Selected from blog posts from 2006-present, This Generation tells the story of modern China from Han Han`s unique perspective. Writing on topics as diverse as racing, prostitution, & how to be a patriot, Han Han has written a diary that is not only invaluable for the English-speaking world to understand our rising Eastern partner & rival, but which will long be remembered as a millennial time capsule. The core of this anthology is drawn from the collection Qingchun (Youth), published in Taipei in 2010, but it also contains a sprinkling of both older & more recent pieces. Presented in chronological order, the sequence opens with a handful of early posts; it excerpts Han Han`s work more fully beginning in 2008, the year when he really hit his stride & his blog commanded a larger & larger audience in the run-up to the Beijing Olympics. The anthology closes with Han Han`s controversial cluster of essays posted in the final days of 2011. ...

If you had told Helen two years ago that she would be getting up at 6 a.m. on Sundays to swim in a freezing reservoir & spending her Saturday nights unshowered & covered in mud in a pub, she would have spat out her champagne. But when everyone around you starts settling down, what else is a glamorous party girl to do but to launch herself into the world of endurance sport? For someone who didn`t even own a pair of flat shoes (and definitely no waterproofs), Helen would soon find she had a lot to learn. Join Helen on her hilarious & soul-searching journey as she swaps a life of cocktail bars & dating for the challenges & exhilaration of triathlons, trail runs, obstacle races, long-distance cycles & ocean swims... & sets herself the seemingly impossible goal of qualifying as a Team GB triathlete. ...

As Karl Maier makes clear in the preface to his diligent, urgent study of Africa`s largest nation, Nigeria is not a developing country, but an under-developing one. Rich in natural resources, since the British departed in 1960, ”the bastard son of imperialism” has gone from being the premier African voice to a dissenting cacophony made up of its various ethnic, geographic & religious groupings. At the start of the new Millennium, Nigeria looks in danger of succumbing to regionalism, the alter ego of globalisation, & could descend into a disastrous turmoil of regional violence unprecedented since the Biafran war. This is the third, & worst, scenario envisaged by Maier, as he concludes what is a richly researched & vigorous survey of the country & its people. Maier was an African correspondent for Western newspapers for 10 years, & reported from Nigeria from 1991 to 1993. He opens his account with the inauguration of President Olusegun Obasanjo in 1999, following it with swift analyses of historic Nigerian tensions, such as election monitoring, the numerous military coups, the battle of the Ogoni people in the Niger delta against oil producers & their own government, religious tensions between Muslims & non-Muslim communities, Sharia rule & the survival of the Igbo people. ...

This House is Not for Sale is a story about a house in an African neighbourhood, the Family House, owned & ruled over by the patriarchal, business-minded Grandpa
- by turns benevolent & cruel
- & home to his wives, children, grandchildren, & the many in his service. It tells the stories of the people who live there, of the curse placed on the house by one of its former occupants, of the evil & brutality that transpires there, & finally of its downfall. By the acclaimed author of Voice of America, This House is Not for Sale is a brilliantly inventive debut novel which draws on the rich oral traditions of Nigeria & is full of wisdom & dark humour. From everyday violence & magic, to the voices of gossiping neighbours, here is an utterly engrossing story of an African community, its culture & traditions, & the power of storytelling.

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Reporting from the cutting edge of scientific discovery, today`s visionary thinkers target the greatest roadblocks to innovation. Few truly new ideas are developed without first abandoning old ones. In the past, discoveries often had to wait for the rise of the next generation to see questions in a new light & let go of old truisms. Today, in a world that is defined by a rapid rate of change, staying on the cutting edge has as much to do with shedding outdated notions as adopting new ones. In this spirit, John Brockman, publisher of the online salon Edge.org (”the world`s smartest website”--The Guardian), asked 175 of the world`s most influential scientists, economists, artists, & philosophers: What scientific idea is ready for retirement? Jared Diamond explores the diverse ways that new ideas emerge * Nassim Nicholas Taleb takes down the standard deviation * Richard Thaler & novelist Ian Mc Ewan reveal the usefulness of ”bad” ideas * Steven Pinker dismantles the working theory of human behavior * Richard Dawkins renounces essentialism * Sherry Turkle reevaluates our expectations of artificial intelligence * Physicist Andrei Linde suggests that our universe & its laws may not be as unique as we think * Martin Rees explains why scientific understanding is a limitless goal * Alan Guth rethinks the origins of the universe * Sam Harris argues that our definition of science is too narrow * Nobel Prize winner Frank Wilczek disputes the division between mind & matter * Lawrence Krauss challenges the notion that the laws of physics were preordained * plus contributions from Daniel Goleman, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, Nicholas Carr, Rebecca Newberger Goldstein, Matt Ridley, Stewart Br&, Sean Carroll, Daniel C. Dennett, Helen Fisher, Douglas Rushkoff, Lee Smolin, Kevin Kelly, Freeman Dyson, & others. ...

This is a Horrible Book of Foul Facts serves up all the dreadful details of horrible history you`ll ever need to know
- from rotten
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From protests around climate change & immigrant rights, to Occupy, the Arab Spring, & Black Lives Matter, a new generation is unleashing strategic nonviolent action to shape public debate & force political change. When mass movements erupt onto our television screens, the media consistently portrays them as being spontaneous & unpredictable. Yet, in this book, Mark & Paul Engler look at the hidden art behind such outbursts of protest, examining core principles that have been used to spark & guide moments of transformative unrest. With incisive insights from contemporary activists, as well as fresh revelations about the work of groundbreaking figures such as Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr., Gene Sharp, & Frances Fox Piven, the Englers show how people with few resources & little conventional influence are engineering the upheavals that are reshaping contemporary politics. Nonviolence is usually seen simply as a philosophy or moral code. This Is an Uprising shows how it can instead be deployed as a method of political conflict, disruption, & escalation. It argues that if we are always taken by surprise by dramatic outbreaks of revolt, we pass up the chance to truly understand how social transformation happens. ...

A celebration of the joyful soul of Brazil though its evocative, vibrant cuisine, as seen in the 6-part SBS television series. Sprawling over 8 million square kilometres, Brazil is as massive as it is majestic. From the mighty Amazon to the gauchos in the south, it`s a country whose passionate people & unforgettable scenery excite the world`s imagination. As interest builds in Brazil in the lead up to the 2014 World Cup (and the 2016 Olympic Games), this book showcases the unique interplay of food & culture across this vibrant country. With recipes covering every day snacks, lunches & dinners as well as entertaining & drinks, This is Brazil conveys the essence of Brazilian lifestyle & cooking with beautiful & vibrant photography & recipes for every occasion. Try street snacks like empanadas & croquettes, classics like the black bean & pork stew Feijoada & Churrasco, the famous Brazilian BBQ, as well as less well known but equally delicious dishes such as deep fried chicken with white wine & lemon, salt cod salad & black eyed pea fritters with prawns. & don`t forget to finish off with cocktails & desserts like coconut & sago pudding! Packed with recipes, stories & stunning photography, This is Brazil, will take you to the joyful soul of this magnificent nation. ...

` Painfully funny. The pain & the funniness somehow add up to something entirely good, entirely noble & entirely loveable.`
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The true story of a fiery young woman`s heartwarming & hilarious journey that takes her from near-death in California to a trip around the world in search of her ultimate salvation. Along the way, she discovers a world of cultural mayhem, radical medical treatment, &, most importantly, a piece of her life she never even knew she was missing. When Amy B. Scher was struck with undiagnosed late-stage, chronic Lyme disease, the best physicians in America labeled her condition incurable & potentially terminal. Deteriorating rapidly, she went on a search to save her own life-from the top experts in Los Angeles & the world-renowned Mayo Clinic in Minneapolis to a state-of-the-art hospital in Chicago. After exhausting all of her options in the US, she discovered a possible cure-but it was highly experimental, only available in India, & had as much of a probability of killing her as it did of curing her. Knowing the risks, Amy packed her bags anyway & flew across the world hoping to find the ultimate cure. This Is How I Save My Life is a powerful & uplifting story of sheer determination for anyone who believes in-or doubts-the existence of miracles & the infinite power of self-healing when it seems like all hope is lost. ...