Böcker av Jim Weeks

Jin Mi had no intentions of returning to Taiwan, but he continued to keep up-to-date on the people he left behind. He contacted Daniel every three months for his updates. After two years he decided to go back. He was informed that Cindy, his best friend and one-time lover, was in financial trouble and was refusing help. He gave Cindy and Jack permission to stay in his small house rent-free. He left Taiwan to finish his current responsibilities in the States. Jin Mi requested his lawyer to find him a new house, basically in the same area but much larger. There was a young, homeless ten-year-old girl befriended by Kwan-lo. The situation required help from the Taiwanese movie star. Nothing ever went without problems. A hit piece by Rolling Stone magazine, multiband concerts, a pregnancy and miscarriage, more trouble with Cindy, Hannah, the Finance Minister, the Taiwan President, CDs, and minitours. The highlight was two marriages and the introduction of the three-hour tour.

Jin Mi returned to Taiwan after a one-year absence. During his return, new chapters developed in his life. There was a beautiful Taiwanese movie star, a young schoolgirl, a prostitute, old loves, and new loves. There were also travels, concerts, CDs, and a new format called "e;Love Night."e; Also, there was trouble when an old friend negotiated price for a band and when the schoolgirl walked out of his life. The drama seemed to build daily until he couldn't stand it anymore. How did Jin Mi handle all this drama? Could the answer be in the CD Lost Loves, Lost Friends, Lost Memories?

A very badly wounded Viet Nam veteran learned to fight through deep depression and lived with his injuries. During recuperation, he found he had the ability to learn to play various musical instruments, and with his vocal ability, he was able to perform like a professional. He eventually reintegrated into as normal a life as possible. Along the way, he found the joys of love and the depths of extreme sadness.After leaving the military, he searched new locations for a place he could live in and found happiness-his private paradise. He found it and lost it a few times, but his music was always there to help him through the sad times. It also proved to be very entertaining to others, especially young women, and as a bonus, it was very profitable.He even learned to speak a foreign language. He made friends wherever he went. Some were very solid, long-lasting friendships, and others were very shallow and fleeting. Many people said he was the nicest man you would ever know.In the end, will there be a happy ever after?

The site of North America's greatest battle is a national icon, a byword for the Civil War, and an American cliche. Described as "e;the most American place in America,"e; Gettysburg is defended against commercial desecration like no other historic site. Yet even as schoolchildren learn to revere the place where Lincoln delivered his most famous speech, Gettysburg's image generates millions of dollars every year from touring, souvenirs, reenactments, films, games, collecting, and the Internet. Examining Gettysburg's place in American culture, this book finds that the selling of Gettysburg is older than the shrine itself.Gettysburg entered the market not with recent interest in the Civil War nor even with twentieth-century tourism but immediately after the battle. Founded by a modern industrial society with the capacity to deliver uniform images to millions, Gettysburg, from the very beginning, reflected the nation's marketing trends as much as its patriotism. Gettysburg's pilgrims--be they veterans, families on vacation, or Civil War reenactors--have always been modern consumers escaping from the world of work and responsibility even as they commemorate. And it is precisely this commodification of sacred ground, this tension between commerce and commemoration, that animates Gettysburg's popularity.Gettysburg continues to be a current rather than a past event, a site that reveals more about ourselves as Americans than the battle it remembers. Gettysburg is, as it has been since its famous battle, both a cash cow and a revered symbol of our most deeply held values.