Author: Shih-shan Henry Tsai
Publisher: University of Washington Press
ISBN: 0295800224
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 295
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Book Description
The reign of Emperor Yongle, or “Perpetual Happiness,” was one of the most dramatic and significant in Chinese history. It began with civil war and a bloody coup, saw the construction of the Forbidden City, the completion of the Grand Canal, consolidation of the imperial bureaucracy, and expansion of China’s territory into Mongolia, Manchuria, and Vietnam. Beginning with an hour-by-hour account of one day in Yongle’s court, Shih-shan Henry Tsai presents the multiple dimensions of the life of Yongle (Zhu Di, 1360-1424) in fascinating detail. Tsai examines the role of birth, education, and tradition in molding the emperor’s personality and values, and paints a rich portrait of a man characterized by stark contrasts. Synthesizing primary and secondary source materials, he has crafted a colorful biography of the most renowned of the Ming emperors.
Author: Pascal Bruckner
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 0691204039
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 256
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Book Description
How happiness became mandatory—and why we should reject the demand to "be happy" Happiness today is not just a possibility or an option but a requirement and a duty. To fail to be happy is to fail utterly. Happiness has become a religion—one whose smiley-faced god looks down in rebuke upon everyone who hasn't yet attained the blessed state of perpetual euphoria. How has a liberating principle of the Enlightenment—the right to pursue happiness—become the unavoidable and burdensome responsibility to be happy? How did we become unhappy about not being happy—and what might we do to escape this predicament? In Perpetual Euphoria, Pascal Bruckner takes up these questions with all his unconventional wit, force, and brilliance, arguing that we might be happier if we simply abandoned our mad pursuit of happiness. Gripped by the twin illusions that we are responsible for being happy or unhappy and that happiness can be produced by effort, many of us are now martyring ourselves—sacrificing our time, fortunes, health, and peace of mind—in the hope of entering an earthly paradise. Much better, Bruckner argues, would be to accept that happiness is an unbidden and fragile gift that arrives only by grace and luck. A stimulating and entertaining meditation on the unhappiness at the heart of the modern cult of happiness, Perpetual Euphoria is a book for everyone who has ever bristled at the command to "be happy."
Author: Max Lucado
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
ISBN: 0718096479
Category : Self-Help
Languages : en
Pages : 239
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Book Description
These are tough times. Amid global isolation, economic downturn, and social unrest, could you use a dose of happy right about now? Learn the secret to lasting joy that will endure through any season of life. In How Happiness Happens, Max Lucado shares the unexpected path to a lasting happiness, one that produces reliable joy amidst any life circumstance. Based on the teachings of Jesus and backed by modern research, this book presents a surprising but practical way of living that will change you from the inside out. In this book, Max will help you discover: Happiness is not selfish People are a joy There is strength in choice Happiness happens when you give it away What are you waiting for? Open the unexpected door to joy and walk in. There’s no better day than today to start your happiest life yet. How Happiness Happens is also available in Spanish.
Author: Richard O'Connor
Publisher: Little, Brown Spark
ISBN: 0316266957
Category : Self-Help
Languages : en
Pages : 380
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Book Description
The bestselling approachable guide that has inspired thousands of readers to manage or overcome depression — fully revised and updated for life in the 21st century. Depression rates around the world have skyrocketed in the 20‑plus years since Richard O'Connor first published his classic book on living with and overcoming depression. Nearly 40 million American adults suffer from the condition, which affects nearly every aspect of life, from relationships, to job performance, physical health, productivity, and, of course, overall happiness. And in an increasingly stressful and overwhelming world, it's more important than ever to understand the causes and effects of depression, and what we can do to overcome it. In this fully revised and updated edition — which includes updated information on the power of mindfulness, the relationship between depression and other diseases, the risks and side effects of medication, depression’s effect on thinking, and the benefits of exercise — Dr. O'Connor explains that, like heart disease and other physical conditions, depression is fueled by complex and interrelated factors: genetic, biochemical, environmental. But Dr. O'Connor focuses on an additional factor that is often overlooked: our own habits. Unwittingly we get good at depression. We learn how to hide it, and how to work around it. We may even achieve great things, but with constant struggle rather than satisfaction. Relying on these methods to make it through each day, we deprive ourselves of true recovery, of deep joy and healthy emotion. Undoing Depression teaches us how to replace depressive patterns with a new and more effective set of skills. We already know how to "do" depression—and we can learn how to undo it. With a truly holistic approach that synthesizes the best of the many schools of thought about this painful disease, and a critical eye toward medications, O'Connor offers new hope—and new life—for sufferers of depression.
Author: Gretchen Rubin
Publisher: Harper Collins
ISBN: 1443418196
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 354
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Book Description
What if you could change your life--without changing your life? Gretchen had a good marriage, two healthy daughters, and work she loved--but one day, stuck on a city bus, she realized that time was flashing by, and she wasn’t thinking enough about the things that really mattered. “I should have a happiness project,” she decided. She spent the next year test-driving the wisdom of the ages, current scientific studies, and lessons from popular culture about how to be happier. Each month, she pursued a different set of resolutions: go to sleep earlier, quit nagging, forget about results, or take time to be silly. Bit by bit, she began to appreciate and amplify the happiness that already existed in her life. Written with humour and insight, Gretchen’s story will inspire you to start your own happiness project. Now in a beautiful, expanded edition, Gretchen offers a wealth of new material including happiness paradoxes and practical tips on many daily matters: being a more light-hearted parent, sticking to a fitness routine, getting your sweetheart to do chores without nagging, coping when you forget someone’s name and more.
Author: Claire Legrand
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1442466022
Category : Juvenile Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 400
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Book Description
Finley Hart is sent to her grandparents' house for the summer, but her anxiety and overwhelmingly sad days continue until she escapes into her writings which soon turn mysteriously real and she realizes she must save this magical world in order to save herself.
Author: Shih-shan Henry Tsai
Publisher: SUNY Press
ISBN: 9780791426876
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 306
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Book Description
This book is the first on Chinese eunuchs in English and presents a comprehensive picture of the role that they played in the Ming dynasty, 1368-1644. Extracted from a wide range of primary and secondary source material, the author provides significant and interesting information about court politics, espionage and internal security, military and foreign affairs, tax and tribute collection, the operation of imperial monopolies, judiciary review, the layout of the palace complex, the Grand Canal, and much more. The eunuchs are shown to be not just a minor adjunct to a government of civil servants and military officers, but a fully developed third branch of the Ming administration that participated in all of the most essential matters of the dynasty. The veil of condemnation and jealousy imposed on eunuchs by the compilers of official history is pulled away to reveal a richly textured tapestry. Eunuchs are portrayed in a balanced manner that gives due consideration to able and faithful service along with the inept, the lurid, and the iniquitous.
Author: Max Lucado
Publisher:
ISBN: 1400217245
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 145
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Book Description
What makes you happy? Do you live a life filled with genuine, unabashed joy? The path there may surprise you. You aren't in charge of the weather, the traffic, or the occupant of the White House. But you can always increase the number of smiles on our planet. You can lower the anger level in your city. You, yes you, can help people to sleep better, laugh more, hum instead of grumble, walk instead of stumble. And don't be surprised when you begin to sense a newfound joy yourself. That's what this book is about: the unexpected path to joy. In this 52-week guided journal, each week includes an excerpt of Max's writing, primarily from How Happiness Happens. Each entry also includes a scripture and a guided journal prompt, alongside journaling space with photos and beautiful illustrations on each spread. This beautiful book is great to work through independently or as you read Max Lucado's How Happiness Happens. By walking through the "one another" passages found in Scripture, Max equips you with both an overarching way of living and practical day-to-day actions that produce a life of happiness and moments of true joy. You'll discover the secret that the Bible teaches and research affirms: doing good does good for the doer. This guided journal will help you discover what happiness is and how to find that deep, lasting, heart-brimming-over kind of happy.
Author: O the Oprah Magazine
Publisher: Macmillan
ISBN: 1250068568
Category : Literary Collections
Languages : en
Pages : 204
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Book Description
A collection of thoughtful and affecting writing on happiness-the first in a series of inspirational books from O. Magazine.
Author: Tara Altebrando
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1416513280
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 289
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Book Description
Reeling from her mother's death, an aimless 21st-century teen working at a historic village discovers new friends, new loves, and the courage to forge her own path.
