Original Copies

A 108-meter high Eiffel Tower rises above Champs Elysées Square in Hangzhou. A Chengdu residential complex for 200,000 recreates Dorchester, England. An ersatz Queen’s Guard patrols Shanghai’s Thames Town, where pubs and statues of Winston Churchill abound. Gleaming replicas of the White House dot Chinese cities from Fuyang to Shenzhen. These examples are but a sampling of China’s most popular and startling architectural movement: the construction of monumental themed communities that replicate towns and cities in the West. Original Copies presents the first definitive chronicle of this remarkable phenomenon in which entire townships appear to have been airlifted from their historic and geographic foundations in Europe and the Americas, and spot-welded to Chinese cities. These copycat constructions are not theme parks but thriving communities where Chinese families raise children, cook dinners, and simulate the experiences of a pseudo-Orange County or Oxford. In recounting the untold and evolving story of China’s predilection for replicating the greatest architectural hits of the West, Bianca Bosker explores what this unprecedented experiment in “duplitecture” implies for the social, political, architectural, and commercial landscape of contemporary China. With her lively, authoritative narrative, the author shows us how, in subtle but important ways, these homes and public spaces shape the behavior of their residents, as they reflect the achievements, dreams, and anxieties of those who inhabit them, as well as those of their developers and designers. From Chinese philosophical perspectives on copying to twenty-first century market forces, Bosker details the factors giving rise to China’s new breed of building. Her analysis draws on insights from the world’s leading architects, critics and city planners, and on interviews with the residents of these developments.

"If I could give an aspiring writer one piece of advice, it would be to read this book." — Hugh Howey, New York Times best selling author of Wool "Tim Grahl is fast becoming a legend, almost single-handedly changing the way authors around the world spread ideas and connect with readers. If you've got a book to promote, stop what you're doing right now and start reading Your First 1000 Copies." — Daniel H. Pink, New York Times bestselling author of Drive and When "Your First 1000 Copies is a must-read for authors trying to build a connection with their readers." — Dan Heath & Chip Heath, co-authors of Made to Stick, Switch, and Decisive "I watched in awe as Tim Grahl had 5 clients on the New York Times bestseller list in the same week. There is no one I trust more to learn about book marketing." - Pamela Slim, Author, Body of Work "Tim was an early pioneer in teaching book authors how Internet marketing actually works." - Hugh MacLeod, author of Ignore Everybody and Evil Plans Imagine if you had a direct connection with thousands of readers who loved reading your books. And imagine if those readers eagerly awaited the launch of your next book. How would that direct relationship with your readers change your writing career? How would you feel knowing that every time you started a new book project, you already had people excited to buy it and ready to recommend it to others? In Your First 1000 Copies, seasoned book marketing expert Tim Grahl walks you through how successful authors are using the online marketing tools to build their platform, connect with readers and sell more books. Tim has worked with over 100 different authors from top best sellers such as Hugh Howey, Daniel Pink, Barbara Corcoran Charles Duhigg, Chip and Dan Heath, Ramit Sethi and Pamela Slim to authors just get started on their first writing project. He has worked with authors across all fiction and non-fiction genres. Along with his client work, he has studied many other successful authors to learn what works and what doesn't. The result is Your First 1000 Copies where he walks you through the Connection System, a plan that every author can immediately start using. The plan looks like this: - Permission - How to open up communication with your readers where you can reliably engage them and invite them to be involved. - Content - How to use content to engage with current readers and connect with new ones. - Outreach - How to ethically and politely introduce yourself to new readers. - Sell - How all of these steps can naturally lead to book sales without being pushy or annoying This is a system that any author can immediately put in place to start building their platform. Whether you're a seasoned author looking to step into the new publishing landscape, or you're a brand new author, Your First 1000 Copies will give you the tools to connect with readers and sell more books.

In Original Copies in Georges Perec and Andy Warhol, Priya Wadhera bridges the works of Perec and Warhol for the first time, illuminating a postmodern aesthetic where the original is devalued and the copy reigns supreme.