Cunxin Li Knihy

Before you fly, you have to be free. This is my story. Here is my recollection of those years growing up in Mao's China. It is my family's history. It is my journey, from my earliest memories, through discovering dance, to my life in the West. History may record things differently, others may too, but the stories here remain as true to me now as they ever were. It is a remembrance that contains the treasures from my heart. So wrote Li Cunxin in the first edition of his now phenomenally bestselling memoir. Just as his journey from bitter poverty to international stardom is a dream come true, so too has the telling of his life story taken him to places he never could have imagined. Since its release in 2003, Mao's Last Dancer has sold over 400 000 copies and regularly featured on bestseller lists. Now, some six years after its original publication, Li's inspiring story of courage and determination has been made into a major feature film. For this edition, Li gives us three powerful new chapters as he shares his experiences in making the movie, the feelings for an utterly changed China and the ongoing stories of his beloved families in Melbourne and Qingdao.

The story of the man behind one of the truly great inventions of the late 20th century: the cochlear implant which has brought the gift of hearing to thousands of children and adults around the world.As a young man, Graeme Clark read about Louis Pasteur, Marie Curie and other great scientists, little knowing that one day he would join their ranks. After watching his father struggle with hearing problems, Graeme knew he wanted to find a solution to deafness.Graeme became a surgeon, and his quiet persistence and methodical approach yielded results that fulfilled his childhood dream. Around the world, hundreds of thousands of people have now received the gift of hearing from the cochlear implant he developed. The first major medical 'bionic' implant technology, it has transformed the everyday lives of people who are profoundly deaf. Throughout his career, his belief that the impossible could be achieved, his strong family support and his Christian faith have sustained him through many obstacles, and helped him overcome resistance to his ideas from people who doubted them.This new biography tells the inspiring story of Graeme's life, and the triumphs and the setbacks behind the invention of the bionic ear.