Monday, July 22, 2013

不可征服:納爾遜.曼德拉治國傳奇 (Invictus)

約翰.卡林 (John Carlin)
online access from Apabi
check holdings in CityU LibraryFind

1994年,納爾遜‧曼德拉贏得南非首次全民選舉,當選總統。然而,他面臨著社會動蕩不安、國家即將分崩離析的危局。緊要關頭,他利用1995年在南非舉辦的世界杯橄欖球賽,喚起了全體國民對國家的認同,在民眾心理層面真正地統一了南非,締造了“南非奇跡”。本書即是對這段歷史的鮮活記述。

一個國家,在短短十餘年間,就從種族對立情緒根深蒂固的典型,轉變為民主穩定、法制健全的範本。這便是全球輿論津津樂道的“南非奇跡”。這段傳奇歷程,也正是納爾遜‧曼德拉這位當世最為德高望重的領袖平生最偉大的成就。

故事始自1985年,此時的曼德拉已入獄逾23年。漫長的囚牢生涯並未讓他心頭燃起復仇的烈焰,相反,他以寬容的姿態向敵人張開了懷抱,開啟了與白人當局的談判和解之路。從監獄看守到高層政要,與他接觸過的白人,無不被他的人格魅力感化。經過數年的談判博弈,曼德拉的計劃一步步得以落實︰出獄、推動當局舉行全國首次多種族大選、就任總統。

於1994年主政南非之後,曼德拉面臨著複雜的國內局勢——黑人與白人之間對立情緒嚴重,國家分崩離析的危局正在迫近……曼德拉必須盡快找到團結全國各種族民眾的辦法。他決定利用1995年南非世界杯橄欖球賽的契機,力求實現全民一心的空前盛景……

約翰‧卡林(John Carlin),從業近30年的資深記者,出生於倫敦,畢業自牛津大學,職業生涯足跡遍及美國、阿根廷、墨西哥、南非諸國,曾擔任英國《獨立報》駐南非、駐美國記者站負責人,為《紐約時報》、《星期日泰晤士報》、《每日電訊報》等多家權威媒體撰稿,現為西班牙著名大報《國家報》的資深國際撰稿人。

(摘錄自博客來網路書店)






Monday, July 15, 2013

Cut to the Chase: and 99 Other Rules to Liberate Yourself and Gain Back the Gift of Time

Stuart R. Levine
online access from Books24x7
check holdings in CityU LibraryFind


In Cut to the Chase, bestselling author Stuart R. Levine reveals 100 no-nonsense rules on how to be more effective at work and make the best use of your most precious resource: your time.

Just before CEO and consultant Stuart Levine appeared on the Today show to discuss his book The Six Fundamentals of Success, co-host Matt Lauer said to him, "You know what really drives me nuts? When people come into my office for a five-minute conversation and an hour later, they're still there! Why can't they cut to the chase?"

Lauer's question echoed the concerns Levine has heard from business people and top executives at every level: How can I get more done? How can I stay focused? How can I condense my workday so that I can become more successful and still spend more time with the people I love?

Levine's answer? By cutting to the chase. Successful individuals are the ones who make the best use of their time and energy. They approach each task with clarity, focus, and purpose. They prioritize. They don't allow others to waste their time. They understand the importance of refueling their batteries outside of work. In Cut to the Chase, Levine distills the expertise of hundreds of CEOs, leaders, and professionals into 100 concise, invaluable lessons about how to get to the point, stay on track, and be more successful in everything you do.

In an age where we spend more hours at work than ever before, Cut to the Chase is the indispensable guide for taking control over your time so that you can lead a happier, more balanced life.

(Excerpt from amazon.com)


奇特的一生

格拉寧 (D. Granin)
online access from SuperStar Digital Library
check holdings in CityU LibraryFind

《奇特的一生》講述一個將自己的一生用時間來計劃的人——柳比歇夫。柳比歇夫通過他的時間統計法對自己進行了研究和試驗:試驗在寫、讀、聽、工作、思索各方面,他到底能幹多少?幹多少?怎麼幹?他不讓自己負擔過重,力不勝任;他總是循著他能力的邊緣前進,他對自己能力的掂量精確無疑。

《奇特的一生》中的人物原型柳比歇夫,按作者的話來說卻是“相貌不揚,性格平庸,普普通通”,和普通人沒有什麼特別不同的。他也有自己的缺點,也愛熱鬧,甚至有時話還比較多。柳比歇夫說:“我的一切成就來自於自己獨特的工作方法。”當作者將柳比歇夫真實的一生和他那嚴謹“日記”相互比照的時候,浮現在人們眼前的是一個“鋼鐵一般的人”。

人最寶貴的是生命。但是生命是由時間構成的,是每小時每分鐘累積起來的。沒人能預計他在下一分鐘裡能發生什麼,但至少我們可以記得前一分鐘我們做過什麼。

如果每個人都能知道自己能幹些什麼,那生活會變得多麼美好!因為每個人的能力都比他自己感覺到的大得多,也就不會有那麼多的人感嘆自己因能力有限而導致一事無成。

(摘錄自dangdang.com)



Monday, July 8, 2013

Art and Artists of Twentieth-Century China

Michael Sullivan
online access from EBSCOhost
check holdings in CityU LibraryFind

This visually stunning book focuses on the rebirth of Chinese art in the twentieth century under the influence of Western art and culture. Michael Sullivan, recognized throughout the world as a leading scholar of Chinese art, vividly documents the conflicting pulls of traditional and Western values on Chinese art and provides 364 illustrations, in color and black-and-white, to show the great range of artistic expression and the historical processes that occurred within various movements. A substantial biographical index of twentieth-century Chinese artists is a valuable addition to the text.

Sullivan discusses artists and their work against China's background of oppression and relaxation, despair and hope. He expertly conveys the diverse and at times bizarre intertwining of Chinese cultural history and art during this century. Included are the intense debates between traditionalists and reformers, the creation of the first art schools, and the birth of the idea--shocking in ethnocentric China--that art is a world language that obliterates all frontiers. The scholarly traditions of classical Chinese painting, the belated discovery of Western modernism, the artistic upheaval under Communism, and China's rethinking of the very nature of art all have a place in Sullivan's fascinating history. Michael Sullivan has known many of the major figures in China's modern art movement of the 1930s and 1940s and has also gained the confidence of younger artists who rose to prominence following the 1979 "Peking Spring." This long-awaited book--richly documented and abundantly illustrated--is a capstone to Sullivan's work and will be enthusiastically welcomed by art lovers everywhere.

(Excerpt from amazon.com)

Chinese Paintings of 20th Century
[Accessible on Campus Only]


藝術與錯覺 : 圖畫再現的心理學硏究 (Art and Illusion)

E.H.貢布里希 (E.H. Gombrich)
online access from SuperStar Digital Library
check holdings in CityU LibraryFind

被肯尼思‧克拉克描述為“我所讀過的最才華橫溢的藝術批評著作之一 ”的《藝術與錯覺》,是一部有關製像的經典研究。它試圖回答一個簡單的問題︰何以會有被稱作風格的東西?這個問題也許簡單,卻很難回答。貢布里希教授對圖畫再現的心理學及歷史的探索,充滿睿智而包羅萬象,從而引領他進入許多重要領域。在說明肖像製作遠比它看起來要困難這一問題的過程中,貢布里希對許多新老看法作出了考證、質疑與再評價,那些新老觀點包括模仿自然、傳統的功能、抽象問題、透視的有效性,以及對表現的解釋。

E.H.貢布里希編著的《藝術與錯覺︰圖畫再現的心理學研究》雖然出版於40多年前,至今仍不失其活力與重要性。貢布里希為理解藝術和處理複雜的觀點與理論問題提供了縝密的科學發現。他對人類大腦無窮無盡的能力,對人類觀看世界與製作和觀看藝術時的微妙關係始終抱有探究之心。當驗證各種假說時,他以他深厚的學識和與生俱來的清晰的表達能力,提出了符合科學精神的論辯。再現是藝術史最基本的問題,而《藝術與錯覺》是任何對理解藝術有興趣的人的必讀書。

(摘錄自博客來網路書店)


Abstract Expressionism
[Accessible on Campus Only]  


Monday, July 1, 2013

Media, Social Mobilization and Mass Protests in Post-colonial Hong Kong: The Power of a Critical Event

Francis L. F. Lee and Joseph M. Chan
online access from ProQuest Ebook Central
check holdings in CityU LibraryFind

Since 2003, Hong Kong has witnessed a series of large-scale protests which have constituted the core of a reinvigorated pro-democracy movement. What drove tens of thousands of citizens to the street on a yearly basis to protest? What were the social and organizational bases of the protest movement? How did media and public discourses affect the protests’ formation and mobilization? How did the protesters understand their own actions and the political environment? This book tackles such questions by using a wide range of methods, including population and protest onsite surveys, media content analysis, and in-depth interviews with activists, politicians, and protest participants. It provides an account of the "self-mobilization processes" behind the historic July 1, 2003 protest, and how the protest kick-started new political dynamics and discursive contestations in the public arena which not only turned a single protest into a series of collective actions constituting a movement, but also continually shaped the movement’s characteristics and influence. The book is highly pertinent to readers interested in political development in Hong Kong, and as a case study on "the power of critical events," the book also has broad implications on the study of both media politics and social movements in general.

(Excerpt from amazon.com)