Susan Sontag's On Photography is a seminal and groundbreaking work on the subject. Susan Sontag's groundbreaking critique of photography asks forceful questions about the moral and aesthetic issues surrounding this art form. Photographs are everywhere, and the 'insatiability of the photographing eye' has profoundly altered our relationship with the world. Photographs have the power to shock, idealize or seduce, they create a sense of nostalgia and act as a memorial, and they can be used as evidence against us or to identify us. In these six incisive essays, Sontag examines the ways in which we use these omnipresent images to manufacture a sense of reality and authority in our lives. 'Sontag offers enough food for thought to satisfy the most intellectual of appetites' The Times 'A brilliant analysis of the profound changes photographic images have made in our way of looking at the world, and at ourselves' Washington Post 'The most original and illuminating study of the subject' New Yorker One of America's best-known and most admired writers, Susan Sontag was also a leading commentator on contemporary culture until her death in December 2004. Her books include four novels and numerous works of non-fiction, among them Regarding the Pain of Others , On Photography , Illness as Metaphor , At the Same Time , Against Interpretation and Other Essays and Reborn: Early Diaries 1947-1963 , all of which are published by Penguin. A further eight books, including the collections of essays Under the Sign of Saturn and Where the Stress Falls , and the novels The Volcano Lover and The Benefactor , are available from Penguin Modern Classics.

Photographer Andrew Zuckerman's strikingly detailed images of animals from around the world are as delightful as they are inspiring. This collection of astonishing studio portraits of 175 wild creatures from baby leopards to parrots, bears, mandrills, and many more are stunningly foregrounded against white backgrounds, depicting their subjects with rare sensitivity, insight, humor, and wonder. Zuckerman also an up-and-coming filmmaker, whose first short film, High Falls, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2007 has created a volume perfect for animal lovers, photography fans, and anyone fascinated by the world around us. Creature is a beautiful and thought-provoking look at the fragile wonders of the natural world.

"A visual diary chronicling the struggle for intimacy and understanding between friends, family, and lovers -- collectively described by Goldin as her "tribe." Her work describes a world that is visceral, charged, and seething with life. First published in 1986, this reissue recognizes the persistent relevance and freshness of Nan Goldin's cutting-edge photography. Her lush color photography and candid style demand that the viewer go beyond the surface to encounter a profound intensity. As Goldin writes: "Real memory, which these pictures trigger, is an invocation of the color, smell, sound, and physical presence, the density and flavor of life." Through an accurate and detailed record of her life, Ballad reveals Goldin's personal odyssey as well as a more universal understanding of the different languages men and women speak, and the struggle between autonomy and dependency. Over the past twenty-five years, the influence of Ballad on photography and other aesthetic realms has continually grown, making the work a contemporary classic. Nan Goldin's story of urban life on the fringe was the swan song of an era that reached its peak in the early eighties. Yet it has captured an important element of humanity that is transcendent: a need to connect"-Publisher.

"War is over; the heroic French population reaffirms superiority. Love, Paris, and Flowers ... but London was black, white, and gray, the elegance, the style, all present in front of always changing fog. Then I met a man from Wales talking about the Miners and I had read How Green Was My Valley . This became my only try to make a 'Story.'" --Robert Frank This magnificent edition of London/Wales --a reprint of the 2007 Steidl edition that included never-before-seen photographs, expanding on Scalo's first edition of 2003--juxtaposes Frank's images of the elegant world of London money with the grimy working-class world of postwar Wales. It brings together two distinct bodies of work, and reveals a significant documentary precedent for The Americans. It also offers an important view of Frank's development, demonstrating an early interest in social commentary, in the narrative potential of photographic sequencing, and innovative use of the expressionistic qualities of the medium.

A wealth of breathtaking photographs shot from unusual camera angles and imaginative viewpoints provide new perspectives on the beauty and magic of the City by the Bay--under moonlight, shrouded in fog or simply shining under the California sun. San Francisco Chronicle photojournalist Frederic Larson and the late Pulitzer Prize winning columnist Herb Caen shared a love of San Francisco's beauty and majesty that they captured in photographs and words over the course of decades. Now they are united: Larson's spectacular photographs--shot from unique perspectives in the light of the moon and the rising sun, shrouded in fog--and Caen's beautiful tributes excerpted from hundreds of columns. The city's glorious landmarks are seen through the camera lens, places like the Golden Gate Bridge and Golden Gate Park, Chinatown and Alcatraz, the frenzied bustle of Fisherman's Wharf, the timeless romance of cable cars. The Larson-Caen collaboration exposes the city for what it is--vibrant, innovative, and endlessly surprising.

If you've got a love and passion for photography, and a feel for your camera gear and settings, yet your images still fall short- The Passionate Photographer will help you close that disappointing and frustrating gap between the images you thought you took and the images you actually got. This book will help you determine what you want to say with your photography, then translate those thoughts and feelings into strong images. It is both a source of inspiration and a practical guide, as photographer Steve Simon distills 30 years of photographic obsession into the ten crucial steps every photographer needs to take in order to become great at their passion. Simon's practical tips and advice are immediately actionable-designed to accelerate your progress toward becoming the photographer you know you can be. Core concepts include: - The power of working on personal projects to fuel your passion and vision - Shooting a large and targeted volume of work, which leads to a technical competence that lets your creativity soar - Learning to focus your concentration as you shoot, and move outside your comfort zone, past your fears toward the next great image - Strategies for approaching strangers to create successful portraits - How to edit your own work and seek second opinions to identify strengths and weaknesses, offering opportunities for growth and improvement with a goal of sharing your work with the world - The critical need to follow, see, and capture the light around you Along the way, Simon offers inspiration with "Lessons Learned" culled from his own extensive experience and archive of photojournalism and personal projects, as well as images and stories from acclaimed photographers. If you're ready to be inspired and challenge yourself to take your photography to the next level, The Passionate Photographer provides ideas and creative solutions to transform that passion into images that convey your unique personal vision.

Jill and Leon Uris came to Ireland looking for answers. Why was Ireland bled by one internal war after another? How can one country contain such greatness and grief? What they discovered was more than the Ireland of peat fires and pubs, of fabled Irish wit and the haunts of the banshees. What they found was a people--trapped in mutual mistrust, but with a courage and kindness that brought them through centuries of bitter occupation and civil dissension, in a land as complexly beautiful as the people themselves. This then is the Urises' "love song" to the Irish and to Ireland.

Just months before her death, Marilyn Monroe gave a young photographer his big break, and this is his story "You're already famous, now you're going to make me famous," photographer Lawrence Schiller said to Marilyn Monroe as they discussed the photos he was about to shoot of her. "Don't be so cocky," Marilyn replied, "photographers can be easily replaced." The year was 1962, and Schiller, 25, was on assignment for Paris Match magazine. He already knew Marilyn -- they had met on the set of Let's Make Love -- but nothing could have prepared him for the day she appeared nude during a swimming pool scene for the motion picture Something's Got to Give . Marilyn & Me is an intimate story of a legend before her fall and a young photographer on his way to the top. Schiller's original text and extraordinary photographs--over two thirds of which have never or rarely been published --take us back to that time, and to the surprising connection that allowed Marilyn to bond with a kid from Brooklyn, a kid with a lot of ambition but very little experience. Now, 50 years later, TASCHEN is publishing Lawrence Schiller's story as a signed, numbered monograph limited to 1,962 copies, for the year of Monroe's untimely death. Schiller's is a story that has never been told before, and he tells it with tact, humor, and compassion. The result is a real and unexpected portrait that captures the star in the midst of her final struggle. Collector's Edition of 1,712 numbered copies (books numbered No. 251-1,962) signed by the photographer. Also available in two Art Editions of 125 copies , each with an original photograph The book and clamshell box are covered in a custom woven duchesse silk from one of the world's most distinguished silk mills, Taroni , of Como, Italy Printed on archival paper Four foldouts, with one gatefold measuring a full 110 cm (44 in.) across Translation booklet of the text available in German, French and Spanish with purchase upon request

From big cats to elephants and indigenous communities, Wild Encounters is a must-have for nature lovers, conservationists, and anyone who is inspired by all that remains wild. David Yarrow travels from pole to pole and continent to continent to visit frozen Arctic tundras, vast African deserts, primordial rain forests, and remote villages, inviting us to truly connect with subjects we mistakenly think we have seen before. Yarrow takes the familiar—lions, elephants, tigers, polar bears—and makes it new again by creating iconic images that deliberately connect with us at a highly emotional level. For more than two decades, this legendary wildlife photographer has been putting himself in harm's way to capture the most unbelievable close-up animal photography, amassing an incomparable photographic portfolio, spanning six continents. Driven by a passion for sharing and preserving Earth's last great wild cultures and species, Yarrow is as much a conservationist as a photographer and artist. His work has transcended wildlife photography and is now collected and shown as fine art in some of the most famed galleries around the world. Featuring 160 of his most breathtaking photographs, Wild Encounters offers a truly intimate view of some of the world's most compelling—and threatened—species and captures the splendor and very soul of what remains wild and free in our world through portraits that feel close enough to touch.

This is a highly personal selection of photographs amassed by Mary McCartney, oldest child of The Beatles singer Paul McCartney. As the title suggests, it's split into two volumes: one for color and one for black and white images. The book shows McCartney's love for quiet, intimate moments off the beaten track but it also gives an extraordinary behind-the-scenes insight into the lives of celebrities. I didn't put photos in for it to be a celebrity or non-celebrity, McCartney tells Time . I am interested in shooting all different types of people. I find a lot of people inspirational. I'm interested in people, in their stories.

"Wartime Kiss is a personal meditation on the haunting power of American photographs and films from World War II and the later 1940s. Starting with a powerful reinterpretation of one of the most famous photos of all time, Alfred Eisenstaedt's image of a sailor kissing a nurse in Times Square on V-J Day, Alexander Nemerov goes on to examine an idiosyncratic collection of mostly obscure or unknown images and movie episodes--from a photo of Jimmy Stewart and Olivia de Havilland lying on a picnic blanket in the Santa Barbara hills to scenes from such films as Twelve O'Clock High and Hold Back the Dawn. Erotically charged and bearing traces of trauma even when they seem far removed from the war, these photos and scenes seem to hold out the promise of a palpable and emotional connection to those years. Through a series of fascinating stories, Nemerov reveals the surprising background of these bits of film and discovers unexpected connections between the war and Hollywood, from an obsession with aviation to Anne Frank's love of the movies. Beautifully written and illustrated, Wartime Kiss vividly evokes a world in which Margaret Bourke-White could follow a heroic assignment photographing a B-17 bombing mission over Tunis with a job in Hollywood documenting the filming of a war movie. Ultimately this is a book about history as a sensuous experience, a work as mysterious, indescribable, and affecting as a novel by W. G. Sebald"--

The three are John, Gary and Kris. Three young men who know one another and have learnt to love. Howard Roffman photographed the story of this menage a trois with a loving eye over a long period. Fantasy and reality coalesce and a romantic collage full of sensually erotic pictures is the result.

This episodic, narrative photobook presents intimate observations of young couples in various uninhibited constellations.

Photographer Mark Arbeit’s career spans three decades. His striking images have appeared in top fashion and beauty magazines all over the world including Vogue, Marie Claire, and Vanity Fair. Originally drawn to Photography from his travels to exotic places with his family, the real spark came when he met Helmut Newton who would become his mentor and friend. This first exquisite Monograph of Mark Arbeit’s photographs is a collection of his personal artistic projects. Each chapter is separated by a Out-of-Focus, Artist Atelier, Hawaiian, and Polajunk Series. A prolific and sensitive photographer. Arbeit makes images that are timeless in their originality and beauty. Arbeit’s photographs of Paris are some of the last greatest images taken in the 20th Century in that amazing place. Whoever owns this book owns a key to a treasure. An inspiration for all lovers of photography, lovers of Paris, lovers of women. 208 pages, 167 Tri-tone Plates. Printed in a limited edition of 1000 copies

If you are one of the millions of fans who've seen Annie on HBO Real Sex specials, you know her extraordinary blend of humor, earthy eroticism and spirituality. Even if you've never seen her perform, you're probably familiar with Annie's "bosom ballet" or "101 Uses for Sex". Whether you're a man or woman, straight or gay, you'll be thrilled to see these "greatest hits" from books and shows that are now rare and out of print. Each postcard book features a different selection of pictures of Annie throughout her years as a porn star, pin-up model, performance artist, sex-positive feminist and new age sex guru. There are also many of Annie's own well-known photos of famous sex-positive feminists including Susie Bright and Lily Burana or rock stars like Lydia Lunch and Kembra Pfahler. Don't miss her Transformation Salon ("before and after" pictures of her models), her exploration of erotic archetypes, as well as her classic "Anatomy of a pin-up photo", "Tit prints" and "Pornstistics" -- hilarious pie charts and bar graphs of the economics of sex work. Each volume has a different selection of eternally popular images, so you'll definitely want to order both. Erotic but not X-Rated, they will appeal to hip women and men alike wanting to find the perfect funny and hot gift for their Valentine -- or for the whole year thereafter!