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  Encounters with Chinese Writers

  Annie Dillard

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  Chinese and U.S. writers try to bridge the culture gap in this “splendid little book” from the Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Pilgrim at Tinker Creek (The Washington Post Book World).  Winner of the New England Book Show Award   It’s been a pilgrimage for Annie Dillard: from Tinker Creek to the Galapagos Islands, the high Arctic, the Pacific Northwest, the Amazon Jungle—and now, China. This informative narrative is full of fascinating people: Chinese people, mostly writers, who encounter American writers in various bizarre circumstances in both China and the U.S. There is a toasting scene at a Chinese banquet; a portrait of a bitter, flirtatious diplomat at a dance hall; a formal meeting with Chinese writers; a conversation with an American businessman in a hotel lobby; an evening with long-suffering Chinese intellectuals in their house; a scene in the Beijing foreigners’ compound with an excited European journalist; and a scene of unwarranted hilarity at the Beijing Library. In the U.S., there is Allen Ginsberg having a bewildering conversation in Disneyland with a Chinese journalist; there is the lovely and controversial writer Zhang Jie suiting abrupt mood changes to a variety of actions; and there is the fiercely spirited Jiange Zilong singing in a Connecticut dining room, eyes closed. These are real stories told with a warm and lively humor, with a keen eye for paradox, and with fresh insight into the human drama.  “Engrossing and thought-provoking.” —Irving Yucheng Lo, author of Sunflower Splendor  ‘Keenly observed, often comic encounters.” —The New York Times Book Review  “Dillard distills her encounters in lively anecdotes, sketches and vignettes. Her charm lies in the simplicity of her storytelling.” —Publishers Weekly

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  Troublemaker - Let's Do What It...

  Christine O'Donnell

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  The 2010 candidate for Senate—and established political "troublemaker"*--voices the quiet anger in America today: where it comes from, what it's asking for, and where it's going from here*Time MagazineFrom the moment she upset a heavily-favored incumbent in the primary for the special election to fill the Senate seat vacated by Joe Biden, Christine O'Donnell made headlines.  Though she didn't win the general election, O'Donnell did win the designation of 2010's Most Covered Candidate.  And what people were talking about wasn't just gossip: they responded to a fresh, unencumbered voice that appealed to voter frustration with politics—and politicians—as usual.America's strength lies in its government "by the people, for the people", but too many of those people feel they are now just labeled featureless residents of "flyover country", told what to think and what they can and cannot do by an entrenched, reigning class of elites.  O'Donnell's candidacy gave hope that the voices of real people—the people—not only can be heard but can also become a force.  Part of this hope is invested in the nascent Tea Party, but most of it is invested in individual voters who are willing to work hard and make sacrifices for what they believe in, not what backroom dealing and a bloated federal government has mandated is good for them.Troublemaker is about where O'Donnell comes from—the Philadelphia suburbs with five kids to a room—and what she weathered in the 2010 election.  But the core of the book is a clear, straightforward discussion of an America that yearns to embrace freedom and opportunity through personal responsibility, and how it is hamstrung and stymied by excessive regulation, taxation, and the sanctimony of a "nanny state."  And Troublemaker will deliver an important, rousing message about what we do with the quiet anger in America today: where we can go, and how strong we can be, from here. Warning readers that challenging the status quo makes the political establishment push back, O'Donnell wants to build a movement that will continue to goad it.It's practical, too, since O'Donnell believes in power through participation: it's not enough to grumble about how things are going; pitch in and try to change things if you care. O'Donnell details how she participated by running for high office as an everywoman, but also shows how attending town council meetings, organizing a petition drive, making an effort to meet a staffer in your local representative's office, or simply reading the minutes from your community board can make a difference.

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  Good Newes From New England - A...

  Edward Winslow

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  Good Newes From New England is Edward Winslow's journal which covers the events that occurred between 1622 and 1623 at Plymouth Colony.  It includes firsthand information from the earliest American colonial history such as Tisquantum's death, the sickness of Massasoit, Thomas Weston's Wessagussett Colony, and many more.

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  Abraham Joshua Heschel - The...

  Shai Held

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  “Through Heschel, Held’s work reaches out more broadly to treat us to a profound discussion of the great issues in contemporary Jewish theology” (Arthur Green, Hebrew College Rabbinical School).   Abraham Joshua Heschel (1907–1972) was a prolific scholar, impassioned theologian, and prominent activist who participated in the black civil rights movement and the campaign against the Vietnam War. He has been hailed as a hero, honored as a visionary, and endlessly quoted as a devotional writer. In this sympathetic, yet critical, examination, Shai Held elicits the overarching themes and unity of Heschel’s incisive and insightful thought. Focusing on the idea of transcendence—or the movement from self-centeredness to God-centeredness—Held puts Heschel into dialogue with contemporary Jewish thinkers, Christian theologians, devotional writers, and philosophers of religion.   “Shai Held’s book is a master class in one of the most significant Jewish voices of our time.” —Tablet   “In this lucid and elegant study, one of the keenest minds in Jewish theology in our time probes the vision of one of the most profound spiritual writers of the twentieth century, uncovering a unity that others have missed and shedding light not only on Heschel but also on the characteristically modern habits of mind that impede the knowledge of God. The book is especially valuable for the connections it draws with other philosophers, theologians, and spiritual writers, Jewish and Christian. Enthusiastically recommended!” —Jon D. Levenson, Harvard University   “[A] thoughtful, illuminating new study of Heschel’s thought . . . It is one of the many virtues of Shai Held’s book that it helps us to place Heschel alongside not only Kaplan but Halevi, Horovitz, and Rav Nahman―as well as the Psalmist.” —Jewish Review of Books

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  Starved by drought Rome's water...

  PBS NewsHour

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  A serious drought across Europe has wreaked havoc for Italy's agricultural industry, causing over $2 billion in damage. Even Rome, the city of aqueducts, has begun to turn off the spigot at dozens of its iconic fountains, and has warned it may have to ration water for its residents and tourists. Special correspondent Christopher Livesay and videographer Alessandra Pavone report.

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  Mass Psychology 101 - How To...

  William Legend

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  As an individual, it’s easy to assume that there’s not a lot you can do to affect change within a large group or an audience, but such an assumption is misleading. Look at Martin Luther. Look at his namesake, Martin Luther King Jr. Look at Hitler. Whether for good or for bad, these individuals have succeeded at calling large groups of people to action in completely radical ways. 
  People behave and react differently to things in groups than they do as individuals. A guy at a club with his buddies is almost always going to feel more confident and be more willing to try crazier things than the guy who came alone. By herself, you might never get the urge to take eight shots in rapid succession and then go make out with strangers and dance on tabletops, but with your friends, you sometimes turns into a party animal willing to take just about any suggestion thrown out there. 
  This book by author William Legend is about exploring the phenomenon of mass psychology and showing you how you can harness these powers to meet your own goals. It will give you detailed answers to questions like: How much power does an individual have over a group? Why and how do people conform? To what extent is behavior contagious? Do people always act in line with their beliefs? 
  The purpose of this book is to flesh out the answers to these questions and more in greater detail to show you how you can control, influence, manipulate, and persuade any group or audience.

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