Book picks similar to
Little Emperors: A Year with the Future of China by JoAnn Dionne


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That'd Be Right


William McInnes - 2008
    Both funny and insightful That'd Be Right is part memoir, part personal history of Australia over the last thirty years. It's a biographical trip told through sport, and families and William's own experiences. He writes: 'As with A Man's Got to Have a Hobby I weave in and around the events that have held such fascination for this country over the last thirty years or so, connecting them all with the progression of a life.' Some of these events would be considered momentous, some small and personal. And all are seen through William's eyes. They range from a day at the Melbourne Cup with his mother where too many champagnes and too few winners were picked; a swimming carnival early in the morning after a gloomy and long federal election the night before; watching truly surreal Grand Final moments in a pub with a group of odd and unknown bar companions. William also writes about a night at the cricket with his son, which shows how things can change and oddly come full circle.

No Holds Barred: Ultimate Fighting and the Martial Arts Revolution


Clyde Gentry - 2002
    They fought one-against-one in an octagonal cage where they could punch, kick, knee, elbow, head butt and choke. "There are no rules!" proclaimed the organizers. The Ultimate Fighting Championship was born-and the mystique of traditional martial arts had died.For thousands of years, the fighting arts had been shrouded in mystery and deceit. Secrets were jealously guarded, while blood-curdling claims were made of lethal techniques and even supernatural powers. Each style or system asserted that it was the best, its masters unbeatable.By matching experts in different arts against each other, the Ultimate Fighting Championship exploded many of these myths. Black belts and flashy moves proved no match for the skill and technique of a new breed of athletic warrior.In just over a decade, no-holds-barred fighting-otherwise known as mixed martial arts-has gone from a novelty spectacle to a worldwide sport. It has produced its own superstars like the Gracie family, Ken and Frank Shamrock, Maurice Smith and Randy Couture. It has also attracted massive condemnation from the media and run the gauntlet of police raids and banning orders. Its critics labeled it "human cockfighting." It was pursued from state to state, excoriated by campaigners and banned by politicians. Through it all, the sport has continued to thrive, spreading across the globe.Author and journalist Clyde Gentry has interviewed more than 100 key figures to produce the definitive account of the world's most controversial and misunderstood sport and of the fighting men who dare to enter the octagon.

The Routes of Man: How Roads Are Changing the World and the Way We Live Today


Ted Conover - 2010
    Roads bind our world--metaphorically and literally--transforming landscapes and the lives of the people who inhabit them. Roads have unparalleled power to impact communities, unite worlds and sunder them, and reveal the hopes and fears of those who travel them. With his marvelous eye for detail and his contagious enthusiasm, Ted Conover explores six of these key byways worldwide. In Peru, he traces the journey of a load of rare mahogany over the Andes to its origin, an untracked part of the Amazon basin soon to be traversed by a new east-west route across South America. In East Africa, he visits truckers whose travels have been linked to the worldwide spread of AIDS. In the West Bank, he monitors highway checkpoints with Israeli soldiers and then passes through them with Palestinians, witnessing the injustices and danger borne by both sides. He shuffles down a frozen riverbed with teenagers escaping their Himalayan valley to see how a new road will affect the now-isolated Indian region of Ladakh. From the passenger seat of a new Hyundai piling up the miles, he describes the exuberant upsurge in car culture as highways proliferate across China. And from inside an ambulance, he offers an apocalyptic but precise vision of Lagos, Nigeria, where congestion and chaos on freeways signal the rise of the global megacity. A spirited, urgent book that reveals the costs and benefits of being connected--how, from ancient Rome to the present, roads have played a crucial role in human life, advancing civilization even as they set it back.

The English Roses: Classic Favorites and New Selections


David Austin - 1993
    He has spent decades creating and perfecting his roses, which combine the charm and fragrance of the Old Roses with the repeat-flowering and wide color range of the traditional tea roses, also called Modern Roses.David Austin English Roses are vigorous, hardy, heat-resistant and disease-free. The bushes have a pleasant rounded habit and bear large, delicately scented blooms throughout the summer. The relative ease of growing a David Austin English Rose has inspired gardeners everywhere to try their hand. Interest in North America was so overwhelming that in 1999, the company opened an office in Tyler, Texas, which ships to the USA and Canada.The roses are organized into seven classification groups. Each rose profile features a description and cultivation techniques opposite a stunning full-page photograph. There are 32 new photographs, 22 of them of the new varieties released between 2011 and 2016. They are:Old Rose Hybrids - Sir Walter Scott, The Poet's Wife, The Lady Gardener, Lady Salisbury, Queen Anne The Leander Group - Bathsheba, The Ancient Mariner, Olivia Rose Austin, Fighting Temperaire, Carolyn Knight, Boscobel The English Musk Roses - Roald Dahl, Desdemona, The Lark Ascending, Tranquility, William and Catherine The English Alba Hybrids - Royal Jubilee Some Other English Roses - Imogen, Thomas A Becket The Climbing English Rose - The Lady of the Lake, The Albrighton Rambler, Wollerton Old Hall The English Cut-flower Roses.David also recounts how he set out to create the English roses, beginning with his first, the fragrant Constance Spry, released in 1961. In eloquent prose he reveals his passion for these roses and his lifelong dedication to their improvement. He describes their growth habits, flower form, foliage and name origin, and provides valuable cultivation tips and instruction on how to cut and arrange roses.This book displays beautifully why David Austin English Roses are beloved by gardeners everywhere. It is an essential selection for every rose lover and gardener. Artists will enjoy it for the glorious photographs.

Laboring: Stories of a New York City Hospital Midwife


Ellen Cohen - 2013
    In this compelling first-person narrative she transports you into her world at the bedside in the maternity wards where childbirth dramas take place. In the challenging environment of urban clinics and crowded labor rooms the midwife strives to bring personalized care, dignity and a sense of empowerment to every patient. Like an updated U.S. version of "Call the Midwife," the British best seller and television series, this book describes some of the most unforgettable births, the most heartwarming -- and the rare heartbreaking -- experiences of her career. Memorable patients include Mia, a mentally ill woman whose stomach ache turns out to be a baby; teenager Shaniqua who breezes through birth despite her youth; and Jeremiah, a little boy born HIV-infected who captures the love of the entire staff. Through these stories, readers will gain insight into many variations in pregnancy and birth, and learn what is special about the midwifery approach to care. You may be surprised to learn how similar Cohen's patients' childbirth experiences were to your own, and where they differed.

China Safari: On the Trail of Beijing's Expansion in Africa


Serge Michel - 2008
    Where others only see chaos, the Chinese see opportunities. With no colonial past and no political preconditions, China is bringing investment and needed infrastructure to a continent that has been largely ignored by Western companies or nations.Traveling from Beijing to Khartoum, Algiers to Brazzaville, the authors tell the story of China’s economic ventures in Africa. What they find is tantamount to a geopolitical earthquake: The possibility that China will help Africa direct its own fate and finally bring light to the so-called “dark continent,” making it a force to be reckoned with internationally.

Reader's Companion to the Diary of a Young Girl, Anne Frank: New Translation Edited by Otto H. Frank and Mirjam Pressler: The Definitive Edition


Otto H. Frank - 1995
    slip stapled paperback, 40 pages.

The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World 2008


Bob Sehlinger - 1985
    Includes area maps. Original.

The Bullet and the Ballot Box: The Story of Nepal's Maoist Revolution


Aditya Adhikari - 2014
    When Nepal’s Maoists launched their armed rebellion in the nineties, they had limited public support and many argued that their ideology was obsolete. Twelve years later they were in power, and their ambitious plan of social transformation dominated the national agenda. How did this become possible? Adhikari’s narrative draws on a broad range of sources – including novels, letters and diaries – to illuminate the history and human drama of the Maoist revolution.An indispensible account of Nepal’s recent history, the book offers a fascinating case study of how communist ideology has been reinterpreted and translated into political action in the twenty-first century.

Powder Wars: The Supergrass who Brought Down Britain's Biggest Drug Dealers


Graham Johnson - 2004
    Any villains who got in his way were made to pay - often with their blood. But when his son died of a drugs overdose, the old-school mobster swore revenge on the new generation of Liverpool-based heroin and cocaine dealers. Against all odds, he turned undercover informant. The first gangster to fall foul of Grimes' change of heart was Curtis Warren, aka 'Cocky', the wealthiest and most successful criminal in British history. Grimes infiltrated his cocaine cartel and led Customs to the largest narcotics seizure on record, putting Warren in the dock in the drugs trial of the twentieth century. After turning his attention to heroin baron John Haase, Grimes rose to become the boss of the villain's notoriously bloodthirsty 'security firm' - a professional gang of racketeers addicted to cocaine, explosive violence and non-stop criminality. But as his net began to tighten, Grimes was confronted with the ultimate dilemma. He discovered his second son was now a rising star in the drugs business. The life-or-death question was: should he shop him or not?Powder Wars also reveals the secrets behind one of the most controversial episodes in British judicial history - how former Home Secretary Michael Howard was duped into granting John Haase a Royal Pardon.Today, Paul Grimes has a £100,000 contract on his head and is a real-life dead man walking. Powder Wars is a riveting account of modern gangsters told in brutal detail.

The Beautiful Game: Sixteen Girls and the Soccer Season That Changed Everything


Jonathan Littman - 1998
    They were a ragtag team of girls who wanted to play soccer, and no one took them seriously. Their male coach expected little from his "ladies, " and their mediocre performance convinced them he was right.Then a kind of miracle happened. Emiria Salzmann, Thunder's new coach, a top player herself, knew what it took to win--discipline, relentless drills, thigh-burning sprints, and an inspired passing game. The girls hated it, but their coach never let up. Tough and determined, she showed them what it felt like to be winners--and they loved it. As the momentum grew with a string of victories, the girls thrived on the competition, believing they had the right stuff to become champions.They were right! With spirits soaring, Thunder won its league on the last day of the season and headed for the state cup, emerging not just as powerful athletes but as strong, confident, emotionally healthy human beings--champions in the game of soccer, and in the game of life.

Overbooked: The Exploding Business of Travel and Tourism


Elizabeth Becker - 2013
    Employing one out of twelve people in the world and producing $6.5 trillion of the world’s economy, it is the main source of income for many countries. Elizabeth Becker describes the dimensions of this industry and its huge effect on the world economy, the environment, and our culture. Tourism, fast becoming the largest global business, employs one out of twelve persons and produces $6.5 trillion of the world’s economy. In a groundbreaking book, Elizabeth Becker uncovers how what was once a hobby has become a colossal enterprise with profound impact on countries, the environment, and cultural heritage. This invisible industry exploded at the end of the Cold War. In 2012 the number of tourists traveling the world reached one billion. Now everything can be packaged as a tour: with the high cost of medical care in the U.S., Americans are booking a vacation and an operation in countries like Turkey for a fraction of the cost at home. Becker travels the world to take the measure of the business: France invented the travel business and is still its leader; Venice is expiring of over-tourism. In Cambodia, tourists crawl over the temples of Angkor, jeopardizing precious cultural sites. Costa Rica rejected raising cattle for American fast-food restaurants to protect their wilderness for the more lucrative field of eco-tourism. Dubai has transformed a patch of desert in the Arabian Gulf into a mammoth shopping mall. Africa’s safaris are thriving, even as its wildlife is threatened by foreign poachers. Large cruise ships are spoiling the oceans and ruining city ports as their American-based companies reap handsome profits through tax loopholes. China, the giant, is at last inviting tourists and sending its own out in droves. The United States, which invented some of the best of tourism, has lost its edge due to political battles. Becker reveals travel as product. Seeing the tourism industry from the inside out, through her eyes and ears, we experience a dizzying range of travel options though very few quiet getaways. Her investigation is a first examination of one of the largest and potentially most destructive enterprises in the world.

The Workbench: A Complete Guide to Creating Your Perfect Bench


Lon Schleining - 2004
     This is a fresh look at the classic subject with a focus on helping readers find the right bench and accessories for their needs. The object is to guide the reader through making critical choices, including whether to buy it or build it. Even long-time woodworkers dream of the perfect bench and the time to build it, and for them, the real enjoyment is in the planning. With nearly 300 photos and drawings, The Workbench provides in-depth information along with the inspiration to fulfill workshop dreams.

The Writer as Migrant


Ha Jin - 2008
    Thirty years later, a resident of the United States, he won the National Book Award for his novel Waiting, completing a trajectory that has established him as one of the most admired exemplars of world literature. Ha Jin’s journey raises rich and fascinating questions about language, migration, and the place of literature in a rapidly globalizing world—questions that take center stage in The Writer as Migrant, his first work of nonfiction. Consisting of three interconnected essays, this book sets Ha Jin’s own work and life alongside those of other literary exiles, creating a conversation across cultures and between eras. He employs the cases of Alexander Solzhenitsyn and Chinese novelist Lin Yutang to illustrate the obligation a writer feels to the land of his birth, while Joseph Conrad and Vladimir Nabokov—who, like Ha Jin, adopted English for their writing—are enlisted to explore a migrant author’s conscious choice of a literary language. A final essay draws on V. S. Naipaul and Milan Kundera to consider the ways in which our era of perpetual change forces a migrant writer to reconceptualize the very idea of home. Throughout, Jin brings other celebrated writers into the conversation as well, including W. G. Sebald, C. P. Cavafy, and Salman Rushdie—refracting and refining the very idea of a literature of migration. Simultaneously a reflection on a crucial theme and a fascinating glimpse at the writers who compose Ha Jin’s mental library, The Writer as Migrant is a work of passionately engaged criticism, one rooted in departures but feeling like a new arrival.

The Reluctant Farmer of Whimsey Hill


Bradford M. Smith - 2016
    That is what troubles animal-phobic, robotics engineer Smith who just got married. He learns that his bride’s dream is to have a farm where there are lots of animals and she can rescue ex-race horses to retrain and find them new homes. But according to a Meyers-Briggs Personality Test that they took for fun, their marriage is doomed. There is only one problem: the newlyweds took the test after the wedding. Whether Smith is chasing a cow named Pork Chop through the woods with a rope, getting locked in a tack room by the family pony, being snubbed by his wife’s dog, or unsuccessfully trying to modernize their barn using the latest technology, the odds are stacked against him. It seems like everything with four legs is out to get him. Will the animals win, forcing Smith to admit defeat, or will he fight to keep his family and the farm together? Enjoy the true, warm, and frequently hilarious stories of Smith’s journey along the bumpy road from his urban robotics lab to a new life on a rural Virginia farm.