http://catalog.westervillelibrary.org/ WPL New Adult Biography eng Wed, 23 Jul 2008 02:20:01 EDT Millennium Feed Builder 720 http://catalog.westervillelibrary.org/screens/feeds.gif http://catalog.westervillelibrary.org/ 88 31 http://catalog.westervillelibrary.org/record=b1447948*eng ]]>Everybody knows the face of Franz Kafka, whether they have read any of his works or not. And that brooding face carries instant images: bleak and threatening visions of an inescapable bureaucracy, nightmarish transformations, uncanny predictions of the Holocaust. But while Kafka’s genius is beyond question, the image of a mysterious, sickly, shadowy figure who was scarcely known in his own lifetime bears no resemblance to the historical reality. Franz Kafka was a popular and well-connected millionaire’s son who enjoyed good-time girls, brothels, and expensive porn, who landed a highly desirable state job that pulled in at least $90,000 a year in today’s dollars for a six-hour day, who remained a loyal member of Prague’s German-speaking Imperial elite right to the end, and whose work was backed by a powerful literary clique. 9780312376512 http://catalog.westervillelibrary.org/record=b1439426*eng ]]>Born in China to parents whose musical careers were interrupted by the Cultural Revolution, Lang Lang has emerged as one of the greatest pianists of our time. Yet despite his fame, few in the West know of the heart-wrenching journey from his early childhood as a prodigy in an industrial city in northern China to his difficult years in Beijing to his success today. This autobiography documents the remarkable, dramatic story of a family who sacrificed almost everything--his parents' marriage, financial security, Lang Lang's childhood, and their reputation in China's insular classical music world--for the belief in a young boy's talent. And it reveals the devastating and intense relationship between a boy and his father, who was willing to go to any length to make his son a star. An engaging, informative cultural commentator who bridges East and West, Lang Lang's book opens a door to China.--From publisher description. 9780385524568