In this beautifully illustrated and deeply philosophical graphic memoir, legendary artist Ai Weiwei explores the connection between artistic expression and intellectual freedom through interwoven stories from all the seasons of his life.

As a child living in exile during the Cultural Revolution, Ai Weiwei often found himself with nothing to read but government-approved comic books. Although they were restricted by the confines of political propaganda, Ai Weiwei was struck by the artists' ability to express their thoughts on art and humanity through graphic storytelling. Now, decades later, Ai Weiwei and Italian comic artist Gianluca Costantini present Zodiac, Ai Weiwei's first graphic memoir.

Inspired by the twelve signs of the Chinese zodiac and their associated human characteristics, Ai Weiwei masterfully interweaves ancient Chinese folklore with stories of his life, family, and career. The narrative shifts back and forth through the years--at once in the past, present, and future--mirroring memory and our relationship to time. As readers delve deeper into the beautifully illustrated pages of Zodiac, they will find not only a personal history of Ai Weiwei and an examination of the sociopolitical climate in which he makes his art, but a philosophical exploration of what it means to find oneself through art and freedom of expression.

Contemplative and political, Zodiac will inspire readers to return again and again to Ai Weiwei's musings on the relationship between art, time, and our shared humanity.

The Silent Hurt portrays a young poor country girl with a disability who was labeled harshly by society. Even so, through strong determination and a powerful inner spirit, she refused to accept those labels. Jo Ann Coleman was born in the forties and lived in a very small town in Louisiana. At age five, she started school and soon realized that she was not like the other boys and girls in her class. Struggling first in elementary school, where she was immediately labeled as retarded, she eventually lost sight in her right eye. She grew up among cousins, without her parents, and constantly felt depressed and alone, facing name-calling from her peers. She graduated from high school and received a scholarship to attend nursing school-only to lose the scholarship due to missing an important letter. Because of her silent depression as a child, she eventually attempted suicide. Her disability and low self-esteem made her feel that no one cared. When she finally let Jesus Christ direct her life, however, everything turned around. She turned adversity into triumph and now seeks to inspire those afflicted by physical, emotional, and mental handicaps and low self-esteem. Although she made many mistakes and had her flaws, those flaws would eventually become her joy, peace, and contentment. With the true peace that comes from knowing Jesus Christ, she discovered the life she had been dreaming of since childhood.

Ann Sothern was often quoted as saying she had played every venue in show business except fairs. For over 60 years, she has captivated audiences from the stage, on radio and television, in film, and as a recording artist. This book is the first full-length examination of Miss Sothern's life and career. In addition to individual chapters on each facet of her life, the book features an extensive annotated bibliography of articles by and about Miss Sothern. The book includes a filmography and discography, as well as comprehensive lists of Miss Sothern's stage, radio, and television appearances. Schultz has done a magnificent job of documenting Ann Sothern's career. Classic Images Ann Sothern was often quoted as saying she had played every venue in show business except fairs. Ann Sothern: A Bio-Bibliography is proof that her statement was not far from wrong. For over 60 years, she has captivated audiences from the stage, on radio and television, in film, and as a recording artist. This book is the first full-length examination of Miss Sothern's life and career. In addition to individual chapters on each facet of her life, the book features an extensive annotated bibliography of articles by and about Miss Sothern. The book includes a filmography and discography, as well as comprehensive lists of Miss Sothern's stage, radio, and television appearances. Ann Sothern: A Bio-Bibliography is the first full-length examination of Miss Sothern's life and career. In addition to individual chapters on each facet of her career, the book features an extensive annotated bibliography of articles by and about Miss Sothern. The book includes a filmography and discography, as well as comprehensive lists of Miss Sothern's stage, radio, and television appearances. It is the first source to include a complete episode guide for Miss Sothern's television series, Private Secretary, The Ann Sothern Show, The Lucy Show, and My Mother the Car. An appendix lists products which were endorsed by Miss Sothern or which used her likeness in promotion. The book utilizes sixteen photographs, including four from Miss Sothern's personal collection, which she donated to the Ketchum Community Library in Ketchum, Idaho. A great library reference source, this book will be of interest to film scholars and fans of Miss Sothern.

Born Isidore Iskowitz in 1892, Eddie Cantor became one of the greatest entertainers of Depression-era America. The star of such films as Roman Scandals (1933) and Kid Millions (1934), he symbolized the ordinary person who falls into extraordinary circumstances. Off-screen or on, Cantor exuded a spirit of charity and hopefulness. His life was marked by numerous humanitarian achievements and a strong commitment to political and social causes. On October 29, 1995, as part of a nationwide celebration of the 75th anniversary of radio, he was posthumously inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame at Chicago's Museum of Broadcast Communication. Despite his significant achievements and enormous popularity with his public, Eddie Cantor is today among the most overlooked performers of the golden age of American entertainment. This reference book provides detailed information on his extensive stage, film, radio, television, and musical work and includes an extensive bibliography. The volume begins with a carefully documented biography that discusses Cantor's upbringing, his rise as a vaudeville star, his social and political activism, and his success as a film, radio, and television personality. A chronology then highlights the most memorable achievements in his remarkable career. The chapters that follow are devoted to his stage, film, radio, and television work. Each chapter lists Cantor's performances in a particular medium and provides detailed material, such as cast and credit information, plot synopses, review excerpts, and a critical commentary. The volume also includes entries for his various recordings and for sheet music bearing his name or image. Appendices cite his newsreel appearances and cartoons featuring his likeness. An extensive bibliography of works by and about Cantor concludes the book.

Glen Matlock was a founding member of the Sex Pistols and co-wrote most of their iconic songs. His story of the Pistols' rise to global infamy is an honest, insightful account of a group of intelligent malcontents, determined to change the music business and to attack hypocrisy and stale conventions in society at large. Glen brilliantly captures the flavour of seventies Britain and reveals the complexities and personality clashes that made the Pistols so explosive at that time. Also includes true tales of the Pistols reunion tours of 1996 and 2003. Never mind the other bollocks-filled books about the Sex Pistols, here's the truth. -- .

A historian's task is a voyage of discovery, and in these personal reminiscences Ivor Guest allows the reader to share the romance of recreating times past. Since his first published article appeared in the 1940s he has vastly expanded and enriched our knowledge of ballet in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries through more than a score of books, many of them definitive works, that are a rare blend of scrupulous scholarship and readability. The story of his involvement in the world of ballet is a romance in itself. When he was drawn to the study of ballet history, comparatively little serious research had been done, and he found himself working in virtually virgin soil - the fulfillment of an historian's dream. The Paris Opera, with its library and archives, became his mecca, where he returned year after year to unearth the material on which were based his classic chronicles of the French ballet. In time his pre-eminence was to be recognised when he - an Englishman - was commissioned to write the official history of the Paris Opera Ballet. For him all this was a labour of love - almost in a literal sense, for as he reconstructed the lives of long-dead ballerinas through his patient research and deductive sleuthing, he fell under their spell like a man in love. His biographies are written with an easy style that conceals the toil that went into them, but in this book he tells of his quests for characters who were often maddeningly elusive, such as his 'first love', Fanny Cerrito. The account of his search for the date of her death is told with a touch of fine comedy, and culminates in the discovery of her descendants. These 'Adventures' are concerned mainly with Ivor Guest's work as a writer, but this is by no means the whole story. He played a crucial part in the creation of Frederick Ashton's 'La Fille mal gardee', discovering the early scores from which the music for this evergreen ballet was adapted, and his marriage to Ann Hutchinson led him up new paths as they combined their talents, hers as a specialist in dance notation, to recreate several choreographic gems from the past, including Fanny Elssler's famous Cachucha. And, to emphasise that his life is not all spent at his desk or in dusty archives, he tells the story of his involvement with the Royal Academy of Dance, as Chairman of its Executive Committee from 1969, when it was on the verge of bankruptcy, to the 1980s when it was riding high as the largest and most vital association of ballet teachers in the world. These reminiscences illuminate an aspect of the dance world that seldom comes into the limelight, yet is of great importance for its cultural significance. Scholars and writers who lift the curtain on the past work quietly in the background. This book tells the story of one of them, who in the field of dance scholarship is internationally recognised for his work.

"Francis Poulenc: A Bio-Bibliography" is a thorough presentation of the works of this often performed and critically appreciated 20th-century composer. George R. Keck traces events in Poulenc's life and offers a list of works and performances with the primary focus on those facts and influences which contributed to the development of the composer's distinctive musical style. Included in the text is a substantial discography as well as annotated entries by and about the composer which cover every phase of his career and affirm Poulenc's place in 20th-century music.

The highly selective annotated bibliography comprises the major portion of the text. Since Keck's documentation of the development of Poulenc's style covers only representative works, he includes a list of all of Poulenc's compositions, arranged both alphabetically and chronologically, in the two appendixes. A complete index of names, places, and titles concludes the book.

"Leontyne Price: Highlights of a Prima Donna" is a collector's item. It was published in 1973 and covers some of the most essential years of her life and career. It has circulated extensively via libraries and has been cited in a variety of magazine articles, books and encyclopedias such as: "The Music of Black Americans: A History by Eileen Southern," 2nd Ed., 1985, W.W. Norton and Company, Inc.; "Biographical Dictionary of Musicians," 1992; "Current Biography," 1992; and "Opera In America" by John Dizikes, Yale University Press, 1993. "The life-story of Leontyne Price is told by Hugh Lee Lyon in "Highlights of a Prima Donna." He provides his reader with a candid view of her personal life. He brings into forefront some of the interesting hours spent at Wilberforce University and how she became an attraction in college."-"Earl Calloway, Chicago Daily Defender, Chicago Metrolitan Area, Illinois" "There is much to commend in the biography, "Leontyne Price: Highlights of a Prima Donna." The author has done considerable research into the salient points of the life of this opera star and concert artist. He interviewed family, friends and early teachers of Miss Price in her birthplace, Laurel Mississippi."-"William Duncan Allen, Performing ARTS, Berkeley, California" "Hugh Lee Lyon presents Leotyne Price in a warm and sympathetic light as he tells of the shy girl from Laurel, Mississippi, who became a world opera star. He gives us valuable information on an infrequently studies area of the Black musical experience and presents a bouquet to the diva."-"ENCORE"

Fourteen and growing up in the streets, Sonny can't wait to leave; he lives for the day he can put all the shame behind him. But with the depression that has hit the country and the fact all the kids depend on him, the ones his mom keeps having since she hooked up with Rex!where would he go? It's not as if he has a direction. All he has in this world is his brother Paul. !and even though Paul has him by a few years, the big guy depends on him too. Naw, labeled bastards since as far back as he can remember!it's just he and Paul against the rest of them. Forced to be the responsible one, he will bide his time and deal with the chaos and turmoil as it comes. That is until he finds out the secret kept; one that ignites a fire so strong that without thought leads him on a journey that will take him to all but two of the forty-eight states in the Union. Join him on his mission. Share his thoughts. Share his dreams. Life now his school, meet those that help shape the man he grows up to be. Travel with him at a period of time when millions of Americans are on the same path. All looking for a better life!all except one. Sonny isn't looking for a better life!he is looking for his life. !but they call me Sonny is a book based on a real life. Does he find what he is looking for? Does he have a dad? If so, where is he? Why would the man take off and leave him alone with Susie? !and is it true, was he robbed of the life he was born to live? Who are these strangers standing over your grave; ...not knowing your story and you not knowing theirs. We are the ones that know where you lie; ...yet we are the ones that won't let you die. Maybe this story will comfort our hearts; ...to bring us closer and not so far apart. We always wondered, we were always sad; ...and all we could do is call you Dad.

Malcolm Arnold's music encompassed a variety of forms from opera and ballet through orchestral and chamber music to film scores. His most famous film score, for which he won an Oscar award in 1957, is The Bridge on the River Kwai. In 1953 he was commissioned to compose Homage to the Queen, a ballet to celebrate the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. Arnold was knighted by the Queen in 1993 in honor of his contributions to English music. As with the other volumes in the Greenwood Bio-Bibliographies in Music series, this work includes a brief biography, discography, complete list of works and performances, and an annotated bibliography. Music scholars, musicians, and those with an interest in the music of Malcolm Arnold will appreciate the extensive information gathered in this one volume. Since Malcolm Arnold has retired from composing, this book features the most complete list of his compositions, including some of his newly discovered early works. The works are listed alphabetically within genre. The author also provides a chronological listing of the works through which trends and developments in Arnold's compositions may be traced. Sir Malcolm Arnold's input with the project assures the accuracy and completeness of this bio-bibliography.

The first authorised biography of eternal legend Elizabeth Taylor.

Known for her glamorous beauty, soap-opera personal life and magnetic screen presence, Elizabeth Taylor was the twentieth century's most famous film star. Including unseen photographs and unread private reflections, this authorised biography is a fascinating and complete portrait worthy of the legend and her legacy.

Elizabeth Taylor captures this intelligent, empathetic, tenacious, volatile and complex woman as never before, from her rise to massive fame at the age of twelve in National Velvet to becoming the first actor to negotiate a million-dollar salary for a film, from her eight marriages and enduring love affair with Richard Burton to her lifelong battle with addiction and her courageous efforts as an AIDS activist.

Using Elizabeth's unpublished letters, diary entries and off-the-record interview transcripts as well as interviews with 250 of her closest friends and family, Kate Andersen Brower tells the full, unvarnished story of the classic Hollywood star who continues to captivate audiences the world over.

In a music business amply buffered against surprise, Danny Gatton swam stubbornly, from country, to gospel, rockabilly, soul, and standards. "Redneck Jazz" became Gatton's calling card for playing whatever and whenever he wanted. Hailed as the best unknown guitar player by both Rolling Stone and Guitar player magazines, he was a players' player who never received the popular acclaim he deserved. The struggle to reach a wider audience while staying true to his own muse proved to much for him to bear, and in 1994 he took his own life. Gatton's legend has only grown since his untimely death, along with appreciation for his blinding speed, effortless genre-hopping, flawless technique, and never-ending appetitie for tinkering and problem-solving. Unfinished Business places Gatton's musical contributions into context, as well as his influence on those peers who admired him most, including Albert Lee, Vince Gill, Arlen Roth, and Lou Reed.