Sofie Valkiers is best known as the founder and driving force behind the popular fashion, beauty, lifestyle blog, Fashionata. She is also the mom of 1-year old Gabriel, and in this handy guide she proves that it’s possible to both have a baby and remain stylish. Little Black Book for Moms is filled with practical tips and inspiration: what to pack in your hospital bag, where to find the most fashionable maternity wear, how to make a baby wardrobe checklist, and how to profit from ‘pregnancy glow’. Speaking from experience, she reveals her own secrets to remaining your most fashionable self while expecting your baby and beyond.
From rockers to ravers, The Illustrated Book of Songs is the book every music lover will want. In quick-witted style, Irish writer Colm Boyd navigates us through lists of classic songs for every occasion. Prepare yourself for fascinating facts, cool illustrations and withering commentary on songs presented in lists such as:
Songs about Getting Dumped
Songs about Prostitution
Songs about Environmental Matters
Songs about Being a Complete and Utter Asshole
Songs about Gender Identity
Alternative Christmas Songs
The Illustrated Book of Songs
features 70 lists, discussing hundreds of songs from different genres and artists – from Adele to Aretha, Jagger to Jarvis, Rufus to Rosalía. Many of the songs are well-known, others are a little more off-radar. Some have amazing musicality, some have lyrics – quite literally – worthy of a Nobel Prize. Some deal with death, others deal with zebras, one song deals with prostitute-frequenting chess players in Bangkok. You get the idea.
Each of the book’s lists is accompanied by a scannable Spotify code, allowing readers to use their smartphones to directly access the songs mentioned. So, time to get reading and get listening.
Check out the book’s website for more information: colmboyd.com/the-illustrated-book-of-songs.
Part of the Library on Display series devoted to exhibitions held at the Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana, Florence, this book is divided into two sections: the Papyrus Collection and the Manuscript collection. Between two intentionally striking extremes – a potsherd on which a pupil from the 2nd century BC wrote the ancient verses of one of Sappho’s odes and a 19th century Japanese erotic-grotesque scroll – the entries illustrate the relationship between book form and function, describing manuscripts of different formats and periods, from wax tablets and literary and documentary papyrus rolls to medieval and Renaissance parchment (and subsequently paper) codices from production centres ranging from the imperial scriptorium in Constantinople to high-quality workshops in Italy (particularly 15th century Florence), Europe and Asia, including examples of pocket and giant Bibles. The introductory essay by Guglielmo Cavallo offers a brief overview of the history of the book, a field in which his expertise is virtually unparalleled.
The Book of Tea (1906) by Okakura Kakuzō has long become a classic. Its title notwithstanding, the book is not a manual on tea. Rather it is an essay, better a hymn, to culture, aesthetics and the spirit of tea as a symbol, a paradigm, of the Asian soul. It was created by a passionate Japanese scholar whose life was devoted to renew and spread the values of the East in the same moment in which his own country seemed to deny them in order to embrace Western culture. This new edition has an important apparatus of over 200 notes to explain the contents of the book and supply all the information needed to understand it fully (concepts of Eastern philosophy, history, geography, biographical information), something that so far has never been done. It also contains an important essay by Giancarlo Calza on Okakura and his role to foster intercultural understanding and the development of spirituality through the aesthetics and practice of the tea ceremony as a style of life. Contents: The Cup of Humanity; The Schools of Tea; Taoism and Zennism; The Tea-room; Art Appreciation; Flowers; Tea-masters; Okakura: A Life in Style by Giancarlo Calza
The artist Humphrey Ocean RA has painted portraits of Sir Paul McCartney and Philip Larkin, among many others. But alongside these prestigious commissions, he has always returned to drawing the simpler things in life: our ‘alluringly unnatural world’, as he puts it. The result is this idiosyncratic and charming collection of birds, all rendered in with humor and a bold brush. With a species to discover on every page, this book is the perfect gift for any keen ornithologist, aspiring twitcher or dedicated listener to Tweet of the Day. As well as birdwatching around his home and studio in South London, Ocean regularly visits his sister, who is a nun in Nairobi and has loved birds all her life. There, he paints Kenyan birds such as the Eurasian bee-eater, the bulbul and the flycatcher that are ‘local, a bit like our garden birds so nothing overly exotic, but of course to me they are’. They join the familiar gulls, thrushes and tits of the gardens, parks and hedgerows of the UK in this beautifully produced collection.
Organizations and companies remain successful if they are ecosystems in which people are motivated to improve. People are engaged when organizations have a purpose and attract like-minded men and women. The transformative power of noble purpose is what unites individual self-realization, organizational efficiency, and societal evolution. This book, inspired by the life story of the author, promotes a society where environment, humanism and economy go hand in hand to create a sustainable future.
After the worldwide success of The World Book of Happiness and The World Book of Love, author Leo Bormans has spent two years studying the scientific research on hope and meeting the most prominent experts in the field. Hope is not a luxury of the privileged few. It represents a universal psychological resource that can be found in all corners of the world. Hope is all of this: a tool for envisioning definable goals, a coping resource, an expression of trust and openness as well as a spiritual gift earned by faith or ritual. In the course of a lifetime every individual is apt to experience these different shades of hope. The World Book of Hope is an inspiring quest to the breadth and depth of hope. It offers a universal framework for understanding and using the most powerful tool of mankind: hope. Without hope there is no life. In this book, 100 professional researchers from all over the world share what we know about hope. Not spiritual philosophy but evidence based knowledge of recent experiments and life-long research, set in a language everybody understands. This book unveils the secret power of hope in love and relationships, study and work, health and illness, education and care, freedom and prison, management and leadership, therapy and economy, youth and old age. It even shows how we can make pessimism work and how we can benefit from post-traumatic growth: one door closes, another one opens. Also available: The World Book of Love ISBN 9789401422741
The Nordic Book unfolds the highlights of photographer Søren Rønholt’s travels in the Nordic countries. He has been photographing landscapes and people, thereby telling stories about Nordic culture, nature and appearance. Rønholt has been working with the Nordic theme for 5 years. The different groups of pictures are presented alongside each other, sharing their stories and creating new ones in their unity. The landscapes in the book are describing the rough but exceptionally beautiful nature of the Nordic countries. The majestic mountains, dark forests and distant shores create sceneries, which are at the same time deeply calm and very dramatic – but most of all incredibly compelling. The human figure is depicted through Rønholt’s nudes and portraits, especially the female body, which is discussed in the series of nudes. Photographed in the intimate space of their own homes, Rønholt wanted to show the womanly body as it really is, using the same method, as when he photographs landscapes. Also the Nordic persona is characterized through Rønholt’s strong portraits, which adds another personal dimension to the groups of pictures. Each picture in itself and all of them as a sum takes the reader on a journey – an unpolished journey in Nordic identity and life.
This is the era of the Smart Ecosystems Economy, where the companies that thrive must be ready to cope with randomness and unexpected events. In this digital world, the traditional boundaries have disappeared, paving the way for new and smarter ecosystems to develop. Companies seeking to transform into future-proof organizations would do well to understand these ecosystems, and get a grasp on how they work. This book serves as a guide to building smart, competitive ecosystems for both small and large organizations. A timely book that cracks the code of tomorrow’s business models.
A revelatory glimpse into the passions and obsessions of 60 visionary artists through the medium of their personal sketchbooks, treatises, storybooks, grimoires, and journals. This unprecedented gathering of handmade books from the most notable Art Brut artists has been brought together expressly for this publication from both public and private collections. Each volume is showcased in separate chapters featuring the cover and a selection of inside pages, with accompanying commentary. They cover the period from the early 20th century to the present, and include works by Horst Ademeit, Alöise, Giovanni Bosco, James Castle, Henry Darger, Charles Dellschau, Malcolm MacKesson, Dan Miller, Michel Nedjar, Jean Perdrizet, Royal Robertson, Charles Steffen, Oskar Voll, August Walla, and Adolf Wölfli, among others.
Text in English and French.
After the great success of the calendar, a high-quality hardcover postcard book is being published. 100 of the most beautiful flower photos unfold their full glory on the black surface.
Taking inspiration from photographic pioneers such as Karl Blossfeldt and snowflakes photographer Wilson Bentley, as well as Japanese floral artist Makoto Azuma, Andy Warhol or even Pedro Almodovar, this set of postcards is based on over 10,000 stunning floral close-ups.
The photos remind us that while beauty is primarily something natural, it also has a fleeting quality. They reveal rarely noticed details that are full of architectural sophistication and filigree splendor. Each shot is a striking piece of art.
“Eating less meat, but better quality: that is the future of traditional craft butchery. Dierendonck today stands for craft, terroir and passion. With this book I want to pay tribute to all farmers who raise their animals with respect for nature, and to everyone working in the butchery trade, working day and night in cold rooms, surrounding by four walls.” – Hendrik Dierendonck
Hendrik and his father Raymond Dierendonck have grown in recent years into the benchmark for everything to do with meat. They supply only the highest quality and are followed by any number of top chefs. Dierendonck is one of the pioneers of the international ‘nose-to-tail’ philosophy, in which literally every part of the slaughtered animal is utilized. He has specialized particularly in the processing and maturing of exceptional meat, including from the Belgian Red cattle breed from West Flanders.
Enjoy the most delicious classic cuts from the butcher’s counter; wonder at the craft and skill of the butcher; and learn to process and prepare meat in the Dierendonck style from the dozens of adventurous and timeless recipes in this book. The Butcher’s Book has grown into a true cult publication in recent years and has now been supplemented with more than 20 achievable, refined recipes from his starred restaurant Carcasse.
With text contributions from Hendrik Dierendonck, René Sépul, Marijke Libert and Stijn Vanderhaeghe, and high-class photographs by Thomas Sweertvaegher, Piet De Kersgieter and Stephan Vanfleteren.
Experience the iconic Glass House – Philip Johnson’s modernist home in New Canaan, Connecticut – in a fun new way in The Glass House Coloring Book. Three dozen black-and-white illustrations capture the architectural highlights of Johnson’s visionary mid-century glass-and-steel pavilion, which ushered the International Style into residential American architecture. Each illustration is accompanied by the photograph that inspired it, along with caption information detailing its historical and aesthetic significance. Landscape and design elements include furniture by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, the chain link Ghost House, and the skylit Sculpture Gallery. Fascinating to read and relaxing to color, the book makes a wonderful keepsake and gift idea for architecture enthusiasts and colorists of all ages.
This Big Book helps you make design decisions for shops. With the advent of e-commerce, the role that physical stores played changed dramatically. Their right to exist is not in question, but the need for a different design for these stores is high. This book provides the necessary knowledge to design the store for the future. It provides a complete overview of background and research on the necessary tools, to reflections on the challenges of the future.
“It is difficult to leaf through this book without saying ‘wow’ over and over, which means this is definitely top of the Christmas reading list.” – Embroidery Magazine
“For anyone involved with textile arts, fashion, design, or art—from makers to collectors, from students to museum curators—this book is an absolute must-have. A feast for the eyes, a source of inspiration, and a reminder of how art, craft, and imagination are intertwined.” — NL Magazine
Stephen Ellcock’s Book of Textiles is a unique collaboration between bestselling author Stephen Ellcock and textile expert Karun Thakar. Together, they share an inspiring vision of the world through the medium of textiles, leading the reader on a journey into the splendors of nature and the infinite complexities of the human condition.
A social-media sensation, Ellcock is widely known for his online curation of artworks, while Thakar owns one of the world’s most important and varied textile collections. Through a spellbinding selection of more than 200 of the most significant, extraordinary and distinctive pieces in Thakar’s collection, these pages cover everything from fashion, costume and adornment to pattern and design, rituals and magic, pure abstraction and the sublime.
Combining Ellcock’s singular vision with Thakar’s expert eye, Stephen Ellcock’s Book of Textiles is a ground-breaking compendium of wonders and a must-read for anybody with an interest in art and visual culture, as well as textile devotees, experts and enthusiasts.
“I love Belgian beer but until I picked up this book I never realized just how ignorant I was on the subject. The Belgian Beer Book grants you a ground floor view of Belgian Beer culture, Belgian Beer, and everything you might ever want to know about things related to Belgian Beer.” ― Nerd Rage News
“This massive 704-page book is packed with photos, stories, food pairing ideas, and beer and brewery guides that dig deep into one of the most storied beer cultures on the planet.” ― The High Five Archive
“This is the ultimate beer book, which, after reading, will have you packing your bags and getting on the first flight to Belgium.” ― Celebrator Book News
“This massive eight-pound, two-and-a-half-inch thick volume gives you what you would expect from its simple, straightforward title.” ― Cleveland.com
Belgian beer is famous throughout the world. Beer connoisseurs Erick Verdonck and Luc De Raedemaeker explain everything there is to know about Belgian beer culture. How does the brewing process work? How do you tap, serve, taste and conserve a perfect beer? What are the different styles and types of beer? Which beers are the best ones and how about the recent craft beers? This book explains it all!
The 25th anniversary of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child is a good reason to put the topic emphatically into the public focus. UNICEF Germany and GEO – with the support of the world’s best photographers and Edition Lammerhuber – do exactly that in this joint pro-bono project. In 40 photographic reports from 15 years, a selection of particularly striking pictures from the UNICEF Photo of the Year competition forms a fervent appeal to respect the rights of the child and to guarantee every girl and boy in the world a childhood in dignity. The volume is edited by Jürgen Heraeus, the Chairman of the German Committee of UNICEF, and Peter-Matthias Gaede, long-serving Editor-in-Chief of GEO. We the Children draws attention to the suffering and hardships, but also to the wishes and dreams of today’s children. We the Children is a book full of hope for a child-oriented world. Text in English and German.
This delightful manuscript, published in facsimile, was composed around 1585 by a clergyman in a bid for the patronage of an Elizabethan magnate, Sir John Petre. Modeled on printed writing books, German and French, it presents a profusion of scripts, accompanying decorated capital letters from A to Z. Its texts are eloquent on the value of learning. All is transcribed in print and, when needed, translated, including poems in English and Latin in which Amos Lewis, the creator, presses his case, reinforced by colorful Petre heraldry. The commentary unravels the Alphabet Book’s precursors and analyzes its ingredients, including a lively range of ornament. The first writing book published in London, in 1570, was by a Frenchman, Jean de Beau Chesne. Lewis’s manuscript is the first attempt at an original writing book by an Englishman. This signal rarity, virtually unknown hitherto, is a window into handwriting and education in the age of Shakespeare.
Archigram comprised Warren Chalk (1927-88), Peter Cook (1936-), Dennis Crompton (1935-), David Greene (1937-), Ron Herron (1930-94), and Michael Webb (1937-). Together they envisioned the future of architecture in ways that enthralled a generation. In an era defined by the space race, they developed a ‘high-tech’, lightweight, infra-structural approach that stretched far beyond known technologies or contemporary realities. They devised autonomous dwellings and focused on survival technology; they experimented with megastructures and modular construction systems; they explored mobility through the environment, and the use of portable living capsules: all through the medium of an incredible series of drawings and models. Archigram’s influence has been profound and enduring. They gave the high-tech movement its impetus; they inspired architects such as Renzo Piano and Norman Foster; and they laid the ground for the design of buildings such as the Pompidou Centre. Edited and designed by Archigram member Dennis Crompton, this book catalogues Archigram’s activities over fourteen years, together with commentaries by the architects and critics writing then and now.
In more than 150 varied recipes, master baker Stefan Elias guides both beginners and experienced bakers to a feast of delicious pastries, breads, cakes, pies, etc. With quiches and pizza tartlets, among others, the salty kitchen is also part of the mix. Thanks to the vegan recipes, everyone at the table can join in.
Historian Greet Draye (Centre for Agrarian History) brings the entire baker’s culture to life through the recipes with all sorts of anecdotal stories.
“Sue Flood is one of the elite wildlife photographers working today. Just turn over a few pages of this breath-taking book and you will see what I mean.” – Michael Palin
Penguins are beloved creatures. Witness the success of the 2005 Academy Award-winning documentary, March of the Penguins; or the now famous penguin selfie viewed on YouTube by hundreds of thousands; or the news-making discovery by satellite of a new colony of 1.5 million penguins on an island off the coast of Antarctica.
Emperor: The Perfect Penguin is a celebration of one of the world’s most charismatic creatures. In temperatures that can reach -50°C with 150km/h winds, the emperor penguins’ ability to survive and thrive is nothing short of astounding. Over the past nine years, award-winning photographer Sue Flood has journeyed to remote Antarctic penguin colonies to capture the birds in their native home.
Sue Flood’s respect for her subjects emanates from every page. From the poignant sight of an egg abandoned on the sea ice, to majestic shots of emperor penguins returning from the sea and heart-warming photos of chicks clustering together for warmth, every shot explores a new angle of life in this remote and ice-crusted world.
As well as following the difficult journey of the penguins across the sea ice, Emperor: The Perfect Penguin narrates the hardships that must be endured to catch the perfect photograph. Sue’s behind-the-scenes experiences prove that it is only with patience, endurance, and several thermal layers that one can capture magical moments on Earth’s most inhospitable continent.
“…I was pretty sure I had seen it all and would not find anything new in the book. I am delighted to report I was wrong.”– Marion Fasel, The Adventurine
“…a combination of excellent photographic professionalism and the infinite beauty of the star, who together gave birth to a real work of art.” – Di Redazione, Harper’s Bazaar Italia
“An extraordinary collection of photographs that celebrates one of Hollywood’s most iconic faces.” – Donato D’Aprile, L’Officiel Italy
“An intimate look at a Hollywood icon.” – Closer
“Bling, boobs & booze: She was famous for her diamonds, her tempestuous love for Richard Burton and her luminous acting. Now, a book of iconic images peels away the layers to reveal the woman behind the legend.”– Roger Lewis, Daily Mail
Elizabeth Taylor was the face of classic Hollywood. As one of the 20th century’s most loved stars, her image is instantly recognizable the world over. ACC Art Books and Iconic Images proudly present the work of eight wonderful photographers — Douglas Kirkland, Milton Greene, Gered Mankowitz, Norman Parkinson, Eva Sereny, Terry O’Neill, Gary Bernstein and Greg Brennan — who were fortunate enough to capture the star at different moments of her life. Throughout the book, the photographers share their memories of working with the icon, from patient pursuits to charming persuasion, each enlightening us with an inside view of what it was like to work with such an icon. The book presents a mix of set, fashion, portrait and behind-the-scenes photographs, including some rare and never-before-seen images. Forever Elizabeth is a visual tribute from some of the world’s best-known photographers to a star who continues to captivate our hearts.
“While there’s no shortage of incredibly chic photos from Hepburn’s time in the spotlight here, original sketches of Holly Golightly’s costumes and jewels truly can’t be missed.” — Natural Diamonds
“This entrancing book portrays Hepburn’s majesty both on and off screen, giving us a refined and informed look at the actress’s life.” — The Lady
An unrivalled icon of grace and femininity, Audrey Hepburn is perhaps the most beloved star in the history of cinema. She enchanted millions of people with the sweetness of her smile and her inimitable style and was able to renew her image throughout the decades, anticipating fashion trends and establishing a new ideal of beauty. This volume retraces Hepburn’s incredible rise, from the early years to her worldwide fame.
The book is divided into four sections: ‘A Star is Born’, which follows Audrey’s first steps into the spotlight as a doe-eyed dancer; ‘The Golden Age’, how Audrey became the muse of Hubert de Givenchy and gave Hollywood a new ideal of elegance; ‘A Diva’s Style’, which touches on Breakfast at Tiffany’s, where Holly Golighty went down in the history of cinema with her sunglasses and little black dress, along with many others of Audrey’s later film work; and ‘Saving the Children’. This final section of the book puts great emphasis on her humanitarian work as UNICEF ambassador, on the side of all the children of the world. Both on screen and in real life, Audrey has remained faithful to the elegance of understatement and kindness, hidden behind her unforgettable smile.