Shop Cats Of China

A charming look at felines photographed in a range of quirky and atmospheric shops across China, reflecting the country’s unique culture and the good fortune these cats bring their owners. Cats are an adorable feature of daily life in China. Countless stores keep cats, and many store owners believe the enigmatic animals bring good luck to their establishments. Each cat is an essential part of the shops in which they live and hunt and reign as little emperors of their retail kingdoms. In this delightful and intriguing book, these frisky felines are photographed in their store environments with their owners. A one-of-a-kind publication, this book pairs captivating photographs with light-hearted haiku on shop life. When photographer Marcel Heijnen moved to China he was immediately drawn to these photogenic mousers. And while the cats are undoubtedly the furry celebrities of his photographs, each shot delivers an insightful glimpse into China’s busy retail life. From dried sh and rice to paper sellers and tea merchants, the photographs’ backgrounds present traditional Chinese retail culture in all its colorful glory.

Humans of New York meets The French Cat in this carefully cultivated, gorgeous full-color collection featuring New York’s iconic felines and the stories behind them. They inhabit New York City’s most legendary and coziest spots—the Algonquin Hotel, a whiskey distillery, Bleecker Street Records, and a host of yoga studios, bodegas, bookstores, and bike shops in between. True New Yorkers—masters of people watching—they perch on wine crates, piles of books, and a classic hotel countertop, taking in the activity around them. Depending on their mood, these cats will ignore enthusiastic admirers, offer a few delightful purrs, or occasionally even take a swipe. Some even find a mouse or two to chase. Shop Cats of New York introduces forty of New York’s favorite felines—all who have an extraordinary story to tell. Popular cat blogger Tamar Arslanian and Instagram pet photographer Andrew Marttila capture these deeply loved and well cared for animals in their city habitat and reveal how they came to reign over their urban kingdoms. A celebration of some of the city’s most revered citizens and a unique look at New York life, this enchanting illustrated volume is a must for every cat lover, and every Big Apple devotee.

Did you know that European royalty once used cheetahs to hunt deer, or that caracals can capture birds by leaping six and a half feet straight up into the air from a standing start? Have you ever wondered whether domestic cats really do land on their feet when they fall, or how Canada lynx can stalk their prey in the winter without falling through the deep snow? Wild Cats of the World is a treasure trove of answers to questions like these, and many others, for anyone who's interested in learning more about the world's felids, including the ones with whom we share our homes. Mel and Fiona Sunquist have spent more than a decade gathering information about cats from every available source, many of them quite difficult to find, including scientific papers, descriptions of hunts, archeological findings, observations by naturalists and travelers, reports from government agencies, and newsletters from a wide variety of organizations. Weaving information from these sources together with their own experiences observing wild cats around the world, the Sunquists have created the most comprehensive reference on felids available. Each of their accounts of the 36 species of cat contains a description of the cat, including human interactions with it, as well as detailed data on its distribution, ecology and behavior, status in the wild, and efforts to conserve it. Numerous photographs, including more than 40 in full color, illustrate these accounts. Ranging from the two-pound black-footed cat to the five-hundred-pound tiger, and from the African serval with its satellite-dish ears to the web-footed fishing cat of Asia, Wild Cats of the World will fascinate and educate felid fans of any stripe (or spot).

Chinese Whiskers is a modern fable and a window to the rhythm and texture of life in the hutong neighbourhoods of imperial Beijing. Interweaving real episodes in recent Chinese history such as the Olympic Games, SARS virus and tainted pet-food scandals with a richly imagined world, this heartwarming story of cats and humans will make you laugh and tear up, and think again about the universal battle between the corruption of modern living and the ideals of traditional life.

From the creator of the Caldecott Honor winner Time Flies, here’s a little boy’s journey to a tropical dream world. Magnificent oil paintings and rhyming text bring to life a mysterious island where cinder-eyed cats move like shadows, boats float above the ocean, whales fly across the dawn sky, and a parade of fish dances in the light of a campfire.

Donna Gottardi answered an internet ad for a teaching job in the last town in northeastern China, on the border with Russia-in Chinese Siberia. Without knowing a word of Chinese, or a single person in China, Gottardi booked a ticket to one of the greatest adventures of her lifetime. In a matter of weeks, she found herself in the front of a classroom full of Chinese teachers of English, in a place 10,000 miles from her friends, her family and her home.Find out how her trust in others and in herself opened a window into this rural Chinese outpost and to its people. Laugh along with the many interesting predicaments Gottardi finds herself in as one of the first Western educators to live and work in Fu Yuan and as the only native English speaker. Witness how Gottardi begins to help the teachers not only to learn English, but to understand Americans as she learns to understand the people of rural China and navigate through the cultural maze of unfamiliarity that has become her latest everyday reality.

When a traveller from China crash-lands on Mars, he finds himself in a country inhabited entirely by Cat People. Befriended by a local cat-man, he becomes acquainted in all aspects of cat-life: he learns to speak Felinese, masters cat-poetry, and appreciates the narcotic effects of the reverie leaf - their food staple. But curiosity turns to despair when he ventures further into the heart of the country and the culture, and realizes that he is witnessing the bleak decline of a civilization. Cat Country, Lao She's only work of science fiction, is both a dark, dystopian tale of one man's close encounter with the feline kind and a scathing indictment of a country gone awry.

An irresistible volume featuring illustrations of famous dramatis personae—with a feline twist What happens when a cat becomes the subject of da Vinci’s Mona Lisa or takes the starring role in Hamlet or Lawrence of Arabia? Susan Herbert’s feline interpretations of famous images from Western culture have charmed and amused readers for decades. Cats Galore brings together illustrations from the affectionately envisioned Pre-Raphaelite Cats, Shakespeare Cats, Movie Cats, and Opera Cats—as well as other delightful images of cats cast in scenes from art, theater, and film—into one delightful volume. Divided into three sections—Cats in Art, Cats on Stage, and Cats in the Movies—this is the ultimate compendium for cat-loving culture buffs and cultured pet owners alike. Works by Degas and van Gogh retain their distinctive styles in spite of the furry faces; cats shine in Much Ado About Nothing and The Barber of Seville; and a bushy-tailed James Dean in Rebel Without a Cause stares at the camera with the iconic cigarette in his mouth.

On May 1, 1960, a U-2 was shot down over Russia and its pilot, Gary Powers, was captured, followed by Premier Khrushchev using the long-waited summit meeting in Paris as a public platform to denounce U.S. intrusion on Russian air space and to demand an apology from President Eisenhower. All these events made U-2 a world-renowned spyplane. This extraordinary high altitude reconnaissance aircraft had also been used over China and her vicinity. A US-ROC joint entity (Black Cat Squadron) was organized to conduct the operation from Taiwan for fifteen years. Five U-2s were shot down by Communist surface-to-air missiles. Two of the Nationalist Chinese pilots survived the missile explosion, yet were severely wounded, and then captured by the People's Republic of (PRC). They were incarcerated and harassed for almost nineteen years. They lived through the notorious Cultural Revolution. Their loving families in Taiwan were ruined. By the time these two miserable pilots were permitted to leave the PRC, their loyalty was questioned strongly by their own government in >Taiwan. Then they were entangled in the psychological warfare between the rivalries across the Taiwan Strait. Finally they were allowed to return to Taiwan than a quarter century later.