A New York Times Notable Book of 2015 "Surprising and richly satisfying" (Megan Marshall); "beautifully crafted…subtle, polished, and poised" (Stacy Schiff). In 1871, five young girls were sent by the Japanese government to the United States. Their mission: learn Western ways and return to help nurture a new generation of enlightened men to lead Japan. Raised in traditional sam...(展开全部)

In February 1956, Arnold Toynbee, just retired after more than 30 years at the Royal Institute of International Affairs in London, set out on a 17-month journey around the world. He wanted to visit Asia and Latin America. We travel with him to Ecuador, Peru, New Zealand, Australia, Vietnam, Manila, Hong Kong, Japan, India and the Middle East. The journey is very worthwhile. ...(展开全部)

In simple, mesmerizing prose, Hermann Hesse tells of a journey both geographic and spiritual. H.H., a German choirmaster, is invited on an expedition with the League, a secret society whose members include Paul Klee, Mozart, and Albertus Magnus. The participants traverse both space and time, encountering Noah's Ark in Zurich and Don Quixote at Bremgarten. The pilgrims' ultimate...(展开全部)

In simple, mesmerizing prose, Hermann Hesse tells of a journey both geographic and spiritual. H.H., a German choirmaster, is invited on an expedition with the League, a secret society whose members include Paul Klee, Mozart, and Albertus Magnus. The participants traverse both space and time, encountering Noah's Ark in Zurich and Don Quixote at Bremgarten. The pilgrims' ultimate...(展开全部)

At the start of the third Christian millennium we are aware of massive political, economic and ideological changes which condition the chances of liberty, wealth and equality. Yet it is surprisingly difficult for us to understand these forces, for we cannot see what surrounds us so closely. This book analyzes our condition by looking at the work of two great thinkers, one of wh...(展开全部)

Toward the end of the thirteenth century, at about the time Marco Polo was being received by the great Khubilai Khan, a Nestorian Christian monk from China called Rabban Sauma was making the reverse journey from the Mongol capital (what is now Beijing) to Jerusalem. Upon reaching Baghdad—the first traveler to arrive from China—Sauma learned that his pilgrimage could not be fulf...(展开全部)

These Scandinavian fairy tales have had many interpretations through the years, but never have they been so beautifully illustrated as in this sumptuous edition. Golden Age artist Kay Nielsen, a master of fantasy, lavished the text with 25 intricately detailed color and numerous black-and-white images that glow with his phantasmagorical style. With 15 stories that include the p...(展开全部)

Full of unforgettable figures and an unrelenting spirit of adventure, Strange Stones is a far-ranging, thought-provoking collection of Peter Hessler’s best reportage—a dazzling display of the powerful storytelling, shrewd cultural insight, and warm sense of humor that are the trademarks of his work. Over the last decade, as a staff writer for The New Yorker and the author of th...(展开全部)

Full of unforgettable figures and an unrelenting spirit of adventure, Strange Stones is a far-ranging, thought-provoking collection of Peter Hessler’s best reportage—a dazzling display of the powerful storytelling, shrewd cultural insight, and warm sense of humor that are the trademarks of his work. Over the last decade, as a staff writer for The New Yorker and the author of th...(展开全部)

The private Andy Warhol talks: about love, sex, food, beauty, fame, work, money, success; about New York and America; and about himself--his childhood in McKeesport, Pennsylvania, good times and bad times in the Big Apple, the explosion of his career in the sixties, and life among celebrities.