Discover the grandest opera houses around the world in 150 Opera Houses You Need to Visit Before You Die. This book will take you on a fascinating journey through 150 unique opera houses across all continents. Whether you are an opera-goer or architecture lover, this richly illustrated book serves as an inspiring travel guide and is the perfect reference for those passionate about the performing arts. From opulent Baroque theaters in Germany to sleek contemporary performing arts centers in China, each opera house has its own story – full of drama of course, and worth exploring both on stage and backstage.
Sicilian cuisine is known as curtigghiu – of the courtyard – with recipes passed from door to door and from generation to generation by word of mouth. Influenced by the endless crossing of cultures that is Sicily’s history, its food is as rich in tradition as it is in taste. Here this mingling of Europe, Italy, the Middle East and North Africa is celebrated in 30 recipes chosen by Maite and Marie and photographed – both landscapes and finished dishes – by Mau.
Tuscany is home to Florence, the Renaissance, stunning landscapes, great wines – and food. Simple, slow cooked, made with the finest ingredients, locally sourced. Maite and Marie collect 30 traditional recipes, combined with 40 of Mau’s delicious photographs, and published at an affordable price. Now the best of Tuscan food is within easy reach of any home cook.
More than other painters, the Impressionists wanted to shake off the dust of the studio, and swarmed the noisy streets of Paris, filling the cafés and living in garrets and humble little dwellings on the hill of Montmartre, which still seemed like the countryside at the time, its slopes covered with vineyards and vegetable gardens. Nor did they limit themselves to the city, planting their easels in the clearings of the forest of Fontainebleau, on the coast of Normandy, in the rustic villages in the Oise Valley and in Bougival and Argenteuil on the banks of the Seine. Like their Naturalist friends Zola and Maupassant, they liked to mix with the locals so they could experience the places directly, painting everywhere, even on a boat, like the one where Monet had his floating studio.
How can you stay relevant for your customers? The answer is a combination of the following three factors: technology, personal involvement and social commitment. The past ten years have been marked by the arrival of 4G, mobile services, and robotics. These technologies have brought about a revolution in the field of customer experience and in the future, this will evolve even further. As a company, you will have to take a more active part in the personal life journey of your customers. This opens up the opportunity to tackle, together with your customer, concrete social world problems, including climate change, mobility, and health care. Customers increasingly seek out companies that do good for both themselves, and the world.
As part of a personal quest, director Hermann Vaske explored the genius behind the world’s most intriguing artists and thinkers for over 30 years. His interview partners include over 1000 luminaries, among them Academy Award and Nobel Prize winners, from the fields of visual art, music, acting, philosophy, politics, business and science, posing the question: “Why are you creative?”
All of the participants also created an artefact for the project — some very personal, some bizarre. Following the success of exhibitions across Europe, now, 100 of the most interesting, fascinating answers are compiled in this book.
Skiing connects people. Based on this motto, graphic designer Peter Erlach had an idea in 2022: a quartet and mini travel guide presenting 32 legendary ski resorts and slopes, accompanied by the most important facts and figures. The selection of the 32 ski resorts is based both on the personal memories of the author, who grew up skiing in Austria, and on the destinations that are still on his wish list. Each ski area is presented on a map with a meaningful photo and all the important key data. This makes it easy to discover 32 of the most beautiful and spectacular ski areas. Accompanying it there is a booklet, which deals still more in detail with the ski areas, and special attention lies also on the quality of the photos. All photographers are listed with their name and website, so you can also discover other impressive winter sports photographs.
This star I give to you is the first publication on the work of London-based artist Freya Douglas-Morris, presenting a body of paintings exploring the poetry, beauty and magic of landscapes and the natural world.
The book documents the artist’s first solo exhibition of the same name at Alexander Berggruen, New York, in 2023, and showcases the eight large oil paintings on canvas and five oil paintings on copper that were on display. This star I give to you includes a conversation between the artist and British publisher Matt Price, a foreword by New York-based writer and Associate Director at Alexander Berggruen, Kirsten Cave, along with studio notes by the artist on each of the reproduced works.
A graduate of the University of Brighton and the Royal College of Art, London, Douglas-Morris has exhibited internationally in China, Taiwan, The Bahamas, Austria, Italy, France and America.
A gem of a book that stays with you long after you have finished it. Edvard Munch wrote continuously; letters, diaries, literary texts and other notes. In Like a Ghost I Leave You you will find striking statements about art versus nature, enemies, money, death and much more. – “Had I been in Possession of the as yet undiscovered little Remote telephone which one carries around in one’s Pocket You would have long ago received Communications from me”- Undated draft of a letter to Jens Willumsen.
Through a selection of Edvard Munch works the Norwegian award-winning author Lene Ask invites children of all ages to draw and be creative together with Munch. The book has texts by Ask accompanied by exercises that are related to Munch’s way of experimenting and encourage children to participate in the wonderful world of Munch’s art. Design by Aslak Gurholt, one of Norway’s most renowned and award-winning book designers.
Ages 8+
Shot over three years from 2019 to 2022, Thank You For Playing With Me by Yolanda Y. Liou is an intimate look at two plus-size models, Enam Ewura Adjoa Asiama and Vanessa Russell. Liou first came across Asiama’s Instagram in 2019 and was blown away by her confidence and charisma. It was the type of confidence that Liou struggled to have about her own body due to her upbringing in Taiwan. “Growing up in Taiwan, I was consistently exposed to the relentless beauty standards that prioritised being skinny… This obsession led me to believe that I was never beautiful enough, and consequently, I felt unworthy of love. I constantly sought ways to conform, believing that only then would I be accepted and appreciated.” Liou’s main aim with this photo book is to help people embrace their individuality.
“THANK YOU BYE was born out of a need to put down somewhere what I have experienced over the last five years. Although it gives the impression of a veil being lifted, it is simply a record of my personal experience. The intention, through these hundreds of photos, is to transcribe the absurd, crazy and little-known world of modelling, by means of an unpublished souvenir album of my time spent in fashion. The result is THANK YOU BYE, which owes its name to the phrase uttered by casting directors every time you walk in front of them. It recounts my moments of sadness, my anxieties, my unease, my questions, but also our laughter, our travels, our togetherness, our mutual support. Five years during which I fought not to lose myself. Thrown at the age of 18 at a speed I found hard to manage into a dimension that was not my own, I embrace all the models who ‘pose’ in this book and who, without realising it, helped me to escape. What you hold in your hands is none other than the last chance to prove that I was still worth something. When you turn the last page, you’ll know that I’ve resigned and can finally say that I’m happy.” – Clémentine Balcaen
I’m Showing How Big the Sky Is is Martina Bacigalupo’s tribute to her former nanny, Chiou Taur Wu, a Taiwanese woman who lived over three decades in Italy. Despite a harsh life—from working in fields and factories to managing her husband’s gambling debts — Chiou remained resilient. At almost 70, she returned to Taiwan, resumed her studies, took dance classes, and began traveling.
Through hundreds of photos from Chiou during ten years of correspondence, Bacigalupo presents a story of extraordinary resilience. Told in the first person, with Chiou’s images and words, the book is a celebration of freedom, humor, and poetry.
This major retrospective catalogue accompanies the first institutional exhibition focusing on the visual works of art by Stanley Donwood and Thom Yorke. The majority of the paintings, drawings and digital works were specifically made for Yorke’s internationally celebrated band Radiohead, formed in Oxford in 1985. The book is beautifully designed in the same size as a record cover and features iconic artworks from the 1980s until today, relating to Radiohead albums, their covers and promotional band images, as well as sketchbooks and rare materials from their archives that have never before been published. It offers fresh views on the art of album covers, exploring the complex relationship between visual art and music.
Radiohead was formed in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, in 1985. The collaboration with the artist Stanley Donwood began in 1994 when the band was developing their second album, The Bends, which was released on 13th March, 1995. 2025 is therefore the 40-year anniversary of the band and the 30-year anniversary of the release of The Bends. The catalogue’s focus is upon the art produced by both Stanley Donwood and the band’s lead vocalist, Thom Yorke presented chronologically. Radiohead’s popularity has never waned and they have a strong core following and new fans (many of who are the children of ‘original’ fans).
The high-quality reproductions are complemented by exclusive interviews with the artists, and essays by Alex Farquharson, Nico Kos Earle, Benjamin Myers, James Putnam and Jennifer Ramkalawon.
A major retrospective is held at the Ashmolean Museum from August 2025 to January 2026.
Birmingham (UK) born and based Ben Sadler’s colorful painted portraits of imaginary people are full of personality, eclectic states of mind, and varying degrees of intrigue. They are also sometimes evocative, emotive, and amusing. The publication features two bodies of work: You and I (2024) and Exclamations! (2023), both of which present small paintings corresponding to each letter of the alphabet (though the letters U and I are curiously missing from the series You and I). The starting point was the idea of visitors to an imaginary exhibition––who are they, what kinds of people are they, and what thoughts are going through their minds? Such questions are explored in celebrated Birmingham-based author Catherine O’Flynn’s text commissioned for the publication, along with a foreword by Deborah Kermode, Chief Executive and Artistic Director of Midlands Arts Centre (MAC), Birmingham, and an interview by London-based creative coach, podcaster, and public speaker Ceri Hand.
For many years the artist Rachel Lee Hovnanian has been analyzing the drifts of our hyper-technological and hyper-connected society. She presented at the 59th Venice Biennale, Angels Listening, an interactive exhibition featuring seven large-scale bronze angels staged around a silver confessional box, each figure rendered in silence with its mouth “taped” shut.
Viewers were invited to participate by relinquishing their innermost thoughts, whether repressed due to fear of judgement or sheer inability, by writing them onto pieces of ribbon, placing these ribbons into The Cathartic Box, and ringing the awakening bell, a symbol of the role of the angels as mute listeners.
At the end of each day all of the new messages were compiled onto prayer-like mats and dispersed throughout the exterior gardens for future visitors to encounter and share as a collective stream-of-consciousness.
This book shares those messages. In listening to these stories, perhaps it is people who become the angels listening.
“As enterprises embrace AI and automation, three challenges emerge: empowering employees as roles shift, enabling continuous reskilling without disruption, and creating real synergy between AI and human talent. Drawing from real-world transformation programs, this book offers a practical playbook to address these shifts – not with theory, but with actionable strategies, proven tools, and human-centric design. The new AI era demands more than technology; it demands a reimagined employee experience that fuels performance, personalizes learning, and strengthens coaching. When done right, this isn’t just adaptation. It’s transformation, helping people stay relevant, resilient, and ready for what’s next.” — Gal Rimon, Founder and CEO, Centrical
“With clarity and structure, this book turns the overwhelming topic of AI into the confidence leaders need to simply get started.” — Eline Lostrie, Co-CEO, nexxworks
AI Will Replace You shows how organizations can let go of their fear of AI and instead embrace this technology as a lever for growth. Using the practical and accessible AI Navigator framework, you’ll discover how to effectively embed AI into your strategy, get your employees on board, and prepare your organization to become an AI leader.
In interior design, color is one of the most potent instruments to create mood and personality. Whether the palette aims at quiet harmony or full-blown color contrast, a colorful home is always fun, uplifting and welcoming. Interior photographer Helenio Barbetta shows us the way, with 20 homes that stand out thanks to their purposeful use of color. Author Kurt G. Stapelfeldt investigates how these interiors are shaped by their hues, and how color choices reflect the personality of the inhabitants. When used thoughtfully, color transforms any space into a personal sanctum. From floor-to-ceiling color to small bursts of color, from dark classic blue to bright citrus yellow: All You Need is Colour shows the many ways in which we can use color to liven up our living quarters.
More than any other civilization, China is renowned for its long tradition of ceramic production, from its terracotta and stoneware works in ancient times to the imperial porcelain manufactured at Jingdezhen from the end of the fourteenth century. These works have been admired and collected over centuries for their outstanding quality and refinement. Now two hundred masterpieces from prominent private collections around the world have been brought together for the first time in a new book. The Baur Collections in Geneva, formed between 1928 and 1951, and the Zhuyuetang Collection (the Bamboo and Moon Pavilion in Hong Kong), which has been building since the late 1980s, reveal the elegance and variety of imperial monochrome porcelain wares produced during the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties, which followed on from the Tang (618-907) and Song (960-1279) periods. These restrained pieces – both profane and sacred – exemplify the values of simplicity and modesty espoused by classical Chinese texts. With chapters devoted to the historical, cultural and technical contexts in which these pieces were made, this book will be a key reference on Chinese monochrome ceramics for all lovers of the subject, as well as students, researchers and connoisseurs.
Text in English and French with Chinese summaries.
Using the formalist conventions of an ironic heritage, William Ludwig Lutgens attains the expression of something sincere. Like the philosophical idiot who did his utmost best to unlearn all the fallacies he was acquitted with since birth and now only knows he knows nothing, the artist made the world into his own theater wherein he can stomp around like a bull in a china shop with the grace of a prima ballerina. Forcing a pathway to possible exits by presenting us with the alloy of his observations, imagination and scattershot references. Not merely asking questions, which seems to be the hype in contemporary art nowadays, he is unraveling the framework wherein these questions originate. The image deconstructed by the story of its creation, alternating between the power and impotence of the theatrical madness at the end of the world as we know it. William Ludwig Lutgens presents with his Comedy of Humours the dysfunctional family of man.
Text in English and Dutch.
Travel with nature and wildlife photographer Wouter Pattyn to explore 12 of the most beautiful nature reserves on the European continent. Along with photographs of stunning landscapes, Wild Places of Europe is a sourcebook of information for the adventurous traveler, including practical tips for booking your visit and taking the best photographs. Immerse yourself in these wonderful places and perhaps make plans to go to one yourself.
“Iconographic images from Berlin are well known and in different tonalities: Sarah Eick now succeeds in the great feat that still demands admiration even from Urberliner:innen who have seen a great many photographs of their hometown: her photos undoubtedly reproduce Berlin motifs, but at the same time they are works of a great, translocal, abstract-poetic quality.
Peculiarly contextless, almost like UFOs, the familiar buildings and city views appear. Without any form of historicizing or nostalgic pathos, Eick gives them great dignity. “Even a snack booth looks sublime in her work.” – Tanja Dückers, writer, publicist and art historian.
Well-known places, whether Fehrbelliner Platz, Kino International, the water circulation tank at the zoo, the Charité high-rise, the Old Congress Hall or Teufelsberg, are always unpopulated in her work. One has hardly ever seen Berlin like this. This bare representation makes the city appear different.
Text in English and German.
“If you really want to get under the skin of a city, the 500 Hidden Secrets series, which covers a number of cities from Havana to Ghent, all written by people who know the cities inside out, is ideal. It’s an innovative and refreshing take on the traditional travel guide.”- The Independent
The 500 Hidden Secrets of Brussels is a guide to the Brussels that no one knows. It takes you to undiscovered art museums, forgotten squares and secret shops. The book doesn’t mention everything there is to see. There are already more than enough guides that cover the familiar tourist places. This book goes one step further and lists the places the author would recommend to friends if they asked him where to go in Brussels. Here you will find the 5 best places to eat frites, the 5 small museums that no one should miss and the 5 best record shops in town. The aim is to take the reader to the unexpected places that give the city its charm, like the restaurant on the top floor of the national library, or the metro station that is decorated with 140 characters from Tintin albums, or the art cinema that seats just 20 people. You do not have to do everything listed in the book, but you are urged at the very least to drink a Gueuze beer in one of the 5 best Brussels bars, eat at one of the 5 best fish restaurants, and visit one of the 5 best independent cinemas. If you do, you will begin to discover a city that no one else knows.
The 500 Hidden Secrets of Brussels offers a practical guide to Brussels’ finest places, and Derek Blyth covers all bases to ensure no visitor to the city is ever anything short of captivated. Packed with accessible, easy-to-read information summarized in handy lists, maps, itineraries, sections on food & drink, accommodation, green spaces, museums, galleries and shops; this guide is an essential resource for the inquisitive traveler.