From # 1 Essence best-selling Crime Novelist K'Wan comes a tale of forbidden love, high stakes murder and the robbery gone bad that set it all in motion, Diamonds and Pearl. They say that good girls like bad boys, and this was especially true for Pearl Stone. A child born of privilege to a drug baron and reputed killer known in the streets as Big Stone. Although the flashy, fast-paced nature of the streets calls to Pearl, she’s been brought up to look but not touch. But when a young hustler named Diamonds crawls up from the swamps of Louisiana and sets up shop in New York City, everything Pearl was taught flies out the window. Raised in the wild and schooled on the mean streets of New Orleans, Diamonds is no stranger to hard times and is willing to do whatever it takes to stay above the poverty line, including kill. When a robbery turned mass murder goes wrong, Diamonds is forced to flee New Orleans and lands in New York where he meets Pearl, and for the first time finds something he craves more than wealth and power...love. As the stakes get higher, Diamonds has to push away his past if he’s to grab hold of his future—but by doing so, will he show Pearl that all that glitters isn’t gold?

Diamonds and Pearl each try to claw their way to the top of the New York street scene, and back to each other.

Belgian photographer Marc Lagrange has quickly gained a reputation as one of the most original and talented erotic photographers around. Taking a distinctive approach to setting voluptuous scenes, Lagrange meticulously composes timeless settings--with each location and prop carefully chosen to enhance the romantic and revealing mood. Building trust and chemistry with his models, Lagrange is daring but never crosses into mere titillation. The tension is palpable and a sense of mystery pervades each elaborate vignette. Combining the glamour of classic Hollywood with the sensibility of an Old Master painting, all his alluring heroines seem at ease and approachable--yet just tantalizingly out of reach. English/German/French/Dutch ILLUSTRATIONS: 120 colour & duotone photographs

“So explosive, dramatic, and sexual, it should come with an R rating!” —RT Book Reviews With a drug addict mother and a drug lord father, Aphtan learns how to fend for herself at an early age. Being the princess of an empire has its perks—until her father gets arrested. From stealing clothes and food to committing fraud, Aphtan does what she has to do to take care of her mother and herself. But when her schemes prove problematic, she turns to a new hustle: dancing at Pearl Tongue, the most notorious strip club in Texas . . . For Aphtan, the job’s fast money means security. Addicted to the cash, she promises herself she’ll never stop—until her new man, Scooter, makes her. In love, Aphtan trades in the pole for the life of a housewife. But nothing lasts forever and Scooter’s past ultimately catches up with them—bringing secrets to the surface that destroy their relationship. Devastated, Aphtan needs a shoulder to cry on—and it belongs to Scooter’s brother, Cole. Now, between betrayal, lies, murder, and a robbery that may force her to leave town for good, Aphtan’s heart—and her life—are on the line.

In the history of New York City's underworld, there have been a host of criminal figures whose exploits have gone on to inspire. One of them is Jonas Rafferty, known among friends and enemies alike as Wrath, whose life changes when he crosses paths with rogue homicide detective Louis "Lou" Ceavers and offered a bargain that will change the course of his life.

Summary: In Tiffany Pearls, Tiffany's longtime design director traces the dazzling history of pearl jewelry at Tiffany, from the mid-19th century to the present, including fascinating accounts of many of the world's most famous pearls since the Renaissance. Tiffany Pearls is lavishly illustrated with archival photographs, portraits of illustrious pearl lovers through the centuries (including Queen Elizabeth I; Catherine de Medici; Mary, Queen of Scots; and Mary Todd Lincoln), sketches and drawings of Tiffany's signature designs, and photographs of their spectacular antique and contemporary pearl pieces. In addition, celebrities from Audrey Hepburn to Elizabeth Taylor, Christy Turlington, Naomi Watts, and Sarah Jessica Parker, are pictured decked out in lavish Tiffany pearls.--From publisher description.

'You will hear it for yourselves, and it will surely fill you with wonder...' In this selection from Marco Polo's famous travel book, the intrepid Venetian describes the customs of India, recounts the story of the king who died eighty-four times and explains how to retrieve diamonds from snake-infested caves... Introducing Little Black Classics: 80 books for Penguin's 80th birthday. Little Black Classics celebrate the huge range and diversity of Penguin Classics, with books from around the world and across many centuries. They take us from a balloon ride over Victorian London to a garden of blossom in Japan, from Tierra del Fuego to 16th-century California and the Russian steppe. Here are stories lyrical and savage; poems epic and intimate; essays satirical and inspirational; and ideas that have shaped the lives of millions. Marco Polo (1254-1324). Polo's Travels are available in Penguin Classics.

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The brilliant coming-of-age-and-into-superstardom story of one of the greatest artists of all time, in his own words—featuring never-before-seen photos, original scrapbooks and lyric sheets, and the exquisite memoir he began writing before his tragic death NAMED ONE OF THE BEST MUSIC BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW AND ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY THE WASHINGTON POST AND THE GUARDIAN • NOMINATED FOR THE NAACP IMAGE AWARD Prince was a musical genius, one of the most beloved, accomplished, and acclaimed musicians of our time. He was a startlingly original visionary with an imagination deep enough to whip up whole worlds, from the sexy, gritty funk paradise of “Uptown” to the mythical landscape of Purple Rain to the psychedelia of “Paisley Park.” But his most ambitious creative act was turning Prince Rogers Nelson, born in Minnesota, into Prince, one of the greatest pop stars of any era. The Beautiful Ones is the story of how Prince became Prince—a first-person account of a kid absorbing the world around him and then creating a persona, an artistic vision, and a life, before the hits and fame that would come to define him. The book is told in four parts. The first is the memoir Prince was writing before his tragic death, pages that bring us into his childhood world through his own lyrical prose. The second part takes us through Prince’s early years as a musician, before his first album was released, via an evocative scrapbook of writing and photos. The third section shows us Prince’s evolution through candid images that go up to the cusp of his greatest achievement, which we see in the book’s fourth section: his original handwritten treatment for Purple Rain—the final stage in Prince’s self-creation, where he retells the autobiography of the first three parts as a heroic journey. The book is framed by editor Dan Piepenbring’s riveting and moving introduction about his profound collaboration with Prince in his final months—a time when Prince was thinking deeply about how to reveal more of himself and his ideas to the world, while retaining the mystery and mystique he’d so carefully cultivated—and annotations that provide context to the book’s images. This work is not just a tribute to an icon, but an original and energizing literary work in its own right, full of Prince’s ideas and vision, his voice and image—his undying gift to the world.

Love, Betrayal and Loyalty on the Streets of Harlem Daruis, a.k.a. Rio, the only child of a singer turned alcoholic, feels he has nothing to hold on to except the idea of escaping the ghetto. Years ago, he took a gun charge for a friend and did some prison time. Unable to find a job when he gets out, Rio turns to hustling as a way out. In the meantime, Rio finds escape in the arms of his soulmate, Trinity. When Trinity's mother died, her abusive father looks to her to play the role of house wife and bedmate. Trinity finds strength to endure in Rio's arms. Together they vow to do whatever it takes to make it out of the ghetto. But soon they find their backs against the wall when the streets come to claim their due.

Africa–where diamonds are the currency of the weapons trade, and trust is the only option between two strangers... Miranda Parrish is a world-renowned veterinarian specialist with expertise in endangered species. She’s fearless and will go anywhere an animal is in need. But when she journeys to Katanga, an animal sanctuary in the heart of Botswana, she lands in the middle of a blood diamond smuggling operation. And there’s only one man who can help her.... Special agent, Matt Bennett’s parents were murdered by a ruthless arms dealer when he was fourteen. He’s devoted his life to avenging their deaths and ending the cycle of violence threatening southern Africa. Undercover at Katanga, he clashes with Miranda. He’s never met a woman so stubborn, who’ll let nothing stand in the way of what she believes in. And he’ll let no one come between him and his vengeance. Matt and Miranda will have to work together if they want to save Katanga, and both of their lives, before it’s too late.