“Irishness” has often meant self-dramatization because Ireland is commonly represented, and has historically represented itself, as a nation of storytellers, musicians, and virtuoso performers. Like many of their characters, Joyce and Beckett were superb musicians, creators of performance, and they sought both to evoke and exhaust the resources and rhythms of language and performance. In this groundbreaking work, Alan Warren Friedman explores the rich historical and literary backgrounds of this distinctly Irish phenomenon. He then explains its cultural significance and discusses the major works of both authors, illustrating the diverse ways in which Ireland is enacted. Party Pieces offers a distinct contribution to the critical study of Joyce and Beckett. Unlike other books on the subject of social performance, it places two great modern Irish writers within social and metaphorical conventions that are specifically moored in their Irishness. In so doing the author shows how social performances not only impacted the works of Joyce and Beckett but also were central to their creative processes. Meticulously researched, convincingly argued, and clearly written, Party Pieces is an ideal reference for scholars of Joyce, Beckett, and Irish studies.

"Whether you're launching your own company, or are more of a reluctant entrepreneur, you face the imperative to build your brand. Kaputa has made this challenger her personal and professional study, and she shares secrets worth many times the cost of admission!" - Daniel H. Pink, author of Drive and A Whole New Mind Even the smallest idea can have BIG impact when positioned correctly. Breakthrough Branding shows entrepreneurs, intrapreneurs, and small businesses alike the secrets to transforming a brainstorm into big bucks. From the grassroots growth of beverage brands like Red Bull, Honest Tea, and Innocent, to the exploding growth of digital brands like Twitter, Weibo, and Groupon; from the cult appeal of stores like Forever 21, to the success of virtual retailers like Zappos - successful companies of all types and sizes begin with three things: ambition, a winning idea, and a brand strategy. Branding expert Catherine Kaputa uses dozens of international brand histories to demonstrate what makes a brand thrive, and provides you with the tools to do the same. Learn how to define your audience, create a standout personality, and position yourself as superior to the competition - all by utilizing the power of branding! Packed with thoughtful reader exercises and filled with leading-edge social media strategies, Breakthrough Branding teaches novice start-ups to seasoned professionals how to leverage their assets to create a successful business.

Party in style! Enjoy easy entertaining! Filled with DIY decoration ideas and tons of time-saving tips, this book lets you create one-of-a-kind events that your guests will never forget. Try these crowd-pleasing treats at your next gathering. - Crazy Cotton Candy Dip - Bacon Burger on a Stick - Lasagna in a Jar - Grilled Cheese Station - Noah's Horchata This book is like your own personal party planner with quizzes, timelines, checklists, sample menus, and decorative crafts. Perfect for parents, teachers, and teens! No matter how big or small your soire?É?Öe, Party Style makes it easy to create the celebration of your dreams for all your friends and family to enjoy.

Called “remarkable” (The Wall Street Journal) and “an ambitious, colossal debut novel” (Publishers Weekly), Helen DeWitt’s The Last Samurai is back in print at last Helen DeWitt’s 2000 debut, The Last Samurai, was “destined to become a cult classic” (Miramax). The enterprising publisher sold the rights in twenty countries, so “Why not just, ‘destined to become a classic?’” (Garth Risk Hallberg) And why must cultists tell the uninitiated it has nothing to do with Tom Cruise? Sibylla, an American-at-Oxford turned loose on London, finds herself trapped as a single mother after a misguided one-night stand. High-minded principles of child-rearing work disastrously well. J. S. Mill (taught Greek at three) and Yo Yo Ma (Bach at two) claimed the methods would work with any child; when these succeed with the boy Ludo, he causes havoc at school and is home again in a month. (Is he a prodigy, a genius? Readers looking over Ludo’s shoulder find themselves easily reading Greek and more.) Lacking male role models for a fatherless boy, Sibylla turns to endless replays of Kurosawa’s masterpiece Seven Samurai. But Ludo is obsessed with the one thing he wants and doesn’t know: his father’s name. At eleven, inspired by his own take on the classic film, he sets out on a secret quest for the father he never knew. He’ll be punched, sliced, and threatened with retribution. He may not live to see twelve. Or he may find a real samurai and save a mother who thinks boredom a fate worse than death.

Kate Middleton is the wife of England’s Prince William and future Queen of England. Find out about her life before Buckingham Palace, from her middle-class childhood all the way through university and young adulthood.

Examining the Green Party Taiwan (GPT) since its establishment through the aftermath of the most recent national elections in January 2020, this book focuses on Taiwan’s most important movement party over the last two and a half decades. Despite its limited electoral impact, its leaders have played a critical role in a range of social movements, including anti-nuclear and LGBT rights campaigns. Plotting the party’s evolution in electoral politics as well as its engagement with the global green movement, this volume analyses key patterns of party change in electoral campaign appeals, organisation and its human face. The second half of the volume concentrates on explaining both the party’s electoral impact and why the party has adjusted ideologically and organisationally over time. Based on a wide range of material collected, including focus groups, interviews and political communication data, the research relies heavily on analysis of campaign material and the voices of party activists and also considers other Green Parties, such as the splinter Trees Party and GPT-Social Democratic Alliance. Applying a wide range of theoretical frameworks to plot and explain small party development, this book will appeal both to students and scholars of Taiwan’s politics and civil society but also to readers with an interest in small parties and particularly environmental parties and movements.

Capitalised Education is not a biography of Kate Middleton, but, rather, understands her wedding on April 29th 2011 as a 'plateau', wherein a complex knot of social, political and economic forces collided. The chapters of the book make up a non-linear history of the royal wedding, a history that is underpinned by the ways in which power has been handled by the British royal family through time.