Joining Nate in the fun at P.S. 38 are his best pals, Francis and Teddy. Whether he's setting the school record for detentions, earning an A for annoying teacher's pet Gina, or inventing new ways to trash talk during a chess tournament, Nate's talent for making mischief is second to none.

    The structure of global politics is shifting rapidly. After decades of rising, China has entered a new and critical phase where it seeks to turn its economic heft into global power. In this deeply informed book, Geoff Dyer makes a lucid and convincing argument that China and the United States are now embarking on a great power–style competition that will dominate the century. This contest will take place in every arena: from control of the seas, where China’s new navy is trying to ease the United States out of Asia and reassert its traditional leadership, to rewriting the rules of the global economy, with attempts to turn the renminbi into the predominant international currency, toppling the dominance of the U.S. dollar. And by investing billions to send its media groups overseas, Beijing hopes to shift the global debate about democracy and individual rights. Eyeing the high ground of international politics, China is taking the first steps in an ambitious global agenda. Yet Dyer explains how China will struggle to unseat the United States. China’s new ambitions are provoking intense anxiety, especially in Asia, while America’s global influence has deep roots. If Washington can adjust to a world in which it is no longer dominant but still immensely powerful, it can withstand China’s challenge. With keen insight based on a deep local knowledge—offering the reader visions of coastal Chinese beauty pageants and secret submarine bases, lockstep Beijing military parades and the neon media screens of Xinhua exported to New York City’s Times Square—The Contest of the Century is essential reading at a time of great uncertainty about America’s future, a road map for retaining a central role in the world.

    With Edward Lucie-Smith on Pop Art, Suzi Gablik on Minimal Art, Norbert Lynton on Expressionism, and Sarah Whitfield on Fauvism, to name a few, these scholarly essays illuminate each particular artistic movement of the century, and together form an entire history of modern art. 123 illus.

    From diverse backgrounds, they met at The Slade in London between 1908 and 1910, in what was later described as the school’s “last crisis of brilliance.” Between 1910 and 1918 they loved, talked, and fought; they admired, conspired, and sometimes disparaged each others’ artistic creations. They created new movements; they frequented the most stylish cafés and restaurants and founded a nightclub; they slept with their models and with prostitutes; and their love affairs descended into obsession, murder, and suicide.

    Examining visual art from 1980 to the present, it takes an intriguing and accessible approach that motivates students and other readers to think actively about and discuss contemporary art--what it means and how it means what it does. The opening chapter provides a concise overview of the period, analyzing how four key changes (the rise of new media, a growing awareness of diversity, the influence of theory, and interactions with everyday visual culture) have resulted in an art world with dramatically expanded boundaries. Reflecting the paradigm shift from a formalist way of teaching studio art to more varied and open-ended concepts, the remaining six chapters each deal with a key theme--time, place, the body, language, identity, and spirituality. Each chapter features an introduction to the thematic topic; a brief look at historical precedents and influences; a detailed analysis of how contemporary artists have responded to and embodied aspects of the theme in specific works; and an in-depth and fascinating profile of an artist who has extensively explored aspects of the theme in his or her work. Themes of Contemporary Art: Visual Art after 1980 shows how art can be interpreted from several different angles: techniques and materials, historical circumstances, aesthetic qualities, theoretical issues, and an artist's ideas and intentions. Writing in a lucid and engaging style, the authors skillfully reveal the multiple levels of meaning in artworks, drawing connections between contemporary art, art of the past, and everyday existence. The volume is enhanced by 87 illustrations--19 in full color--that demonstrate an immense variety of materials, subjects, and styles. These well-chosen examples will help readers learn to critically describe, interpret, and evaluate contemporary visual art. A bibliography and a timeline that situates contemporary art in the context of major events in world history, art, and popular culture are also included. An ideal core text for courses in contemporary art history, Themes of Contemporary Art: Visual Art after 1980 can also be used as a supplement in modern art, art appreciation, art criticism/theory, and studio art courses.

    All three are in their mid-thirties and have been unlucky in love. “Out of every ten replies I’ll probably get two perverts, two nerds, two frauds – usually married – and four genuine guys. Not a bad percentage really.” Claire is apprehensive about it and Megan downright sceptical but Viv, with her usual joie de vivre, takes to it with gusto. Many men and many dates later – from the boring to the bizarre – Viv thinks she has found her Mr Right. But does the course of true love ever run smooth? Meanwhile she coerces a doubtful Claire into joining the dating site too. Add to this mix Claire’s nasty sister Sarah who, bored with marriage, embraces online-dating with even more enthusiasm than Viv. Not to mention Megan’s thrice-married mother who’s looking for a toy boy not a husband . . . Is online dating the answer for all these women?

    Lies, myths, rumors and tall tales spread by people who didn’t know him have masked Jim Morrison and clouded what he accomplished. Fearing that the original, actual real Jim would become hopelessly lost, Frank Lisciandro, Jim’s friend and film collaborator, gathered together more than a dozen of Morrison’s friends for a series of conversations and interviews. In the transcripts of these talks Jim Morrison is candidly brought to light by the people who knew him, who were his pals, colleagues, mentors and lovers. Jim Morrison: Friends Gathered Together confronts and sweeps away the fantasy to illuminate an extraordinary man and gifted creative artist. A quote from the book: "To call him a rock star is just a total insult to him and his intelligence and his awareness and this philosophy that was inside of him. His life was a philosophy. He didn’t tell people what they have to do, he just did it himself. He just put it all out there."– Ron Alan The conversations covered a multitude of topics and events. The people who share their stories were themselves active participants in the West Coast music scene: musicians, concert promoters, publicists and band managers. Readers will discover funny stories, secrets revealed and truths more astounding than the fabrications published during and after Morrison’s life. Another quote from the book: “I loved Jim when he would get an idea, he'd say, ‘Uh oh, I think I'm getting a cerebral erection’. And then he'd hold his hands to his head because he had a new idea for a poem or song and then laugh about it. It was the laughter that followed that was wonderful.”– Leon Barnard From his first year in high school and his student days at UCLA to the formation of The Doors and his rise to fame, this book weaves an amazing tapestry of honest information about Morrison the poet, the brilliant lyricist, and the iconic singer and performer of The Doors. The book is a treat for Jim’s fans worldwide and for curious readers who want to know the true Jim Morrison story. The conversations also offer a unique oral history of the restless and turbulent Sixties when L.A.’s Sunset Strip was the focus of a cultural renaissance and musical revolution. The book contains more than 50 original Frank Lisciandro photographs, many never published before. More quotes from the book: "Jim was totally not interested in the economic aspect of his career. I never met anybody like Jim. He was seemingly disconnected with the meaning of money. He truly had no interest in physical possessions." – Bill Siddons “The biographers seem to have lost Jim’s sense of humor. I can’t impress upon you enough that it was always there….He was the funniest human being I ever met. Simply that, the funniest human being I ever met.” – Fud Ford "A few weeks before he left for Paris, I organized a (touch) football game. Jim was relentless in his pursuit of my brother, who was the opposing quarterback.

    Why does everyone look like they’re smashing motherhood when she’s barely made it out of the house? She’s usually covered in sick, eating yet another beige freezer dinner, and relying on wet wipes to clean the baby, herself and the house. And coffee. All the coffee. Surely she can’t be the only new mum totally winging it?Emily’s about to discover that when you’re starting a family, what you really need are your friends...

    This collection presents fifty large-scale artworks from the American master's color field period (1949–1970) alongside essays by Rothko's son, Christopher Rothko, and San Francisco Museum of Modern Art curator of painting and sculpture Janet Bishop. Featuring illuminating details about Rothko's life, influences, and legacy, and brimming with the emotional power and expressive color of his groundbreaking canvases, this essential volume brings the renowned artist's luminous work to light for both longtime Rothko fans and those discovering his work for the very first time. A textured case and large-scale tip-on on the front cover round out this sumptious package.

    This book offers a fresh perspective on various developments shaping our cultural history.

    Here nearly 200 illustrations--over 100 in color--make a fascinating collection.

    The Hall of Uselessness forms the most complete collection yet of Leys’ fascinating essays, from Quixotism to China, from the sea to literature.Leys feuds with Christopher Hitchens, ponders the popularity of Victor Hugo and analyses the posthumous publication of Nabokov’s unfinished novel. He offers valuable insights into Mao’s Cultural Revolution and the Khmer Rouge, and discusses Orwell, Waugh and Confucius. He considers the intertwined nature of Chinese art, culture and history alongside the joys and difficulties of literary translation. The Hall of Uselessness is an illuminating compendium from a brilliant and highly acclaimed writer – a long-time resident of Australia who is truly a global citizen.

    Now, for the first time, Olivia's work has been compiled into one deluxe book. Included are over 100 drawings and paintings, many previously unpublished, spanning the past fifteen years.

    But hip-hop deejays and producers have collectively developed an artistic system that features a complex aesthetic, a detailed array of social protocols, a rigorous set of ethical expectations and a rich historical consciousness. Based on ten years of research among hip-hop producers, Making Beats is the first work of scholarship to explore the goals, methods and values of this surprisingly insular community. Focusing on a variety of subjects--from hip-hop artists' pedagogical methods to the Afro-diasporic roots of the sampling process to the social significance of "digging" for rare records--Joseph G. Schloss examines the way hip-hop artists have managed to create a form of expression that reflects their creative aspirations, moral beliefs, political values and cultural realities.

    Braced for death, she finds herself instead saving a man's life - a young Chinese cockle picker, one of the only survivors of a tragic mass drowning.