A student of the world-renowned violinist Leopold Auer, Maia Bang acted as the maestro's teaching assistant and preserved his acclaimed methods of instruction in a series of manuals. The seven-volume collection covers every aspect of teaching and learning the instrument, from the beginning to the highest level. This first volume focuses on elementary...

Chicago–based jewelry engraver J. M. Bergling (1866–1933) created thousands of letter styles, signets, monograms, and ciphers. A noted author on the subjects of lettering and heraldic design, Bergling created books that became standard references of his era. He assembled his first book, Art Monograms and Letters,with the hopes of inspiring other etchers...

A #1 Amazon Bestseller: Musical Philosophy & Social Aspects!

"Simply one of the best pieces of rock reportage ever written." — Los Angeles Review of Books

As a pioneering rock journalist for Hit Parader, Vogue, Saturday Review, and other publications, Ellen Sander had a backstage pass to the hottest music scenes of the 1960s. In this feast of juicy...

A boy washes up on a beach after a devastating ship wreck. Among the people of the island, the boy grapples with the challenges--good and bad--of navigating a new place. Accompanied by Brett's own scenic photographs,The Boy, the Boat, and the Beach conveys core values Brett learned serving on a rescue team. 

A celebration of the visual contributions of the bestiary—one of the most popular types of illuminated books during the Middle Ages—and an exploration of its lasting legacy. Brimming with lively animals both real and fantastic, the bestiary was one of the great illuminated manuscript traditions of the Middle Ages. Encompassing imaginary creatures such as...

A thought-provoking examination of beauty using three works of art by Manet, Gauguin, and Cézanne. As the discipline of art history has moved away from connoisseurship, the notion of beauty has become increasingly problematic. Both culturally and personally subjective, the term is difficult to define and nearly universally avoided. In this insightful book...

What is a cabochon? What are the various types of gilding? What is vermeil? This accessible book—the first of its kind—offers concise explanations of key jewelry terms. The fascination with personal adornment is universal. It is a preoccupation that is primal, instinctive, and uniquely human. Jewelry encompasses a seemingly endless number of ornaments...

What is creativity? What is the relationship between work life and personal life? How is it possible to live truthfully in a world of contradiction and compromise? These deep and deeply personal questions spring to the fore in Thomas Yarrow's vivid exploration of the life of architects. Yarrow takes us inside the world of architects, showing us the anxiety...

How the female body has been racialized for over two hundred years

There is an obesity epidemic in this country and poor black women are particularly stigmatized as “diseased” and a burden on the public health care system. This is only the most recent incarnation of the fear of fat black women, which Sabrina Strings shows took root more than two hundred...

Eschewing the idea of film reviewer-as-solitary-expert, Jonathan Rosenbaum continues to advance his belief that a critic's ideal role is to mediate and facilitate our public discussion of cinema. Portraits and Polemics presents debate as an important form of cinematic encounter whether one argues with filmmakers themselves, on behalf of their work, or with...

In the search for truth, for meaning, for purpose, Black's poetry illuminates the wonder in all of us. With petrifying portrayals of mental institutions, doctors, nurses, Egyptian mythos, all intertwined in a mixture of natural visions and harbors, this collection fortifies our nature to hunt for a life worth living.

The ritualistic aspects are dismal, at...

The definitive guide to making a career in theater—to Broadway and beyond

Tiffany Haas knows how to make it on Broadway. After 72 rejections in a row she finally landed a role in Broadway’s long-running smash hit Wicked and later became “Glinda the Good.” Now she wants to share her advice for starting and nurturing a career in the theater. Waiting in the...

With information on how to forage responsibly and suggestions on sources for the best wood to use, Geoffrey Fisher shows how the natural bounty of woodland can be used to stunning effect. Whether building a bee hotel or an insect house to help your garden's ecosystem thrive, crafting a slingshot, whistle, jump rope or cup and ball game to give away, or...

The same vista. Never the same sun.

Much like life, the stage changes even when our vantage point doesn't. And so it is with the rising and setting sun, no two are ever the same.

Every picture tells another color, shape and shadow story . . . whatever unfolds each day reveals the diversity and beauty of life. Birds, insects, reptiles, trees, sandy shores—all...

Vincent van Gogh was a restless soul. He spent his twenties searching for a vocation and once he had determined to become an artist, he remained a traveller, always seeking fresh places for the inspiration and opportunities he needed to create his work.  
 
Living with Vincent van Gogh tells the story of the great artist’s life through the lens of the places...

Become a super-awesome photographer with this fantastic new book.

Using real photographs for inspiration, this handy guide features 20 exciting and instant photo challenges to help you create your own masterpieces. All you need is a camera and your super snapping skills. Learn how to be invisible, play with your food, stop time and much more!

Learn to paint beautiful watercolor flowers in simple steps with this free and easy approach to watercolor painting for beginners. Marie Boudon's beautifully presented creative course will give you a good grounding in this new-to-you medium and teach you all you need to know to get started with painting flowers in watercolor. Find out about paper...

Do energy-efficient cars have to be boring? Are green buildings necessarily unsightly? Is sustainability incompatible with beauty? Lance Hosey's answer is a resounding "no," and in The Shape of Green he argues that for far too long sustainable design has neglected aesthetics. If green is to fulfill its promise, it must be both efficient and appealing. Hosey...

This beautifully illustrated short e-book explores the idea that to create vibrant, sustainable urban areas for the long term, we must first understand what happens naturally when people congregate in cities—innate, unprompted interactions of urban dwellers with each other and their surrounding urban and physical environment. Wolfe elaborates on the...

Despite an uncertain economy, the market for green building is exploding. The US green building market has expanded dramatically since 2008 and is projected to double in size by 2015 (from $42 billion in construction starts to $135 billion). But green-building pioneer Sim Van der Ryn says, “greening” our buildings is not enough. He advocates for “empathic...

In the twenty-first century, cities worldwide must respond to a growing and diverse population, ever-shifting economic conditions, new technologies, and a changing climate. Short-term, community-based projects—from pop-up parks to open streets initiatives—have become a powerful and adaptable new tool of urban activists, planners, and policy-makers seeking...

NOTE: Because of its beautiful design and large file size, this uncorrected proof only includes Chapters 2-3.
Can nature—in all its unruly wildness—be an integral part of creative landscape design? In her beautifully illustrated book, Wild by Design, award-winning designer Margie Ruddick urges designers to look beyond the rules often imposed by both...

The best cities become an ingrained part of their residents' identities. Urban design is the key to this process, but all too often, citizens abandon it to professionals, unable to see a way to express what they love and value in their own neighborhoods. New in paperback, this visually rich book by Alexandros Washburn, former Chief Urban Designer of the...

Humans have always been influenced by natural landscapes, and always will be—even as we create ever-larger cities and our developments fundamentally change the nature of the earth around us. In Human Ecology, noted city planner and landscape architect Frederick Steiner encourages us to consider how human cultures have been shaped by natural forces...