In the 1990s, American civil society got upended and reordered as many social, cultural, political, and economic institutions were changed forever. Pretty People examines a wide range of Hollywood icons who reflect how stardom in that decade was transformed as the nation itself was signaling significant changes to familiar ideas about gender, race, ethnicity, age, class, sexuality, and nationality. Such actors as Denzel Washington, Andy Garcia, Halle Berry, Angela Bassett, Will Smith, Jennifer Lopez, and Antonio Banderas became bona fide movie stars who carried major films to amazing box-office success. Five of the decade’s top ten films were opened by three women—Julia Roberts, Jodie Foster, and Whoopi Goldberg. “Chick flick” entered the lexicon as Leonardo DiCaprio became the “King of the World,” ushering in the cult of the mega celebrity. Tom Hanks and Tom Cruise defined screen masculinity as stark contrasts between “the regular guy” and “the intense guy” while the roles of Michael Douglas exemplified the endangered “Average White Male.” A fascinating composite portrait of 1990s Hollywood and its stars, this collection marks the changes to stardom and society at century’s end.

"Barbara Freethy delivers riveting, plot-twisting suspense and a deeply emotional story. Every book is a thrilling ride." USA Today Bestselling Author Rachel Grant Ten years ago, I was seventeen, spending summers with my wealthy family and friends on Hawk Island. One terrible night, I blacked out. The next morning, my best friend, Melanie, was gone—vanished without a trace. Today, I go back. To the island. To my sister's wedding. To a group of privileged people with whom I've never belonged. To my best friend's brother, a man who hates us all. To secrets that someone will kill to keep. A storm is coming. A storm that will cut off the island from all hope of help. A storm that could allow a kidnapper to escape or a killer to murder again. A storm that will wash away all the lies and deception and reveal the true faces of All the Pretty People. Will I be the next one to disappear? #1 New York Times Bestselling Author Barbara Freethy invites you to experience her newest and most gripping page-turner to date; fans of Gone Girl, The Last Thing He Told Me, and One by One will love this psychological thriller with a jaw-dropping twist that will leave you breathless. What the readers are saying… "Barbara Freethy’s suspense novels are explosively good!" — New York Times bestselling author Toni Anderson. "WOW! Another wonderful page turner, suspense filled mystery with more twists and turns than a roller coaster." Cheryl – Goodreads "A heart-stopping thriller that goes to the head. Freethy plays the ultimate mind game with chilling results. The twists keep coming. The danger is haunting, and the emotions are riveting. Step inside a nightmare that will steal your breath and touch your heart." Isha - BookBub "All the Pretty People is a five stars emotional thriller. Barbara Freethy knows how to snag reader’s attention immediately and never let it disengage until the last period. So many secrets and lies will be revealed in a tight plot that will keep one guessing." Jane - Goodreads "The twists and turns just kept happening and kept me on the edge of my seat. So many lies and false stories have been told and I did not figure out what happened until the final reveal! I highly recommend this book to those lovers of mystery/romance stories." Elsie – Goodreads "Stunning roller coaster of a story. Riveting, I could not put it down." Peggy - Goodreads "Powerful and absorbing...sheer hold-your-breath suspense." — NYT Bestselling Author Karen Robards on Don’t Say A Word "A fabulous, page-turning combination of romance and intrigue." Fans of Nora Roberts will love this book." — NYT Bestselling Author Kristin Hannah on Golden Lies

This book discusses and studies the basic course of ecological civilization construction in the 70 years since the founding of the People’s Republic of China and summarizes the experience and lessons. It contains 75 articles from 75 top experts and government officials in the field of ecological civilization policy-making and basic theory research in China, including Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization, ecological culture, green industry economy, environmental quality, legal system, ecological security and so on, so as to provide reference for understanding and studying the progress of ecological environment protection since the founding of China.

This book considers the Chinese conception of beauty from a historical perspective with regard to its significant relation to human personality and human existence. It examines the etymological implications of the pictographic character mei, the totemic symbolism of beauty, the ferocious beauty of the bronzeware. Further on, it proceeds to look into the conceptual progression of beauty in such main schools of thought as Confucianism, Daoism and Chan Buddhism. Then, it goes on to illustrate through art and literature the leading principles of equilibriumharmony, spontaneous naturalness, subtle void and synthetic possibilities. It also offers a discussion of modern change and transcultural creation conducted with particular reference to the theory of the poetic state par excellence (yi jing shuo) and that of art as sedimentation (ji dian shuo).

A look at outstanding physical attractiveness as a quality or possession, comparable to power, intelligence, strength, wealth, education or family.

A damaged teenage tech prodigy meets an enigmatic waitress in a tiny Tokyo café, sparking an epic journey across Japan that will change everything, forever ... a captivating, masterful novel with an extraordinary mystery at its heart... 'Set against a tech heavy backdrop Beautiful Shining People blooms into an emotional and soulful tale that reckons with the isolation we can all feel as outsiders' SciFi Now Book of the Month 'That Beautiful Shining People isn't just a slipstream novel with pretensions to being literature is in great part down to the deftness and tenderness with which Grothaus draws his central relationship ... to let us explore a world of robots and deepfakes that's just unfamiliar enough to be exotic' SFX Magazine Book of the Month 'A fascinating exploration of what it means to be human in a world where everything can be faked ... wonderful, insightful and thoughtful' James Oswald ––––––––––––– This world is anything but ordinary, and it's about to change forever... It's our world, but decades into the future... An ordinary world, where cars drive themselves, drones glide across the sky, and robots work in burger shops. There are two superpowers and a digital Cold War, but all conflicts are safely oceans away. People get up, work, and have dinner. Everything is as it should be... Except for seventeen-year-old John, a tech prodigy from a damaged family, who hides a deeply personal secret. But everything starts to change for him when he enters a tiny café on a cold Tokyo night. A café run by a disgraced sumo wrestler, where a peculiar dog with a spherical head lives, alongside its owner, enigmatic waitress Neotnia... But Neotnia hides a secret of her own – a secret that will turn John's unhappy life upside down. A secret that will take them from the neon streets of Tokyo to Hiroshima's tragic past to the snowy mountains of Nagano. A secret that reveals that this world is anything ordinary – and it's about to change forever... ––––––––––––– 'Poetically written, every word of this adventure leaps off the page with passion. A wonderful and enlightening trip' The Sun 'Cyberpunk meets bildungsroman – a real joy' Oscar de Muriel 'Exquisite world-building, this book had me invested from the very first page. Vivid plot and irresistible characters and a real tug at the soul ... you'll drown in it' Lisa Bradley 'A life-affirming, epic book about what it is to be human: to live, to dream, to hope, to love ... at a time when we most need reminding of these things' David F Ross 'Totally engrossing from the start – the story, characters and settings will linger in your imagination long after you're finished ... truly wonderful' Jonathan Whitelaw 'Masterful ... truly breathtaking and achingly beautiful. It builds anticipation and suspense before coming together in a thrilling, captivating conclusion' The Bookbag 'Outstanding! Sci-fi showing how the past might impact on the future ... a glimpse into a (very plausible) terrifying future' Michael J Malone What readers are saying... ***** 'A beautiful, emotional and thought-provoking read' 'A striking and strange novel – and a searing statement about the dangerously thin lines between utopia and dystopia' 'Just devastatingly beautiful' 'My book of the year ... no question' 'Masterful storytelling' 'Succinctly captured the feeling of Japanese fiction. I was very much put in mind of Haruki Murakami or Toshikazu Kawaguchi'

Do you believe in the power of love? This book will show you how our society has abandoned love. It will show you how everyone is too focused on technology. We live in a world where weak bonds have been developed through our phones. We have become desensitized to the point that we have forgotten our humanity. Some have turned into robots and have abandoned their emotions altogether. The main character, one of the only humans left, tries to use her love to save humanity.