Packed from cover to cover with stunning color photographs.

    To live in Neverland. To be idolized-to be loved-by millions around the world. "These seem completely unreasonable dreams. But from a boy from Gary, Indiana, who was special from the first, they became more than dreams. They became fundamental needs. And they were achieved during a lifetime that was stunning in its highs and lows, and that was, ultimately, far, far too short. "Far too short and, more sadly still, perhaps poised for a triumphant next chapter. We will never know." While that is true-we will never know-we can revisit and celebrate that extraordinary life, and we do so in words and pictures in this special commemorative book. Although Michael Jackson lived just 50 years, he spent the great majority of that time in the public eye. We loved his as a boy, radiating joy and dancing up a storm in the Jackson 5, his falsetto tenor pouring forth from car radios coast to coast. We were subsequently thrilled by his reinvention as the biggest pop star on the planet, with "Billie Jean" and "Beat It" blasting from boom boxes around the world. The best pictures from each era are here. As you would expect, LIFE magazine, then the country's preeminent photo journal, was onto the Jackson 5 story early-in fact, we put the family on our cover when Michael was still a lad. He made the cover several more times, and he allowed LIFE exclusive access to his private California sanctum called Neverland. We have combed through our archives and found all the famous shots as well as several surprises, including never-before-seen pictures that show the boy and then the man in an unguarded, personal way. Also, we have taken the best from the portfolios of the world's top rock 'n' roll photographers and created, we think, a complete picture of this endlessly compelling entertainer. Michael Jackson was, like Sinatra, Elvis, the Beatles and few others, a celebrity who not only made us smile but changed the culture-who altered the way that we looked and behaved. In this book, we relive his thrilling life and times, which were our time too.

    Carver Country presents the stark but human reality of one man's world, a man who was generous in his spirit and in his gifts, and who rose above his beginnings - but Raymond Carver never left his native ground or gave up his love for its terrain and its people. Raymond Carver's gritty texts, including his poems, short stories and unpublished letters, combined with Bob Adelman's photographs of Carver's people and haunts, re-create the world of this major writer, bringing to life the bleak, blue-collar towns, people, and places that became the inspiration for much of his work. Includes 113 duotone photos.

    Throughout the course of human history, this partnership deepened from dogs doing a service into friendship. Dogs have been by our side through it all, and this book tracks our common story from wild wolves in ancient civilizations to modern-day breeds, highlighting famous pooches of the past and present along the way.

    No other book has managed to relate the aesthetic evolution and technical innovations of photography with such an absorbing combination of clarity, scholarship and enthusiasm.

    Sicily, 1862. In the newly united Italy, Judge Surra arrives in Montelusa to take charge of the local court, in a town where conflict has been kind to a select few. At first, Surra is baffled by the quaint local customs: cryptic anonymous notes, mutterings in the street, tasty - if tasteless - gifts of disembodied animal heads. However, buoyed by his twin passions for justice and fine dining, Surra is determined to settle into island life, no matter who stands in his way. Distilling his customary humour and tension into this miniature masterpiece, Andrea Camilleri casts an ironic eye on the corruption and charm of a turbulent small town, testing his naïve but noble hero against the darkest arts of the Mafia.This story is available in print as a part of the collection Judges, published by MacLehose Press.

    The top-secret message sent by the Germans to President Carranza, once decoded by British intelligence, sparked a worldwide fire. The details of an intense love affair between a German spy and a Mexican woman who manufactured weapons to launch international conflicts, round off the novel.

    According to Patrick Geary, this is historical nonsense. The idea that national character is fixed for all time in a simpler, distant past is groundless, he argues in this unflinching reconsideration of European nationhood. Few of the peoples that many Europeans honor as sharing their sense of ''nation'' had comparably homogeneous identities; even the Huns, he points out, were firmly united only under Attila's ten-year reign.Geary dismantles the nationalist myths about how the nations of Europe were born. Through rigorous analysis set in lucid prose, he contrasts the myths with the actual history of Europe's transformation between the fourth and ninth centuries - the period of grand migrations that nationalists hold dear. The nationalist sentiments today increasingly taken for granted in Europe emerged, he argues, only in the nineteenth century. Ironically, this phenomenon was kept alive not just by responsive populations - but by complicit scholars.Ultimately, Geary concludes, the actual formation of European peoples must be seen as an extended process that began in antiquity and continues in the present. The resulting image is a challenge to those who anchor contemporary antagonisms in ancient myths - to those who claim that immigration and tolerance toward minorities despoil ''nationhood.'' As Geary shows, such ideologues - whether Le Pens who champion ''the French people born with the baptism of Clovis in 496'' or Milosevics who cite early Serbian history to claim rebellious regions--know their myths but not their history.The Myth of Nations will be intensely debated by all who understood that a history that does not change, that reduces the complexities of many centuries to a single, eternal moment, isn't history at all.

    Designed by renowned graphic artist Fabien Baron to be the ultimate makeup how-to book, Makeup Your Mind is a comprehensive compilation of Before and After photographs, each containing instructional acetate overlays, covering almost every face type, complexion, eye color, and facial feature found on the runway today. Makeup Your Mind is also a revolutionary instruction manual on makeup from one of the most respected and imitated cosmetics artists in fashion today: a makeup book designed and constructed as a durable paperback companion suitable for the vanity or for the car, sliding in and out of its attractive hardcover binder as needed, containing precise instructional guides on clear plastic overlays indicating exactly what goes where, allowing you to see the finished effect for perfect results. Summarizing each chapter on "Eyes", "Lips", "Neutrals", "Shimmer", "Monochrome and Suntan", "Pastels", Color, and "Skincare" are François Nars’ trademarked guidelines on the technique of applying makeup for that dazzling NARS look. Showcasing the famous NARS look are today’s top models, including Karen Elson, Maggie Rizer, Naomi Campbell, Devon Aoki, Trish Goff, Erin O’Connor, Sophie Dahl, May Anderson, Ling, Aurelie, Missy Rayder, Elsa, Caroline Ribero, Eva Herzagova, and many others. Makeup Your Mind features these women and more in sixty-three stunning Before and After pictures. All of the models were shot sans makeup for the Before pictures, displaying their bare-naked faces replete with imperfections and idiosyncrasies. Their transformations in the After pictures span from natural and elegant to fun and outrageous. In superb four-color photographs and brilliant acetate instructional guides, Makeup Your Mind demonstrates how makeup can minimize flaws and maximize beauty potential for every woman.

    It provides comprehensive coverage of events across the whole of the region from 711 to the fall of Granada in 1492. Up till now the history of this region has been badly neglected in comparison with studies of other states in medieval Europe. When considered at all, it has been largely written from Christian sources and seen in terms of the Christian Reconquest. Hugh Kennedy raises the profile of this important area, bringing the subject alive with vivid translations from Arab sources. This will be fascinating reading for historians of medieval Europe and for historians of the middle east drawing out the similarities and contrasts with other areas of the Muslim world.

    van Rijn (1606-1669) was one of the most complex and multi-faceted artists of the 17th century. From his initial period in Leiden to his earlier and later phases in Amsterdam, the stages of Rembrandt's career mirror the artistic and intellectual developments of the century. After breaking off his studies in Leiden, the young Rembrandt trained as a painter for two years and eventually established his own painting workshop. Characteristic of the Leiden period are his biblical histories, such as The Raising of Lazarus, but the roots of Rembrandt's portraiture, nourished by his intensive studies of physiognomy, also are to be found in these same years. Later, in Amsterdam, the perfection of Rembrandt's likenesses initially won him the favor of numerous patrons- but the artist soon surpassed their expectations. Transcending traditional modes of presentation, Rembrandt composed his portraits in the same manner he had earlier constructed his scenes. The results are visible, for example, in the famous group portrait The Anatomy Lesson of Dr. Nicolaes Tulp from 1632. In the last phase of Rembrandt's work - when, plagued by financial problems, he had withdrawn into seclusion - it is no longer possible to distinguish between event paintings and portraits.

    He has been hailed as a pioneer in helping ordinary Christians find God in their daily lives. Moved as a teenager by footprints of a barefoot Carmelite priest in the snow, Josemara felt called to greater generosity in the priesthood and in his struggles to build up Opus Dei during the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War. This latest biography is the most extensively researched work on his family history, childhood, adolescence, and young adulthood. The reader benefits from an enormous wealth of details in extensive notes and appendices. Accompanying them are excerpts from his correspondence, spiritual writings and testimonials from dozens of friends and acquaintances. The remarkable story continues in volumes II and III.

    Including drawings, cartoons, manuscripts, personal letters and illustrations as well as prose and poetry by Bukowski, this pictorial and textual biography of the great polemicist also features revelations gleaned from FBI documentation.

    Packed with facts as well as expert opinions, each book has all the key information you need to know about such popular topics as film, television, cult fiction, history, and more. In addition to an introduction to the subject, each topic is individually analyzed and reviewed, examining its impact on popular culture or history. There's also a reference section that lists related web sites and weightier (and more expensive) books on the subject. For media buffs, students, and inquiring minds, these are great entry-level books that build into an essential library.

    Say you?re already an experienced photographer? The helpful tips and tricks in this friendly book will get you quickly up to speed on the D3100's new 14-megapixel sensor, continous video/live focus, full HD video, expanded autofocus, and more. As a seasoned instructor at the Palm Beach Photographic Center, Julie anticipates all questions, whether you?re a beginner or digital camera pro, and offers pages of easy-to-follow advice.Helps you get every bit of functionality out of the new Nikon D3100 camera Walks you through its exciting new features, including the 14-megapixel sensor, continous video/live focus, full HD video, expanded autofocus, and the updated in-camera menu Explores shooting in Auto mode, managing playback options, and basic troubleshooting Explains how to adjust the camera's manual settings for your own preferred exposure, lighting, focus, and color style Covers digital photo housekeeping tips?how to organize, edit, and share your files Tap all the tools in this hot new DSLR camera and start taking some great pix with Nikon D3100 For Dummies.