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Life in Death: My Animated Films 1976-2020
by Dennis TupicoffDeath—the very word is resonant with emotion, imagery, and meaning. It is the ultimate life-event that all living things will eventually experience; as such, it comes as no surprise that death is often a popular theme of literature, art, games, cinema, music, and even animation. Dennis Tupicoff, world-renowned animator, writer, and producer, is an expert on the narrative application of death in animation. Take a journey with Tupicoff as he goes in-depth into the many themes, associations, and practices found in film and especially animation. Life in Death: My Animated Films 1976–2020 explores death as it relates to experience, storytelling, theory, and narrative. The examples in the very readable text are organized into three broad categories: cartoon, documentary, and hybrids of various types. KEY FEATURES Explores death as a narrative theme within cinema and animation Biographical insight into Dennis Tupicoff’s works and how the subject of death impacted these completed award-winning films Special online access to Dennis Tupicoff’s animated works In-depth exploration into ten of Dennis Tupicoff’s most influential animations
Life in Motion: An Unlikely Ballerina
by Misty CopelandWhen Misty Copeland first placed her hands on the ballet barre at an after-school community centre, no one expected the undersized, underprivileged and anxious thirteen-year-old to become one of America's most groundbreaking dancers. A true prodigy, she was attempting in months roles that take most dancers years to master. But when Misty became caught between the control and comfort she found in the world of ballet and the harsh realities of her own life, she had to choose to embrace both her identity and her dreams, and find the courage to be one of a kind.In this instant New York Times bestseller, Misty Copeland tells the story of her historic journey to become the first African-American principal ballerina at the prestigious American Ballet Theatre. With an insider's passion, Misty opens a window into the life of an artist who lives life centre stage, from behind the scenes at her first classes to her triumphant roles in some of the world's most iconic ballets. Life in Motion is a story of passion, identity and grace for anyone who has dared to dream of a different life.
Life in Motion: An Unlikely Ballerina
by Misty CopelandA bestselling and prizewinning memoir by African American ballerina Misty Copeland, Life in Motion is the vividly told story of her journey to the world-class American Ballet Theatre—and delves into the harrowing family conflicts that nearly drove her away from ballet as a thirteen-year-old prodigy.Determination meets dance in this New York Times bestselling memoir by the history-making ballerina Misty Copeland, recounting the story of her journey to become the first African-American principal ballerina at the prestigious American Ballet Theatre. When she first placed her hands on the barre at an after-school community center, no one expected the undersized, underprivileged, and anxious thirteen-year-old to become one of America&’s most groundbreaking dancers . A true prodigy, she was attempting in months roles that take most dancers years to master. But when Misty became caught between the control and comfort she found in the world of ballet and the harsh realities of her own life, she had to choose to embrace both her identity and her dreams, and find the courage to be one of a kind. With an insider&’s passion, Misty opens a window into the life of an artist who lives life center stage, from behind the scenes at her first classes to her triumphant roles in some of the world&’s most iconic ballets. A sensational memoir as &“sensitive&” and &“clear-eyed&” (The Washington Post) as her dancing, Life in Motion is a story of passion, identity and grace for anyone who has dared to dream of a different life.
Life in Motion: An Unlikely Ballerina Young Readers Edition
by Misty CopelandDetermination meets dance in this middle grade adaptation of the New York Times bestselling memoir by the first African-American principal dancer in American Ballet Theatre history, Misty Copeland.As the first African-American principal dancer at the American Ballet Theatre, Misty Copeland has been breaking down all kinds of barriers in the world of dance. But when she first started dancing--at the late age of thirteen--no one would have guessed the shy, underprivileged girl would one day make history in her field. Her road to excellence was not easy--a chaotic home life, with several siblings and a single mother, was a stark contrast to the control and comfort she found on stage. And when her home life and incredible dance promise begin to clash, Misty had to learn to stand up for herself and navigate a complex relationship with her mother, while pursuing her ballet dreams. Life in Motion is a story for all the kids who dare to be different, dream bigger, and want to break stereotypes in whatever they do.
Life isn't everything: Mike Nichols, as remembered by 150 of his closest friends.
by Sam Kashner Ash CarterAn up close and personal portrait of a legendary filmmaker, theater director, and comedian, drawing on candid conversations with his closest friends in show business and the arts—from Dustin Hoffman and Meryl Streep to Natalie Portman and Lorne Michaels.The work of Mike Nichols pervades American cultural consciousness—from The Graduate and Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? to Angels in America, The Birdcage, Working Girl, and Primary Colors, not to mention his string of hit plays, including Barefoot in the Park and The Odd Couple. If that weren’t enough, he was also one half of the timelessly funny duo Nichols & May, as well as a founding member of the original improv troupe. Over a career that spanned half a century, Mike Nichols changed Hollywood, Broadway, and comedy forever. Most fans, however, know very little of the person behind it all. Since he never wrote his memoirs, and seldom appeared on television, they have very little sense of his searching intellect or his devastating wit. They don't know that Nichols, the great American director, was born Mikail Igor Peschkowsky, in Berlin, and came to this country, speaking no English, to escape the Nazis. They don't know that Nichols was at one time a solitary psychology student, or that a childhood illness caused permanent, life-altering side effects. They don't know that he withdrew into a debilitating depression before he "finally got it right," in his words, by marrying Diane Sawyer.Here, for the first time, Ash Carter and Sam Kashner offer an intimate look behind the scenes of Nichols' life, as told by the stars, moguls, playwrights, producers, comics and crewmembers who stayed loyal to Nichols for years. Life Isn't Everything is a mosaic portrait of a brilliant and original director known for his uncommon charm, wit, vitality, and genius for friendship, this volume is also a snapshot of what it meant to be living, loving, and making art in the 20th century.
Life of P. T. Barnum, Written By Himself; Including His Golden Rules For Money-Making [Expanded 1888 edition]
by P. T. BarnumStep into the extraordinary life of one of America's most iconic showmen with P.T. Barnum's captivating autobiography, "Life of P.T. Barnum, Written By Himself; Including His Golden Rules For Money-Making." This remarkable memoir provides an intimate look at the life and career of Phineas Taylor Barnum, the mastermind behind "The Greatest Show on Earth," and offers invaluable insights into his philosophy on success and wealth.In his own words, P.T. Barnum recounts his journey from humble beginnings to becoming a legendary entrepreneur and master of entertainment. With wit, charm, and candor, Barnum shares the highs and lows of his career, from his early ventures and failures to his monumental successes in the world of circuses, museums, and public spectacles. His narrative is filled with colorful anecdotes, daring exploits, and behind-the-scenes stories that bring to life the vibrant world of 19th-century entertainment.Beyond the enthralling tales of his adventures, Barnum's autobiography includes his "Golden Rules For Money-Making," a set of practical and timeless principles for achieving financial success. These rules reflect Barnum's shrewd business acumen and his belief in the value of hard work, creativity, and ethical conduct. Readers will find inspiration and guidance in Barnum's advice on risk-taking, innovation, and maintaining a positive reputation."Life of P.T. Barnum" is not just a biography; it is a treasure trove of wisdom and a testament to the power of perseverance and ingenuity. Barnum's story is a celebration of the American spirit, highlighting the possibilities that arise from ambition, resilience, and a relentless pursuit of one's dreams.This book is an essential read for entrepreneurs, history enthusiasts, and anyone fascinated by the life of a man who transformed the entertainment industry. "Life of P.T. Barnum, Written By Himself" offers a unique blend of autobiography, business manual, and motivational guide, ensuring its place as a timeless classic in the literature of success.Join P.T. Barnum on a journey through his incredible life, and discover the principles that helped him build an empire. This engaging and insightful autobiography will inspire you to think big, embrace opportunities, and create your own path to success.
Life of a Song: The fascinating stories behind 50 of the worlds best-loved songs
by David Cheal Jan DalleyWho knew that Paul McCartney originally referred to Yesterday as 'Scrambled Eggs' because he couldn't think of any lyrics for his heart-breaking tune? Or that Patti LaBelle didn't know what 'Voulez-vous couches avec moi ce soir?' actually meant?These and countless other fascinating back stories of some of our best-known and best-loved songs fill this book, a collection of the highly successful weekly The Life of a Song columns that appear in the FT Weekend every Saturday. Each 600-word piece gives a mini-biography of a single song, from its earliest form (often a spiritual, or a jazz number), through the various covers and changes, often morphing from one genre to another, always focusing on the 'biography' of the song itself while including the many famous artists who have performed or recorded it.The selection covers a wide spectrum of the songs we all know and love - rock, pop, folk, jazz and more. Each piece is pithy, knowledgeable, entertaining, full of anecdotes and surprises. They combine deep musical knowledge with the vivid background of the performers and musicians, and of course the often intriguing social and political background against which the songs were created.
Life of the Party: Stories of a Perpetual Man-Child
by Bert KreischerA collection of outrageous stories by the standup comic, TV host, and inspiration for the movie National Lampoon’s Van Wilder.“Bert Kresicher is as fearless on the page as he is on the stage. Bert admits things in Life of the Party that most of us wouldn’t even admit to ourselves. Open to page one and let Bert Kreischer take you on a magical ride.” —Mick Foley, #1 New York Times–bestselling author of Foley Is GoodBert Kreischer doesn’t know how to say “no.” If he did, he wouldn’t have gotten himself mixed up with a group of Russian mobsters on a class trip to Moscow, earning him his nickname, “The Machine.” He wouldn’t have wrestled with a bear or swum with sharks on national television. He wouldn’t have (possibly) smoked PCP with a star of Saturday Night Live. And he wouldn’t have been named the Number One Partier in the Nation by Rolling Stone, inspired the movie National Lampoon’s Van Wilder, or have become one of the most in-demand touring comedians in the world, performing to sellout crowds across the country.The stories Kreischer shares in Life of the Party are a guidebook on how not to grow up. From his fraternity days at Florida State University to his rise as a stand-up to his marriage and first brushes with fatherhood, Kreischer shows you a path that may not lead you to maturity or personal growth. But it will lead you to a shitload of fun.“[Kreischer’s] affability and self-deprecation only lead to his charm, and the result is a genuinely hilarious look at life in the fast lane.” —Publishers Weekly
Life on Planet Rock
by Lonn FriendFor fans of heavy metal music, RIP magazine was a cultural touchstone, every bit as crucial in its day as Kerrang, NME or Rolling Stone. Lonn Friend, RIP's legendary editor, helped launch and revive the careers of innumerable acts - including Guns n' Roses, Metallica and Pearl Jam - and created some of the most enduring rock journalism of the decade, rivaling the best work of Lester Bangs and Cameron Crowe. In Life on Planet Rock, Friend describes in lucid and lurid detail how he became the Zelig-like chronicler of the biggest musical moments of the 80s and 90s, providing revealing portraits of artists as varied as Gene Simmons, Alice Cooper, Axl Rose, Jon Bon Jovi, Kurt Cobain, and Steven Tyler, among others. A candid and humorous memoir to appeal to fans of Motley Crue's The Dirt and Seb Hunter's Hell Bent For Leather, Life on Planet Rock is a wormhole back to a fast-moving time in music, filled with Dionysian excess and bombastic egos, told as only someone who was there through it all could tell it.
Life on a Plate: The Autobiography
by Gregg WallaceThe star presenter of BBC's MASTERCHEF tells his story for the first time.Gregg Wallace, star presenter of BBC's MASTERCHEF, restaurateur and expert on all things pudding, shares his story for the first time. After leaving school at 14, he started his career as a greengrocer at the New Covent Garden market and went on to create his multi-million pound fruit and veg business a decade later. A star slot on BBC VEG TALK,and an award-winning television programme followed and, in 2005, the chance to front MASTERCHEF, a show that has drawn in over 4.5 million viewers and produced some of the nation's best up-and-coming chefs. He has since opened two restaurants, Wallace & Co and Gregg's Table, penned numerous cookery books, and has written for the national and trade press. In this, his first memoir, Gregg tells how his early passion for food growing up in Peckham, south London, led to a world of Michelin star restaurants, celebrity chefs and a mission to save Britain's produce - and in an extraordinary turn with more than a few life-changing hurdles - brought him back to his roots.
Life to the Extreme: How a Chaotic Kid Became America’s Favorite Carpenter
by Ty PenningtonTy Pennington shares stories from his life and offers a behind-the-scenes look at your favorite home shows!As a kid, Ty Pennington had too much energy. He was chaotic, bouncing off the walls, and on a first-name basis with the local emergency room staff. Back then there wasn't public awareness of attention deficit disorder yet. People just thought Ty was rambunctious. A trouble maker. What do you do with a kid who just can't sit still? Who can't focus?But Ty discovered something amazing when he was just a boy: he felt focused when he was building something. He discovered that he loved to work with his hands - to use tools and be creative. He loved to try new things, build and design new things.In Life to the Extreme Ty shares his remarkable life story. In his characteristic humorous style, he takes you racing through his life with ADHD-infused diversions that will make you laugh out loud. He shares about how he was diagnosed with ADHD in college, and what it has meant to be an advocate for ADHD awareness. He shares about his start as a model and carpenter, and his eventual move to television where he starred in the hit shows Extreme Makeover: Home Edition and Trading Spaces.Life to the Extreme will inspire you. Ty's boundless energy and his sense of humor are infectious. You'll laugh. You might cry a little. And you'll definitely be inspired to change the lives of those around you.
Life with Lindsay and Crouse
by Cornelia Otis SkinnerFrom the Jacket: Whimsically funny, gentle, and generous to a fault, Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse laid to rest forever the claim that nice guys finish last. They were the most successful team of playwrights in the history of the American stage. And in this double portrait their story is told by a gifted writer who is also one of the great ladies of the theatre. From their first collaboration on Anything Goes! in the mid 1930's, the names of Lindsay and Crouse were synonymous with great hits: Arsenic and Old Lace, State of the Union, Call Me Madam, The Sound of Music and, of course, Life with Father - the longest- running play in the annals of Broadway. Cornelia Otis Skinner's biography offers glimpses of such famous figures as Irving Berlin, Alexander Woollcott, Eugene O'Neill, Frank Sullivan, the Lunts, the Round Table Group, Ethel Merman, and Bob Hope. Around them bubble marvelous anecdotes of Broadway and the boondocks, by turns tart, endearing and hilarious. As Brooks Atkinson observes in his foreword, Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse "loved the vitality and variety of theatre people and the excitement and insanity of the theatre's business methods. Miss Skinner also reminds us that in and out of the theatre they were thoroughbreds."
Life with My Sister Madonna
by Christopher CicconeChristopher Ciccone's extraordinary memoir is based on his forty-seven years of growing up with, working with, and understanding the most famous woman of our time, who has intrigued, scandalized, and entertained millions for 50 years.
Life with a Sprinkle of Glitter
by Louise PentlandYouTube star Sprinkle of Glitter, also known as lifestyle and beauty vlogger Louise Pentland, offers a delightful guide to finding happiness and sprinkling positivity into every area of your life, from nights out with your friends to the trinkets you display on your vanity.Aloha Sprinklerinos! Louise Pentland leads a very happy life. That's because she chooses to. Sure, she has dark and dreary days. But, as she has come to understand, the joy is all in your perspective. Happiness is not measured in size but in significance. On her wildly popular YouTube channel, Sprinkle of Glitter, Louise talks a lot about changing the way we think. Her motto? Happiness is there for everyone: you just have to choose to face everything with a smile and positivity. It's not just about the big things either--it's about the tiny, intangible moments that make up the course of a lifetime and how to live that lifetime to the absolute fullest. This book is like one of those glorious vintage shops where every surface is laden with treasure: cut glass, pill boxes, old cameras, pendants, and chests of drawers. Each chapter is a gem-encrusted tin that you can peep inside to discover fun topics such as glitz (beauty and pampering, traveling in style) and creativity (crafting, prettifying your room), to tougher topics such as bullying and body confidence, to the universal topic of love (dating, bonding with baby, being kind). Whether you take in tiny bits at a time or devour the book all in one go, Louise shares how she has learned to enrich her life, and you can too...with just a Sprinkle of Glitter. Toodlepip!
Life with a Sprinkle of Glitter
by Louise PentlandTHIS IS MY FIRST EVER OFFICIAL BOOK!Aloha Sprinklerinos!Imagine you are in one of those glorious vintage shops where every surface is laden with treasure.Cut glass, pill boxes, old cameras, pendants, chests of drawers and stacks and stacks of books. This book is like that. Each chapter is one of those gem encrusted tins that you can open, peep inside and enjoy. You can either methodically wander the entire shop, looking at each individual item in order, or, you can dance around with wild abandon, opening and closing whatever you like, whenever you like.You can take in tiny bits of it at a time or you can devour it all in one go. I don't mind. I don't mind how you go about it; all that matters to me is that you take something from it.Divided into four sections: Glitz, Create, Need to Knows and All About Love, you'll find all my little tips and tricks, stories and insights and nuggets of advice.I want you to walk away from this book feeling uplifted. I want you to feel as though you are equipped to deal with something in your life and deal with it in the best possible, positive way. I want to show you how I find so much joy and enrichment in my life and how you can do it too, with just a Sprinkle of Glitter...Toodlepip!Xxx
Life with the Afterlife: 13 Truths I Learned about Ghosts
by Amy BruniStar of Kindred Spirits and paranormal investigator Amy Bruni shares stories from her years of experiences with ghosts, organized around thirteen truths that guide her approach to the supernatural. Amy Bruni, co-star of Kindred Spirits and one of the world's leading paranormal investigators, has learned a lot about ghosts over her years of research and first-hand experience. Now, in Life with the Afterlife, she shares the insight she has gleaned and how it has shaped her unique approach to interacting with the spirits of the dead and those who encounter them. From her earliest supernatural encounters as a child, through her years appearing on Ghost Hunters and the creation of her company Strange Escapes, which offers paranormal excursions to some of America's most notoriously haunted destinations, and into her current work on The Travel Channel's Kindred Spirits, this book is full of astonishing and deeply moving stories of Amy's efforts to better understand the dead but not yet departed. With Amy's bright humor and fierce compassion for both those who are haunted and those who are haunting, Life with the Afterlife is an eye-opening look at what connects us as people, in life and beyond.
Life's A Scream
by Ingrid PittAt the age of five, Ingrid Pitt found herself in a concentration camp. Ingrid and her mother escaped from the guards while on a forced march and presented themselves to the partisans, unsure if they would kill them. They spent the rest of the war in the forests. Ingrid fell in love for the first time and watched in despair as British bombers flew overhead. She still cannot see the vapour trials of planes without being transported back to her childhood vigil. After the war Ingrid came to London, where she developed a career as a Hammer House of Horror movie star, but, as she proundly says, `I was always the biter, never the bitten!' She also acted in mainstream films, such as WHERE EAGLES DARE. She had a child by her first marriage and a grand passion which lead to her marrying a racing driver. They lived in Argentina for a while and were good friends of President Peron and Isabelits Peron. Ingrid even spent an evening with the embalmed body of Eva Peron. Written with great passion and warmth, this is a rare childhood memoir and the story of Hammer`s most galmorous actress. Above all, this is a story of a survivor.
Life's Journeys According to Mister Rogers: Things to Remember Along the Way
by Fred RogersAn inspiring collection of thoughts to take with us on the paths we travel in life.For all the roads we choose to travel, and even those we don't, Fred Rogers has an observation, a story, some insights to share. Whether you're facing graduation, a new job, a new baby, marriage, any change in your life--expected or not--the wisdom that Mister Rogers offers can contribute mightily to the grace with which you handle the change.With sections titled Who You Are Right Now, Loving and Being Loved, and Guided Drift, Fred addresses the scope of human transitions. It all comes down to knowing we're valuable, and that we're worthy of that value. As Fred would say, "You don't have to be anything more than who you are right now."In her foreword, Joanne Rogers shares the Fred she knew. With stories from their life together, the joys as well as the struggles, Joanne shows how Fred looked at life as a journey--with the ups and downs and in-betweens.
Life's Journeys According to Mister Rogers: Things to remember along the way
by Fred RogersFrom the book: An inspiring collection of things to take with us on the path we travel in life. For all the roads we choose to travel, and even those we don't, Fred Rogers has an observation, a story, some insights to share. Whether you're facing graduation, a new job, a new baby, marriage, any change in your life--expected or not--the wisdom that Mister Rogers offers can contribute mightily to the grace with which you handle the change.
Life's Short, Talk Fast: 15 Writers on Why We Can’t Stop Watching Gilmore Girls
by Ann HoodGilmore Girls hit our screens in 2000 and has been our autumn obsession ever since. There's a reason that Vogue calls it 'the quintessential autumn girl show' and that, years later, we're still head over heels with Stars Hollow.Fast-talking, warm-hearted, and endlessly rewatchable, Gilmore Girls has bonded real-life mothers and daughters since 2000, when its iconic pilot introduced us to Lorelai, Rory, and their idyllic town of Stars Hollow. More than twenty years later, it has become one of the most-streamed TV shows, ever.In an anthology as intimate and quick-witted as Gilmore Girls itself, bestselling author Ann Hood invites fifteen writers to investigate their personal relationships to the show. ('It's a show? It's a lifestyle. It's a religion.') Joanna Rakoff considers how Emily Gilmore helped her understand her own mother; Freya North connects with her son through the show; Nina de Gramont offers a comic ode to the unreality of Stars Hollow, Yassmin Abdel-Magied writes about why being a daughter is a permanent state. For anyone who identifies as Team Logan, Team Jess, or even Team Dean, Life's Short, Talk Fast reveals what Gilmore Girls tells us about ourselves - and why it matters.This autumn, get cosy and curl up with Life's Short, Talk Fast, where fifteen leading writers explore what Gilmore Girls means to them in this delightful celebration of a contemporary TV classic.
Life's Short, Talk Fast: The Little Guide to Gilmore Girls
by Orange Hippo!Almost 25 years have passed since Gilmore Girls first hit our TV screens, but the iconic show continues to captivate audiences with its warmth, humor, and irresistible storytelling. Celebrated for its loveable cast of characters and relatable moments, the series has explored the complexities of family, friendship and the pursuit of dreams and has been described as one of the greatest television shows of all time.This pocket-sized companion will transport readers into the whimsical world of mum-and-daughter duo Lorelai and Rory, and the beloved residents of Stars Hollow - a place where the coffee flows endlessly and witty banter is a way of life. From Lorelai's lightning-fast comebacks to Rory's insightful musings, the pages are crammed with the delightful dialogue and memorable lines that made the Gilmore Girls series so cherished, while behind-the-scenes stories and fascinating tidbits will satisfy even the most devoted fan. "Oy with the poodles already!" Lorelai's exclamation in the first episode, expressing her frustration, became an iconic line."I can't stop eating. I eat because I'm unhappy, and I'm unhappy because I eat. It's a vicious cycle." A classic Lorelai moment, highlighting her humour and love for food."A cheeseburger, onion rings, and a list of people who killed their parents and got away with it. I'm looking for heroes." The unforgettable line when Lorelai storms into the diner and shouts her order."Trig, I can do. But boys and dating, forget it."Rory reflecting on her love life.
Life's Short, Talk Fast: The Little Guide to Gilmore Girls
by Orange Hippo!Almost 25 years have passed since Gilmore Girls first hit our TV screens, but the iconic show continues to captivate audiences with its warmth, humor, and irresistible storytelling. Celebrated for its loveable cast of characters and relatable moments, the series has explored the complexities of family, friendship and the pursuit of dreams and has been described as one of the greatest television shows of all time.This pocket-sized companion will transport readers into the whimsical world of mum-and-daughter duo Lorelai and Rory, and the beloved residents of Stars Hollow - a place where the coffee flows endlessly and witty banter is a way of life. From Lorelai's lightning-fast comebacks to Rory's insightful musings, the pages are crammed with the delightful dialogue and memorable lines that made the Gilmore Girls series so cherished, while behind-the-scenes stories and fascinating tidbits will satisfy even the most devoted fan. "Oy with the poodles already!" Lorelai's exclamation in the first episode, expressing her frustration, became an iconic line."I can't stop eating. I eat because I'm unhappy, and I'm unhappy because I eat. It's a vicious cycle." A classic Lorelai moment, highlighting her humour and love for food."A cheeseburger, onion rings, and a list of people who killed their parents and got away with it. I'm looking for heroes." The unforgettable line when Lorelai storms into the diner and shouts her order."Trig, I can do. But boys and dating, forget it."Rory reflecting on her love life.
Life, Animated: A Story of Sidekicks, Heroes and Autism
by Ron SuskindWhat if you were trapped in a Disney movie? In all of them, actually from Dumbo to Peter Pan to The Lion King -- and had to learn about life and love mostly from what could be gleaned from animated characters, dancing across a screen of color? Asking this question opens a doorway to the most extraordinary of stories. It is the saga of Owen Suskind, who happens to be the son of one of America's most noted writers, the Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author Ron Suskind. He's also autistic. The twisting, 20-year journey of this boy and his family will change that way you see autism, old Disney movies, and the power of imagination to heal a shattered, upside-down world.
Life-Destroying Diagrams
by Eugenie BrinkemaIn Life-Destroying Diagrams, Eugenie Brinkema brings the insights of her radical formalism to bear on supremely risky terrain: the ethical extremes of horror and love. Through close readings of works of film, literature, and philosophy, she explores how diagrams, grids, charts, lists, abecedaria, toroids, tempos, patterns, colors, negative space, lengths, increments, and thresholds attest to formal logics of torture and cruelty, violence and finitude, friendship and eros, debt and care. Beginning with a wholesale rethinking of the affect of horror, orienting it away from entrenched models of feeling toward impersonal schemes and structures, Brinkema moves outward to consider the relation between objects and affects, humiliation and metaphysics, genre and the general, bodily destruction and aesthetic generation, geometry and scenography, hatred and value, love and measurement, and, ultimately, the tensions, hazards, and speculative promise of formalism itself. Replete with etymological meditations, performative typography, and lyrical digressions, Life-Destroying Diagrams is at once a model of reading without guarantee and a series of generative experiments in the writing of aesthetic theory.
Life: The Movie
by Neal Gabler"A thoughtful, in places chilling, account of the way entertainment values have hollowed out American life." --The New York Times Book ReviewFrom one of America's most original cultural critics and the author of Winchell, the story of how our bottomless appetite for novelty, gossip, glamour, and melodrama has turned everything of importance-from news and politics to religion and high culture-into one vast public entertainment.Neal Gabler calls them "lifies," those blockbusters written in the medium of life that dominate the media and the national conversation for weeks, months, even years: the death of Princess Diana, the trial of O.J. Simpson, Kenneth Starr vs. William Jefferson Clinton. Real Life as Entertainment is hardly a new phenomenon, but the movies, and now the new information technologies, have so accelerated it that it is now the reigning popular art form. How this came to pass, and just what it means for our culture and our personal lives, is the subject of this witty, concerned, and sometimes eye-opening book.From the Trade Paperback edition.