The quintessential "Renaissance man," Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) is still recognized today for his accomplishments in science, architecture, and philosophy, as well as his artistic masterworks. Full-color reproductions and thorough text provide a solid introduction to this master. In the past decade we have seen a whole series of spectacular new discoveries relating to Leonardo da Vinci, discoveries that are starting to change our understanding of his art for good. In the sphere of conservation science, in particular, ever more sophisticated methods of diagnostic scanning-using X-ray and infrared technologies, for example-are yielding impressive results. With the advances in modern imaging techniques, we are today able not only to access details of Leonardo's paintings that previously lay quite literally hidden from view, but to study them in visual formats that allow us to make sense of what we are seeing. In this beautifully illustrated book, Frank Zollner uncovers the young artist in Florence, da Vinci's beginnings as a court artist in Milan, the artist and "science," and his last years. He profiles da Vinci's drawings and sketches for surviving or documented paintings, his anotomical drawings, his allegories, studies of engineering and military equipment, and his work in proportion and light and shade.

Leonardo Da Vinci, the Complete Paintings & Drawings

Frank Zöllner

Taschen America

Architecture Now! (Em Portugues do Brasil)

Reference

Philip Jodidio

Foreign Language Study & Reference

Love is a many splendoured thing, a diverse jewel, and nowhere is that more evident than in this unique publication. Offering a most distinctive take on its subject, Love lets us walk hand in hand through the twentieth century with some of its most famous couples. Their desire might have been to make a private world together, but they are also among those who have reformulated our ideas of what relationships could be, who have found equal status as independent but supportive partners, both making a difference to their times. Sometimes seen as threatening, they nevertheless show that, whether heterosexual or gay, there is no secret recipe to emotional success, no genetic elixir save commitment and trust. Presented in the context of their age, year by year and couple by couple, we watch the world change through their eyes, and learn at the same time about related topics like the Kinsey Report, psychoanalysis, lingerie, the role of the church, femmes fatales, and sex in pop music and the cinema. Whether you're JFK and Jackie O, Kurt and Courtney or Hillary and Bill, success in love remains the great unknown, and whether you're after lust or dreamy romance, you'll love this book.

Love (Evergreen Series)

Florence Montreynaud

Frank Lloyd Wright (1867–1959) is widely considered the greatest American architect of all time; his work ushered in the modern era and remains highly influential today―half a century after his death. TASCHEN’s three-volume monograph covers all his designs (numbering approximately 1,100), realized and unrealized. Made in collaboration with the Frank Lloyd Wright Archives in Taliesin, Arizona, this collection leaves no stone unturned in examining and paying tribute to Wright’s astonishing life and work.
Whereas the first volume covers the early Chicago years, this second volume deals with works after World War I, beginning with the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo and covering Wright’s quest to design affordable houses with systematic construction methods and the Usonian concept house, with the forest-sited villa Fallingwater being the dramatic climax.
The years spent working in Japan were followed by personal turmoil. In late 1922, Wright divorced from first wife Catherine, and the following year married Miriam Noel. Yet barely six months later she left, and he initiated a bitter divorce. Shortly after, Wright met his third wife, Olgivanna. During this difficult period a second fire at Taliesin strained his already parlous finances; the bank foreclosed, leaving him without home or studio. With nowhere to practice, he started writing magazine articles and his autobiography (published in 1932 to great acclaim).
From 1917 through the Depression, up until 1942, though he designed continually, Wright saw many projects go unrealized, but nevertheless had the chance to build on new concepts and in new regions. His block building system led to idiosyncratic works like the famous Ennis house in Los Angeles, and in 1936 he completed the Herbert Jacobs house, using his new “Usonian” techniques, designed to be affordable for the middle-American family. The same year he moved to Arizona where, at the age of 71, Wright embraced his rugged new life in the desert, and with his students started building the Taliesin West complex. After receiving a gold medal from the Royal Institute of British Architects in London, he returned to see his Johnson Administration Building opened to great fanfare, nationwide publicity, and lines around the block waiting to tour inside. Despite adversity, Wright emerged from this era with reputation restored and vitality renewed―as manifested in Fallingwater and the Johnson building―while his Usonian homes began to alter the way Americans lived.

Frank Lloyd Wright. Complete Works. Vol. 2, 1917–1942 (Multilingual Edition)

Science & Math

Brooks Pfeiffer, Bruce

Biological Sciences

75 Years of DC Comics. The Art of Modern Mythmaking

The crown jewel in any comics fan’s library In 1935, DC Comics founder Major Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson published New Fun No. 1, the first comic book with all-new, original material—at a time when comic books were mere repositories for the castoffs of the newspaper strips. What was initially considered to be disposable media for children was well on its way to becoming the mythology of our time—the 20th century’s answer to Atlas or Zorro. More than 40,000 comic books later, in honor of the publisher’s 75th anniversary, TASCHEN has produced the single most comprehensive book on DC Comics, in an XL edition even Superman might have trouble lifting. More than 2,000 images—covers and interiors, original illustrations, photographs, film stills, and collectibles—are reproduced using the latest technology to bring the story lines, the characters, and their creators to vibrant life as they’ve never been seen before. Telling the tales behind the tomes is 38-year DC veteran Paul Levitz, whose in-depth essays trace the company’s history, from its pulp origins through to the future of digital publishing. Year-by-year timelines that fold out to nearly four feet and biographies of the legends who built DC make this an invaluable reference for any comic book fan. Winner of the 2011 Eisner Comic Industry Award for Best Comics-Related Book of the Year!

75 Years Of DC Comics: The Art Of Modern Mythmaking

Levitz, Paul

Arts & Photography

From Paris to Perm and beyond: Dream weekends with practical itineraries in all corners of Europe Culture, history, natural beauty, fine cuisine, artistic masterpieces, cutting-edge architecture and style—Europe overflows with so many riches that a lifetime seems too short to appreciate them. But with the right guidance, you can go far in a single weekend. Stylishly written and carefully researched, this updated and expanded collection of the popular New York Times 36 Hours feature offers you 125 well-crafted itineraries for quick but memorable European trips, accompanied by hundreds of color photographs to fire your imagination. Explore the expected: the Renaissance in Florence, surfing in Biarritz, flamenco in Seville. And discover the unexpected: Sicilian mummies dressed in their Sunday best, a dry-land toboggan ride on Madeira, a hotel in Tallinn with a KGB spies’ nest on the penthouse floor. World capitals, ancient nations that once ruled wide domains, tiny countries with big personalities—it’s all Europe, and all fun to read about (whether you actually go or not) in this handsomely designed and illustrated book. Features:<ul>
<li>
4,500 hours worth of insightful itineraries to make the most of your stay</li> <li>
125 European destinations, from major cities to lesser known gems</li> <li>Practical recommendations for over 500 restaurants and 400 hotels
</li> <li>
Color-coded tabs and ribbons to bookmark your favorite cities in each region</li> <li>Nearly 800 photos</li> <li>Illustrations by Olimpia Zagnoli
</li> <li>Easy-to-reference indexes
</li> <li>Detailed city-by-city maps pinpoint every stop on your itinerary</li> </ul>
Also available: 36 Hours: 150 Weekends in the USA &amp; Canada 36 Hours: USA &amp; Canada: Northeast 36 Hours: USA &amp; Canada: Southeast 36 Hours: USA &amp; Canada: Midwest &amp; Great Lakes 36 Hours: USA &amp; Canada: Southwest &amp; Rocky Mountains

The New York Times: 36 Hours 125 Weekends in Europe

Travel

Europe

The cornerstone of modern fantasy…An exciting new compilation of Hans Christian Andersen’s world-famous fairy tales The Fairy Tales of Hans Christian Andersen presents the most famous Andersen stories, including classics such as “The Little Mermaid”, “The Ugly Duckling”, and “The Princess and the Pea,” in a highly esteemed 1942 translation by Jean Hersholt. This lovingly designed book contains a sparkling and unexpected selection of beautiful artwork from the 1840s to the 1980s by such artist greats as Kay Nielsen, the beloved Arthur Rackham, the eccentric Tom Seidmann-Freud (niece of Sigmund Freud), and the groundbreaking film animator Lotte Reiniger, as well as exciting, newly discovered talents. The collection also features historic and contemporary silhouettes, which enrich the presentation of Andersen’s tales in a unique format, pairing one tale with one artist, and make this a fresh addition to children’s libraries as well as to adult art-book collections. In addition to the tales and illustrations, the compilation also contains a presentation of Andersen’s legacy, brief historical introductions to each fairy tale, and extended artists’ biographies in the appendix. Meant for the whole family, this precious edition shares the eternal magic of Andersen’s tales, celebrating his tender, heartfelt stories that have entered both our collective imagination and the literary canon. <ul>
<li>Brings together the most famous Hans Christian Andersen tales in a one-of-a-kind design</li> <li>Includes illustrations by famous artists from Austria, Britain, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Japan, Sweden, the Ukraine, and the United States</li> <li>
Features the highly esteemed translation by Jean Hersholt, accessible to readers of all ages</li> <li>Contains dozens of all-new silhouettes specially commissioned for the book
</li> </ul>
The following 23 fairy tales are featured in the book: The Princess and the Pea, The Nightingale, The Swineherd, The Old Man Is Always Right, The Little Mermaid, The Emperor’s New Clothes, The Darning Needle, Twelve by Mail, The Brave Tin Soldier, The Snow Queen, The Flea and the Professor, Thumbelina, The Sweethearts, Ole Shut-Eye, Five Peas in a Pod, The Ugly Duckling, Little Ida’s Flowers, The Shepherdess and the Chimney Sweep, The Flying Trunk, The Little Match Girl, The Tinderbox, The Pen and Inkstand, and The Farmyard Cock and the Weathercock.

The Fairy Tales of Hans Christian Andersen

Andersen, Hans-Christian

Graphic Design

Into the wild: Journey into the world of Peter Beard Photographer, collector, diarist, and writer of books Peter Beard has fashioned his life into a work of art; the illustrated diaries he kept from a young age evolved into a serious career as an artist and earned him a central position in the international art world. He was painted by Francis Bacon and painted on by Salvador Dalí, he made diaries with Andy Warhol and toured with Truman Capote and the Rolling Stones—all of whom are brought to life, literally and figuratively, in his work. As a fashion photographer, he took Vogue stars like Veruschka to Africa and brought new ones—most notably Iman—back to the U.S. with him. After spending time in Kenya and striking up a friendship with the author Isak Dinesen (Karen Blixen) in the early 1960s, Beard bought a piece of land near hers. He witnessed the dawn of Kenya’s population explosion, which challenged finite resources and stressed animal populations—including the starving elephants of Tsavo dying by the tens of thousands in a wasteland of eaten trees. So he documented what he saw—with diaries, photographs, and collages. He went against the wind in publishing unique and sometimes shocking books of these works. The corpses were laid bare; the facts carefully recorded, sometimes in type and often by hand. Beard uses his photographs as a canvas onto which he superimposes multi-layered contact sheets, ephemera, found objects, newspaper clippings that are elaborately embellished with meticulous handwriting, old-master inspired drawings and often swaths of animal blood used as paint. In 2006 TASCHEN published the book that has come to define his oeuvre, signed by the artist and published in two volumes. It sold out instantly and became a highly sought after collector’s item. Now the book you couldn’t get your hands on is available in one volume, a handsome hardcover edition revised by Nejma Beard with new images never published before. Text in English, French, and German

Peter Beard (Multilingual Edition)

Owen Edwards

Steven M.L. Aronson

In June of 1938, Action Comics debuted with a new kind of comic book character on its cover: a costumed man with two identities, who possessed extraordinary strength and powers―a man able to protect the public when ordinary measures would not do. He was not the first super hero, but the Man of Steel would become the prototype for all super heroes thereafter.
Superman’s story, and those of Batman, Wonder Woman, and hundreds of other DC Comics characters, are all told in The Golden Age of DC Comics. The single most comprehensive book on the subject, this volume traces the company’s first decades, from its pulp origins up to the comic book burnings of the McCarthy ’50s in more than 400 pages bursting with comics, art, comics, photographs, and more comics. Also included is an exclusive interview with legendary artist Joe Kubert.
Expanded from the Eisner Award–winning XL book, 75 Years of DC Comics, TASCHEN’s series on DC Comics explores the origins of comics’ most enduring legends and the behind-the-scenes, era by era. In a reader-friendly size, the books feature updated essays by author Paul Levitz and thousands of covers and interiors, original illustrations, photographs, film stills, and collectibles to bring the story lines, the characters, and their creators to vibrant life.All DC characters and elements are trademarks of and © DC Comics.

The Golden Age of DC Comics

Science Fiction & Fantasy

Culled and assembled by Romeyn Beck Hough between 1888 and 1913 in what still remains a stunning and unparalleled achievement, American Woods―originally published in 14 volumes, with actual specimens mounted on card stock―is a work of breathtaking beauty that has set the standard for the study of trees and wood.
TASCHEN’s Woodbook reproduces, in painstaking facsimile, all of the specimen pages from the original volumes; for this purpose we have obtained the use of an extremely rare original set of volumes in very good condition, with minimal damage to the wood cuts. For all trees, now arranged in alphabetical order, three different cross-section cuts of wood are represented (radial, horizontal, and tangential), demonstrating the particular characteristics of the grain and the wealth of colors and textures to be found among the many different wood types. Also included in this special edition are lithographs by Charles Sprague Sargent of the leaves and nuts of most trees, as well as texts describing the trees’ geographical origins and physical characteristics.

Romeyn B. Hough: The Woodbook (English, French and German Edition)

Romeyn Beck Hough

Klaus Ulrich Leistikow

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Books by Taschen America