Bringing The World Home

Bringing the World Home sheds new light on China’s vibrant cultural life between 1895 and 1919—a crucial period that marks a watershed between the conservative old regime and the ostensibly iconoclastic New Culture of the 1920s. Although generally overlooked in the effort to understand modern Chinese history, the era has much to teach us about cultural accommodation and is characterized by its own unique intellectual life. This original and probing work traces the most significant strands of the new post-1895 discourse, concentrating on the anxieties inherent in a complicated process of cultural transformation. It focuses principally on how the need to accommodate the West was reflected in such landmark novels of the period as Wu Jianren’s Strange Events Eyewitnessed in the Past Twenty Years and Zhu Shouju’s Tides of the Huangpu, which began serial publication in Shanghai in 1916. The negative tone of these narratives contrasts sharply with the facile optimism that characterizes the many essays on the "New Novel" appearing in the popular press of the time. Neither iconoclasm nor the wholesale embrace of the new could square the contradicting intellectual demands imposed by the momentous alternatives presenting themselves. An electronic version of this book is freely available thanks to the support of libraries working with Knowledge Unlatched, a collaborative initiative designed to make high-quality books open access for the public good. The open-access version of this book is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0), which means that the work may be freely downloaded and shared for non-commercial purposes, provided credit is given to the author. Derivative works and commercial uses require permission from the publisher.

An insider's hilarious, whirlwind account of his years spent globe-trotting in search of the holy grail of handbags: the Birkin For more than twenty years, the Hermès Birkin bag has been the iconic symbol of fashion, luxury, and wealth. Though the bag is often seen dangling from the arms of celebrities, there is a fabled waiting list of more than two years to buy one from Hermès, and the average fashionista has a better chance of climbing Mount Everest in Prada pumps than of possessing one of these coveted carryalls. Unless, of course, she happens to know Michael Tonello . . . Michael's newfound career started with an impulsive move to Barcelona, a vanished job assignment, no work visa, and an Hermès scarf sold on eBay to generate some quick cash. But soon the resourceful Michael discovered the truth about the waiting list and figured out the secret to getting Hermès to part with one of these precious bags. Millions of dollars worth of Birkins later, Michael had become one of eBay's most successful entrepreneurs—and a Robin Hood to thousands of desperate rich women. With down-to-earth wit, Michael chronicles the unusual ventures that took him to nearly every continent, from eBay to Paris auction house and into the lives of celebrities and poseurs. Flirting with danger, Michael recounts the heady rush of hand delivering his first big score to famed songwriter Carole Bayer Sager in Paris; how he had to hire thugs to rescue a bag that one of his "shoppers" held for ransom; and the story of the Oscar-worthy performances that allowed him to snag "reserved" bags from other, less dogged Birkin seekers. Whether he's relating his wining and dining, buying and selling, dodging and weaving, laughing and crying, or schmoozing and stammering, Michael is a master raconteur who weaves together tales of hunting Birkins in the world's most posh locales, memories of meals that would make any gastronome salivate, anecdotes of obsessed collectors with insatiable desires, and sweetly intimate stories about his family, friends, and finding true love. The result is a memoir that is distinctive, fun, page-turning, and as addictive as its namesake.

How, long before the advent of computers and the internet, educators used technology to help students become media-literate, future-ready, and world-minded citizens. Today, educators, technology leaders, and policy makers promote the importance of “global,” “wired,” and “multimodal” learning; efforts to teach young people to become engaged global citizens and skilled users of media often go hand in hand. But the use of technology to bring students into closer contact with the outside world did not begin with the first computer in a classroom. In this book, Katie Day Good traces the roots of the digital era's “connected learning” and “global classrooms” to the first half of the twentieth century, when educators adopted a range of media and materials—including lantern slides, bulletin boards, radios, and film projectors—as what she terms “technologies of global citizenship.” Good describes how progressive reformers in the early twentieth century made a case for deploying diverse media technologies in the classroom to promote cosmopolitanism and civic-minded learning. To “bring the world to the child,” these reformers praised not only new mechanical media—including stereoscopes, photography, and educational films—but also humbler forms of media, created by teachers and children, including scrapbooks, peace pageants, and pen pal correspondence. The goal was a “mediated cosmopolitanism,” teaching children to look outward onto a fast-changing world—and inward, at their own national greatness. Good argues that the public school system became a fraught site of global media reception, production, and exchange in American life, teaching children to engage with cultural differences while reinforcing hegemonic ideas about race, citizenship, and US-world relations.

The first book from designer Michelle Nussbaumer features her dramatically lush interiors and shows readers how spaces can be inspired by travel and filled with treasures from around the world. As a curator who discovers exquisite treasures all over the world for her projects and her Dallas-based design store Ceylon et Cie, Michelle Nussbaumer has a signature style, in multilayered rooms that mix periods with antique textiles, embroideries and weavings, unconventional furniture, and global art. The result is unique interiors that might recall 1940s glamour or nineteenth-century England. Her first book, organized by mood and style, showcases interiors that range from calm to bold, and from rustic to exotic. These include Nussbaumer’s own stunning residences in Switzerland and Texas, as well as her work for clients around the country. Her sumptuous interiors—eclectic in style and influenced by the designer’s travels from Paris and Rome to Africa, Mexico, and China—provide alluring inspiration for design aficionados.

Richard Osman has been trying to settle the most important issues society faces today. Who would win in a head-to-head between Quavers and Cheesy Wotsits? And What's the ultimate Christmas film (Home Alone, obviously). The World Cup of Everything is an incredibly popular format that began life on twitter where his hilarious polls received 1.5 million votes a go becoming a national talking point, inciting debate amongst twitter users at odds over their favourites, celebrities and key figures join in, bookies offer odds on the outcome, papers report on it all as if it is a real sporting event with headlines about how Richard Osman has melted the internet. This autumn we're bringing The World Cup of Everything to the page in a brilliant book perfect for Christmas. With new competitions such as The World Cup of British Sitcoms, Christmas Songs, Animals, British Bands and so on, as well as some of the favourites that have already had the country talking: Chocolate and Crisps among them, Richard will offer commentary, share funny, quirky pieces of trivia and stand-up style entries about each of the contenders. The World Cup of Everything will offer something for everyone making it the perfect gift for pretty much anyone. This is Richard at his best: super smart, quick-witted and writing about the matters that the British public really care about.

Learn to use Google Earth and add technological richness across the content areas in grades 1-2 with this highly engaging, easy-to-use resource that offers flexibility for authentic 21st century learning. This teacher-friendly book provides step-by-step instructions, lessons, and activities that integrate this technology into social studies, science, mathematics, and English language arts curriculum. All lessons are differentiated for a variety of learning styles and activities are leveled for all learners. In addition, suggestions for flexible groupings and for extension activities are also included. Using Google Earth(tm): Bring the World Into Your Classroom shows teachers how to help their students start their own .kmz folders and fill them with layers of locations that connect their own lives to the curriculum, and to build cross-curricular connections. The included Teacher Resource CD includes templates plus clear, easy-to-follow directions to lead students (and teachers) to see a global view by starting with their own neighborhoods and then moving outward. This resource is aligned to the interdisciplinary themes from the Partnership for 21st Century Skills and supports core concepts of STEM instruction.

This is a story of struggle and triumph as visionaries overcome barriers to bring sight to others who cannot see. The joys and tears of volunteers are shared in stories of what drives their passions toward a life-changing causegiving the gift of sight. Bringing the World into Focus is about Volunteer Optometric Services to Humanity from its beginnings in Kansas when two pilots flew their private planes to Mexico to its global outreach today of eighty-one chapters and five thousand members, providing eye care around the world.

Xiang Kairan, who wrote under the pen name “the Unworthy Scholar from Pingjiang,” is remembered as the father of modern Chinese martial arts fiction, one of the most distinctive forms of twentieth-century Chinese culture and the inspiration for China’s globally popular martial arts cinema. In this book, John Christopher Hamm shows how Xiang Kairan’s work and career offer a new lens on the transformations of fiction and popular culture in early-twentieth-century China. The Unworthy Scholar from Pingjiang situates Xiang Kairan’s career in the larger contexts of Republican-era China’s publishing industry, literary debates, and political and social history. At a time when writers associated with the New Culture movement promoted an aggressively modernizing vision of literature, Xiang Kairan consciously cultivated his debt to homegrown narrative traditions. Through careful readings of Xiang Kairan’s work, Hamm demonstrates that his writings, far from being the formally fossilized and ideologically regressive relics their critics denounced, represent a creative engagement with contemporary social and political currents and the demands and possibilities of an emerging cultural marketplace. Hamm takes martial arts fiction beyond the confines of genre studies to situate it within a broader reexamination of Chinese literary modernity. The first monograph on Xiang Kairan’s fiction in any language, The Unworthy Scholar from Pingjiang rewrites the history of early-twentieth-century Chinese literature from the standpoints of genre fiction and commercial publishing.

About the Book: "Everyday Exotic Cookbook: A Culinary Journey with Chef Harpal Singh Sokhi" is a gateway to global gastronomy with 70 accessible recipes. From Hingwale Samose to Roast Chicken and Mexican Red Rice, this book is designed for both novices and seasoned cooks, ensuring everyone can savour exotic flavours at home. Chef Harpal Singh Sokhi simplifies complex dishes with comprehensive ingredient lists and easy-to-follow instructions. Beyond the recipes, he shares fascinating facts and cultural insights about each dish, enriching your culinary experience. Whether you're a beginner or an experienced chef, "Everyday Exotic Cookbook" promises to inspire, educate, and tantalise your taste buds. Embark on an exotic culinary adventure within the confines of your own kitchen. About the Author: Chef Harpal Singh Sokhi, known as the real Salt Man of India and popular for his tagline #namakshamak, is a truly multi-talented individual. His culinary expertise has been recognized and celebrated. The restaurant, Karigari by Chef Harpal Singh Sokhi, was awarded the Best Chef-driven Restaurant by the Indian Restaurant Congress in 2022. Additionally, it received the accolade of Most Admired Food Service Launch of the Year’s New Outlet by the Images Food Service Awards. His contributions to the hospitality industry have also been acknowledged through awards such as the Silver Winner by the Indian Hospitality Excellence Awards 2022 and the Celebrity Chef of the Year 2022 by FoodFoodTV. Chef Harpal’s popular show, Turban Tadka, not only holds the distinction of being the highest-rated culinary show in television history but also brings joy to millions of viewers. Beyond television, Chef Harpal has written books, developed his own brand of culinary products, and is involved in consulting and the food business. His ultimate vision is to elevate Indian cuisine to the global stage through fine dining restaurants.