Art Analysis

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, (1974), by Robert Pirsig, is a heavily autobiographical novel about the author's cross-country motorcycle ride with his 11-year-old son, Chris. Haunted by his own history of mental illness, and worried about Chris, who recently received a similar diagnosis, the unnamed narrator plots a route from Minnesota to California. Listen to this in-depth analysis to learn more.

Transforming Harry: The Adaptation of Harry Potter in the Transmedia Age is an edited volume of eight essays that look at how the cinematic versions of the seven Harry Potter novels represent an unprecedented cultural event in the history of cinematic adaptation.

Since its publication on September 30, 1868, Little Women has been one of America's favorite stories. While we now think of it as a girls' book, it was initially read by both boys and girls, men and women of all ages. Professor Anne Boyd Rioux, who read it in her 20s, tells us how Louisa May Alcott came to write the book and drew inspiration for her story from her own life. Rioux sees the novel's beating heart in its honest look at adolescence and its inspiring vision of young women's resilience and hope.

In Cross of Snow, the result of more than 12 years of research, including access to never-before-examined letters, diaries, journals, and notes, Nicholas Basbanes reveals the life, the times, the work - the soul - of the man who shaped the literature of a new nation with his countless poems, sonnets, stories, essays, and translations, and whose renown was so wide-reaching that his deep friendships included Charles Dickens, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Julia Ward Howe, and Oscar Wilde. 

It is no exaggeration to say that venture capital has been central to the greatest legal creation of wealth anywhere and has enabled much of the world we live in, yet we know surprisingly little about this strange tribe of financiers. In The Power Law, Sebastian Mallaby turns his unprecedented access to the industry's central players into a riveting, character-driven account of venture capital and the world it has made. 

Du Fu (712-70) is one of China’s greatest poets. His career coincided with periods of famine, war and huge upheaval, yet his secular philosophical vision, combined with his empathy for the common folk of his nation, ensured that he soon became revered. Like Shakespeare or Dante, his poetry resonates in a timeless manner that ensures it is always relevant and offers something new to the modern generation. Broadcaster and historian Michael Wood follows in his footsteps to try to understand the places that inspired Du Fu to write some of the most famous and best-loved poetry the world has known.

Imagine being able to fly. Walk through walls. Shape-shift. Breathe underwater. Conjure loved ones - or total strangers - out of thin air. Imagine experiencing your nighttime dreams with the same awareness you possess right now - fully functioning memory, imagination, and self-awareness. Imagine being able to use this power to be more creative, solve problems, and discover a deep sense of well-being.

This book is an invaluable and inspirational material for the film, television and theater professional. It helps directors, actors, writers, designers, producers and executives tap into their imagination and instincts, in turn helping them create the films they’ve always dreamed of creating.

While other books give you tips on how to “write funny,” this book offers a paradigm shift in understanding the mechanics and art of comedy and the proven, practical tools that help writers translate that understanding into successful commercial scripts. The Hidden Tools of Comedy unlocks the unique secrets and techniques of writing comedy. Kaplan deconstructs sequences in popular films and TV that work and don’t work and explains what tools were used (or should have been used).

Sun Tzu was a Chinese general who is credited with The Art of War, a military strategy guide. Its principles are written broadly enough that many of them still apply to non-military struggles today. Below are some of Sun Tzu's timelessly relevant maxims, analyzed and modernized for today's strategic risk management battles.

In their book, The Art and Science of Low Carbohydrate Living Jeff S. Volek and Stephen D. Phinney make a convincing argument that the human body does not NEED carbohydrates to survive and provide the science behind their claims.

The Divergent series is delighting the world with its epic of Tris and Four struggling through revolutions to create a better world. But there are deeper meanings and symbols beneath the surface. Why is it fitting that teens numbered three and four should remake the world? How many Biblical references appear? Why are ravens and crows such popular symbols? And what themes and images does this series share with The Hunger Games and all the other dystopias, past and present?

The essential skill that helps you form more rewarding interpersonal relationships, boost professional relationships, improve your overall social life, and generally lead a happier life is the skill of speed-reading people accurately. The gift of being able to read people's feelings, thoughts, and behavior is probably what sets apart exceptional performers from average folks. Analyzing other humans isn't a skill we are all born with, but it can be acquired with training and practice.

The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing by Marie Kondo helps people discard unnecessary items, reorganize their possessions, and properly store items in a home. The procedures Kondo developed for organization and decluttering are called the KonMari Method. Those who follow these Japanese methods of organization can experience the magic of tidying and the ways it can transform a person’s life.

A former US naval intelligence worker, Milton William Cooper published his manifesto Behold a Pale Horse in 1991. Since then it has gone on to sell hundreds of thousands of copies, becoming the number-one best seller in the American prison system. According to Behold a Pale Horse, JFK was assassinated - because he was about to reveal that extraterrestrials were about to take over the earth - by his driver, an alien himself; AIDS is a government conspiracy; and much more.

In 1927, as a twenty-three-year-old postgraduate scholar in Paris, Joseph Campbell first encountered James Joyce’s Ulysses. Known for being praised and for kicking up controversy (including an obscenity trial in the United States in 1920), the novel left Campbell both intrigued and confused, as it had many others. Because he was in Paris, he was able to visit the Shakespeare & Company bookstore - the outpost of the original publisher of Ulysses, Sylvia Beach. She gave him “clues” for reading Ulysses, and that, Campbell attested, changed his career.

The foreign exchange market is the largest financial market in the world, with a daily average turnover of more than $5 trillion. It operates 24 hours a day, five days a week, and is decentralized, meaning that it is not centrally located in a specific location. As the largest and most liquid financial market in the world, FOREX offers endless opportunities for those willing to learn and take risks. This audiobook is a guide to the world of FOREX trading, designed to give listeners the knowledge and skills they need to succeed in this fast-paced and ever-changing market.

Think smarter, better, and faster. Clear thinking is the key to truth, wisdom, and knowledge. Whether it’s from ourselves or others, we rarely see the world as it really is. We aren’t able to think clearly. We build our beliefs on lies, assumptions, and deceptions. This ends now. Practical methods to never be fooled, stop making mistakes, and avoid traps. The Art of Clear Thinking takes an in-depth look at the everyday illusions we come across, and how to defeat them once and for all.

Everybody knows there’s money to be made in stocks. But the reality is only a fraction of investors actually turn profits. If you’re a retail investor with no professional experience…and you don’t have access to all the “insider knowledge” and resources that institutional investors have…you’re more or less gambling your money away.

Bob Pisani is senior markets correspondent for CNBC and has spent the past 25 years on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. He has been on the front line of finance for all the major events of the last quarter century, including the Asian Financial Crisis, the dot-com bubble and collapse, the terrorist attacks of 9/11, and the Great Financial Crisis. What was it like to witness these events firsthand, at the center of the financial world? In Shut Up and Keep Talking, Bob tells a series of captivating stories that reveal what he has learned about life and investing.