More neurotic than it is sane. More corrupt than it is law-abiding. And more prone to hurricanes than it should be.This book is a celebration of life, love and adventure--an enchanting account of a couple who weren't afraid to jump off the hamster wheel and have a go at a dream.

    The Devil and Dr. Barnes traces the near-mythical journey of a man who was born into poverty, amassed a fortune through the promotion of a popular medicine, and acquired the premier private collection of works by such masters as Renoir, Matisse, Cézanne, and Picasso. Ostentatiously turning his back on the art establishment, Barnes challenged the aesthetic sensibilities of an uninitiated, often resistant and scoffing, American audience. In particular, he championed Matisse, Soutine, and Modigliani when they were obscure or in difficult straits. Analyzing what he saw as the formal relationships underlying all art, linking the old and the new, Barnes applied these principles in a rigorous course of study offered at his Merion foundation. Barnes's own mordant words, culled from the copious printed record, animate the narrative throughout, as do accounts of his associations with notables of the era--Gertrude and Leo Stein, Bertrand Russell, and John Dewey among them--many of whom he alienated with his appetite for passionate, public feuds. In this rounded portrait, Albert Barnes emerges as a complex, flawed man, who--blessed with an astute eye for greatness--has left us an incomparable treasure, gathered in one place and unforgettable to all who have seen it.

    They've become experiments in engineering and explorations into modern art, covetable in their own right. Financial analysts at Bloomberg have even used the IKEA Billy bookcase as an index of economic growth.In these pages you will find plenty of inspiration and diversity, from “Juxtaposed,” a shelf capitalizing on limited space to display seven books containing the world’s most influential religions, to Sakura Adachi’s “Trick,” a bookcase that constantly mutates into a table and two chairs. Shelves can even be re-imagined: the way laundry is dried in China informed Dutch designers Studio Ditte as they created their Kwan bookcase.So while we appreciate the efficient book storage of e-readers, let us marvel at physical bookshelves that are shaped like trees, or hold books upside down, or can even walk. This beautifully crafted book will bring joy to book lovers everywhere.

    This book brings together twelve years of photographic works dedicated to the architecture of Antoni Gaudi."

     Everything about U2 is huge-from their music to their tours to their influence on popular culture and politics worldwide. They are cultural icons as well as multimillion-album-selling pop stars. Underpinning the band's popularity, from the beginning, is their passion for touring. For more than twenty years, U2 has been primarily a live band-hardly ever off the road. Performing live is what they love to do best. And it is their touring that defines their creativity and reflects the direction of the band. From the first bare-bones Tick Tock Tour of 1980 through the massive, seminal Joshua Tree and ZooTV tours of the eighties and nineties to the most recent, more intimate Elevation Tour of 2001, it is their live shows that have set U2's agenda. For the first time, the band has agreed to chronicle this vital part of its creative energy. More than 500 photos from hundreds of performances have been handpicked from a twenty-five-year archive. Many of these photos are behind-the-scenes shots that have never been published before. The book includes commentary by Diana Scrimgeour, the official photographer on recent tours, as well as first-person accounts from band members, the core creative team, friends, and associates. "U2 Show" is the music publishing event of 2004.

    Reflecting an unusual mix of design influences (Baroque, rococo, neoclassical and Art Deco) and personal taste, its style is luxurious, playful, and wholly original. In "The Paris Apartment, " Claudia Strasser, the founder and owner of the shop, offers readers the quintessential guide to achieving this romantic Parisian look without having to spend a fortune. With easy-to-follow instructions and helpful advice, she shows readers how they can transform their homes into a living environment that reflects both their personal style and timeless French elegance. Laid out in the form of an entertaining diary, the book helps Francophiles define their fantasy home, find inspiration, select a color palette and use light creatively. She also includes instructions for making canopies and valances; advice on dyeing fabrics and restyling furniture; tips on budgeting; guidance on shopping at flea markets and auctions; and a glossary of terms. Color photographs throughout illustrate the ideas and techniques shown in the book.As interest in the home experiences a resurgence, and as Americans become more careful about their spending, nesting has become the pastime of the '90s. People want luxury homes without spending a fortune. With its unbeatable combination of style and solid practicality, "The Paris Apartment" is a home-decorating guide to treasure and draw inspiration from for many years to come.Visit The Paris Apartment online.

    Gripping, action-packed, authentic, and filled with larger-than-life men and women of the Greatest Generation, CRASH DIVE puts you aboard a submarine during the war. You'll stand alongside Charlie as he proves himself time and again by keeping his wits and being decisive in crisis, though each encounter leaves him more heavily scarred for it. You'll attack a convoy in a daring night surface attack, emerge in a sea fog to ambush a battle group, and charge the battleship Yamato during the decisive Battle of Leyte Gulf. All the while, you'll live with the crew in the cramped, noisy, and challenging machine that was a diesel-electric submarine. CRASH DIVE: The Complete Series puts together for the first time all six episodes in Craig DiLouie's highly acclaimed historical military fiction series: CRASH DIVE, SILENT RUNNING, BATTLE STATIONS, CONTACT!, HARA-KIRI, and OVER THE HILL.

    

    Patterns of Home promises to become the "design bible" for homeowners and architects. The 10 patterns described in the book -- among them, "capturing light" and "the flow through rooms" -- are drawn from hundreds of principles and presented with clarity by the authors, renowned architects who have designed homes together for more than 30 years.Patterns of Home will jump-start the design process and make the difference between a home that satisfies material requirements -- and one that meets the personal needs of "home."-- Insightful tours of 33 homes that bring essential design concepts to life-- 300 photos and 50 illustrations illustrate the patterns

    LUCIFER HIMSELF IS THE STAR OF THIS BOOK, WHICH CONTAINS IMAGES OF HIM THROUGHOUT THE HISTORY OF ART. ETCHINGS, WOODCUTS, PAINTINGS, ILLUSTRATIONS, DRAWINGS, PHOTOGRAPHS, AND ADVERTISEMENTS FEATURING OF THE DEVIL, BY THE LIKES OF DA VINCI, BOSCH, PIERRE ET GILLES, GIGER, AND MANY MORE, POPULATE THE PAGES OF THIS SUPREMELY "EVIL" BOOK.

    The Geography of Nowhere tallies up the huge economic, social, and spiritual costs that America is paying for its car-crazed lifestyle. It is also a wake-up call for citizens to reinvent the places where we live and work, to build communities that are once again worthy of our affection. Kunstler proposes that by reviving civic art and civic life, we will rediscover public virtue and a new vision of the common good. "The future will require us to build better places," Kunstler says, "or the future will belong to other people in other societies."The Geography of Nowhere has become a touchstone work in the two decades since its initial publication, its incisive commentary giving language to the feeling of millions of Americans that our nation's suburban environments were ceasing to be credible human habitats. Since that time, the work has inspired city planners, architects, legislators, designers and citizens everywhere. In this special 20th Anniversary edition, dozens of authors and experts in various fields share their perspective on James Howard Kunstler's brave and seminal work.

    A total eclipse of the Sun will be visible from within a narrow corridor that traverses the United States. The path of the Moon's umbral shadow will begin in the northern Pacific and cross the USA from west to east from Oregon to South Carolina. The Moon's penumbral shadow will produce a partial eclipse visible from most of North America. In fact, the 2017 full eclipse is such an important sky event that sky watchers in Europe are already planning trips to view it. 2017 Guide to the Night Sky provides all of the information needed to view this exciting eclipse and track its path. The time zones and transit of the eclipse will be noted inside the book's jacket for quick and easy reference.The night sky makes for exciting viewing any time of the year, and 2017 Guide to the Night Sky is the ideal guide to help amateur astronomers find their way for the entire 12 months. With monthly charts and other diagrams set for a latitude of 40 degrees North, it shows how the visible stars change from month to month and includes the many sky events that occur throughout the year. It is highly practical for beginning sky gazers because the objects and events may be observed with the naked eye, or nothing more complicated than a pair of binoculars.The month-by-month guides include sky activity charts and moon calendars; meteors (with dates of showers, including hourly rate of radiants); the Planets; ecliptic charts; diagrams of interesting events; plus sky and constellation maps throughout.An appendix includes a full glossary; the Greek Alphabet; the constellation genitives, abbreviations and English names; a table of common asterisms; further information; recommended astronomy journals, societies, institutions and organizations; software, and internet sources.Especially useful for beginning sky watchers, this guide will be fully updated to 2017. Its small and light format makes it the ideal portable reference for backyard astronomers.

    We’re each trying to describe what we know about life, to create a collective sense of “safety in numbers.” When we reach the end of our traditional descriptive powers, it’s time to weave collective meaning from poetry, painting, writing, dancing, photographing, filmmaking, storytelling, singing, animating, designing, performing, carving, sculpting, and a million other ways we daily create Order out of the Chaos and share it with each other for comfort.On this journey we need a creative philosophy which will help us find our voice, discover our message, deal with the responses to our work, maintain inspiration, and stay mentally healthy and motivated creators as we strive to find “the meaning in the making.”

    Aided by a number of stunning illustrations, David Billington discusses leading structural engineer-artists, such as John A. Roebling, Gustave Eiffel, Fazlur Khan, and Robert Maillart.

    Part cultural history, part travelogue, with recipes, historic engravings, photographs, and Kurlansky's own pen-and-ink drawings throughout, Havana celebrates the city's singular music, literature, baseball, and food; its five centuries of outstanding, neglected architecture; and its extraordinary blend of cultures.Like all great cities, Havana has a rich history that informs the vibrant place it is today--from the native Taino to Columbus's landing, from Cuba's status as a U.S. protectorate to Batista's dictatorship and Castro's revolution, from Soviet presence to the welcoming of capitalist tourism. Havana is a place of extremes: a beautifully restored colonial city whose cobblestone streets pass through areas that have not been painted or repaired since the revolution.Kurlansky shows Havana through the eyes of Cuban writers, such as Alejo Carpentier and José Martí, and foreigners, including Graham Greene and Hemingway. He introduces us to Cuban baseball and its highly opinionated fans; the city's music scene, alive with the rhythm of Son; its culinary legacy. Once the only country Americans couldn't visit, Cuba is now opening to us, as is Havana, not only by plane or boat but also through Mark Kurlansky's multilayered and electrifying portrait of the long-elusive city.