience of mass racism, whenhe is lucky enough to meet Martin Luther King in Alabama. He alsowrites brilliant short pieces on his Italian dialect, the final dayof the Second World War, and the rich joys of living inParis. A stylish assortment of memoir and wit, Hermit in Paris includesthe very finest of Calvino's superb work.

Marine General Tony Zinni was known as the "Warrior Diplomat"during his nearly forty years of service. As a soldier, hiscredentials were impeccable, whether leading troops in Vietnam,commanding hair-raising rescue operations in Somalia, or-asCommander-in-Chief of CENTCOM-directing strikes against Iraq and AlQaeda. But it was as a peacemaker that he made just as great amark-conducting dangerous troubleshooting missions all over Africa,Asia, and Europe; and then serving as Secretary of State ColinPowell's special envoy to the Middle East, before disagreementsover the 2003 Iraq War and its probable aftermath caused him toresign. This is his story-and that of his beloved Marine Corps-from thecauldron of Vietnam to the realities of the post-9/11 military, astold by none other than Tom Clancy.

In her acclaimed collections Happy Family and Music Minus One,Jane Shore traced her life from childhood to coming of age toparenthood. Now, in A Yes-or-No Answer, Shore etches thepersistence of the past in a life that has moved into a mature newphase as a member of the baby boom generation. Recalling her Jewishchildhood in New Jersey, living in the apartment above the family'sclothing store, Shore lovingly imagines her parents, now gone,reunited with relatives over a Scrabble board in the afterlife. Thepoet's teenage daughter sorts through the "vintage" clothes of hermother's own hippie days. Cherished items left behind -- an addressbook, a piano, an easy chair, a favorite doll -- continue to hauntthe living. The poems in A Yes-or-No Answer dignify memory throughprecise detail, with a voice that will resonate for a generation ata crossroads.

Revered for his strength of character when Britain stood aloneagainst Nazi Germany, Winston Churchill is painted as one of WorldWar II's most heroic figures-a characterization that overshadowshis faults, which have had their own devastating legacy. This book examines the decisions and policies of Churchillbetween June 1940 and December 1941 that actually hindered theAllied cause, extended the conflict, and even destabilized severalregions that remain in chaos to this day. With profound insight into Churchill's early colonial experiencesas well as his first tenure as First Lord of the Admiralty,Christopher Catherwood offers an honest appraisal of Churchill'sstrategies in a unique and fascinating perspective that separatesthe myth from the man.

Since his release from prison in 1990, Nelson Mandela hasemerged as the world's most significant moral leader since Gandhi.As president of the African National Congress and spiritualfigurehead of the anti-apartheid movement, he was instrumental inmoving South Africa towards black-majority rule. He is reveredthroughout the world as a vital force for human rights and racialequality. Mandela's riveting memoirs, A LONG WALK TO FREEDOM , werefirst published in 1994 to universal acclaim. This excitingillustrated edition now portrays his life in words and pictures.Vivid de*ions of his childhood environment, earlyJohannesburg, life in the townships, Robben Island and the events,protests, historic trials and acts of vengeance that forged hisdestiny are now accompanied by haunting and dramatic photographsthat illuminate his story in an unforgettable way.

Modern views of Columbus are overshadowed by guilt about pastconquests. Credit for discovering the New World, we are told,belongs to its original inhabitants rather than any European, andColumbus gave those inhabitants nothing apart from death, diseaseand destruction. Yet for the Old World of Europe the four voyagesof Columbus brought revelation where before there had been onlymyths and guesswork. People had thought it was only the greatdistance that made it impossible to reach Asia sailing west fromSpain. No one had predicted that a vast continent stood in the way.And indeed, for Columbus himself, the revolution of understandingwas too much to comprehend. He had counted on a new route to Asiathat would bring him glory, riches and titles, and the thought ofan unknown and undeveloped continent held no attractions. Thetrials and disappointments of the great explorer are graphicallydetailed in this biography first published in 1828, when WashingtonIrving was America's most famous writer.

IndexGr 5-7--First published in Britain, these two slim overviews of the composers' lives have visually interesting page layouts with plenty of full-color drawings, photographs, and engravings to catch readers' eyes. Sidebars give additional details on people, historical events, and artistic movements mentioned in the text. While the highly attractive presentations might lift these titles from being strictly report fodder to the level of general interest, the narratives are not easy reading. The historical references and vocabulary make them appropriate for an older audience than the 32-page format might suggest. Of the two, Introducing Mozart is the more compelling. The "divine boy" is a far more fascinating figure than the pious Bach. While both books place their subjects in context of their times and make a case for their stature and continued relevance in a modern world, readers with the sophistication to handle these introductions will want more substantive treatments. 作者简介： Roland

A secret life, A tragic death, A towering legacy. 有人这样形容他：“他英年早逝却成就颇丰，他的研究让他青史留名”。他就是阿兰?图灵，二十世纪的一位伟大人物。然而，在70年代之前，他的名字还不为人知，因为他在破译德国英格玛(enigma)密码机方面的贡献还没有被公开。图灵的故事令人着迷，而在他自杀之后，他的名气不降反升，因为人们更加深刻地认识到他对逻辑学、数学、计算、人工智能以及计算生物学所做出的贡献。为纪念图灵诞辰一百周年，特将图灵母亲所著的传记再版。数学家马丁?戴维斯为该版重新作序，另外此版还附上了首次公布的图灵哥哥的回忆录。但哥哥的回忆录和图灵母亲的传记之间的差别透露出了矛盾，也可以使读者从新的角度了解图灵本人，以及图灵和家人的关系。 阿兰?图灵传奇的一生虽引人注意，但了解他生平详情的人并不多。他的母

Sometimes it seems as though I've waited my entirelife to bephotographed by Terry Richardson. With Terry,the relationshipextends beyond the photograph, andif you're really lucky he willteach you something trulyprofound about yourself. I have discoveredthrough himthat "shame" is an obsolete notion and "apology"is aninjustice to any performance. Perhaps it is hiskind eyes behindthose famous glasses, or the gigglingnoise he makes at 4:30 in themorning when he's caughtme in bed. Click, giggle, click, click,click, "beautiful." To sayhe is a free spirit is a tremendousunderstatement, andto say that he (or I) make people uncomfortable,is spot on.We share these things in common. However, it is uniquetoTerry and his subjects that there are no limitations.At all. Hisheart is too wide. He makes me wantto widen my own.

A comprehensive, authoritative, in depth andentertaining biography of one of the greatest and most influentialfantasy authors in modern time, J.R.R. Tolkien. In this informed an entertaining account, renowned biographerMichael White delves into the little-known life of one of the mosttreasured and enduring authors of our time, J.R.R. Tolkien. In absorbing and revealing detail, White describes Tolkien'slife -- from his childhood years and the tragic early death of hisparents; his burgeoning romance with Edith Brett; fighting on thefront lines in WWII; his many years as an Oxford academic, wherethe idea of the Hobbit struck him while marking a term paper; tohis friendship with C.S. Lewis and the founding of the group "TheInklings"; and why The Lord of the Rings became the mostinfluential book in the late sixties counter-culture, one of themost respected and most-read trilogies ever written, and the centerof a major film phenomenon. With 16 pages of black and white photos.

Jack Welch is perhaps the greatest corporate leader of the20th century. When he first became CEO of General Electric in 1981the company was worth $12 billion. Twenty years later it is worth atotal of $280 billion. But Welch was more than just the leader ofthe most successful business in the world. He revolutionised GE'sentire corporate culture with his distinctive, highly personalmanagement style: the individual appreciation of each of his 500managers, the commitment to an informal but driven work style andthe encouragement of candour were all part of the Welch approach.Following John Harvey Jones's "Making It Happen" and"Troubleshooter", "Jack" has already become the businessman's Biblefor the 21st century - an inspiration for a new generation ofcorporate players.

In 1803, when the United States purchased Louisiana from France,the great expanse of this new American territory was a blank -- notonly on the map but in our knowledge. President Thomas Jeffersonkeenly understood that the course of the nation's destiny laywestward and that a national "Voyage of Discovery" must be mountedto determine the nature and accessibility of the frontier. Hecommissioned his young secretary, Meriwether Lewis, to lead anintelligence-gathering expedition from the Missouri River to thenorthern Pacific coast and back. From 1804 to 1806, Lewis,accompanied by co-captain William Clark, the Shoshone guideSacajawea, and thirty-two men, made the first trek across theLouisiana Purchase, mapping the rivers as he went, tracing theprincipal waterways to the sea, and establishing the American claimto the territories of Idaho, Washington, and Oregon. together thecaptains kept a journal, a richly detailed record of the flora andfauna they sighted, the Indian tribes they encountered, and theawe-inspiring

At the end of herbestselling memoir "Eat, Pray, Love", Elizabeth Gilbert fell inlove with Felipe -- a Brazilian-born man of Australian citizenshipwho'd been living in Indonesia when they met. Resettling inAmerica, the couple swore eternal fidelity to each other, but alsoswore to never, ever, under any circumstances get legally married.(Both survivors of difficult divorces. Enough said.) But providenceintervened one day in the form of the U.S. government, who -- afterunexpectedly detaining Felipe at an American border crossing --gave the couple a choice: they could either get married, or Felipewould never be allowed to enter the country again. Having beeneffectively sentenced to wed, Gilbert tackled her fears of marriageby delving completely into this topic, trying with all her might todiscover (through historical research, interviews and much personalreflection) what this stubbornly enduring old institution actuallyis. The result is "Committed" - a witty and intelligentcontemplation of marriage that de

Internationally acclaimed neurosurgeon Dr Eben Alexander always considered himself a man of science. His unwavering belief in evidence-based medicine fuelled a career in the top medical institutions of the world. But all this was set to change. One morning in 2008 he fell into a coma after suffering a rare form of bacterial meningitis. Scans of his brain revealed massive damage. Death was deemed the most likely outcome. As his family prepared themselves for the worst, something miraculous happened. Dr Alexander's brain went from near total inactivity to awakening. He made a full recovery but he was never the same. He woke certain of the infinite reach of the soul, he was certain of a life beyond death. In this astonishing book, Dr Alexander shares his experience, pieced together from the notes he made as soon as he was able to write again. Unlike other accounts of near-death experiences, he is able to explain in depth why his brain was incapable of fabricating the journey he experienced.