A novel about the murder of a Russian man in Cuba.

New from high-profile fashion photographer Thierry Le Gouès comes a lavish artist's book, Popular, an earthy, luring tome of the rarely shown Havana social scene. In Le Gouès' provocative duotone and sensuous four-color photographs, we're seduced by a culture of great joy amongst great poverty: raucous, heat-soaked street parties; spirited sparring matches in crumbling gymnasiums; voluptuous nudes plying their wares in derelict mansions; wizened balladeers savoring impossibly large Cohibas... Le Gouès' models are drawn from the street: a mixture of Buena Vista Social Club stars and underground legends, the miscegenation of which, in Le Gouès' expert fashion sense, serves to create a raw, sexy style-one of abandon out of necessity, out of a lust for life-a spirit Le Gouès sees in Cuba as ubiquitous as the cigarettes from which the book draws its name.

Boxing is one of the most popular sports in Cuba and its fighters are recognized the world over for their skills and finesse. The Cuban national team holds more Olympic medals in the sport than any other country, making the nation a hotbed of emerging global champions. State-sanctioned and promoted since the revolution, amateur boxing's potential for fame and relative wealth makes it a beacon for impoverished youth yearning for a better life. Shot all across the Republic of Cuba,Havana Boxing Clubdocuments amateur boxing schools and the aspiring, determined boys studying the sweet science. Compiled over the course of eight years, French photographer Thierry Le Goues spent countless hours in the complex network of training facilities that abound in the island nation, developing relationships with the coaches and their young progeny, following the rise and fall of countless talents and wannabes. The resulting images are of young fighters struggling, sweating, and fighting to overcome anything thrown in their way--inside the ring and out. Le Goues' luscious tritone black and white photographs depict rigorous training camps, boxing rings erected in the streets of small villages in the Cuban countryside, the lows of these young boxers struggling with abject poverty and crushing defeat, and the ultimate highs of rising up victorious over all obstacles and challengers. The pure instinct to survive against overwhelming odds and to realize their dreams of boxing on the national team is both startling and beautiful.Havana Boxing Clubcaptures the sport's arresting beauty and unrelenting brutality.

"It's rad what I do." -Mike Blabac Blabac Photo: The Art of Skateboarding Photography is astunning chronicle of a youth movement as seen throughthe lens of Mike Blabac, a man who is as dedicated to hiscraft as he is to the skateboarding lifestyle that inspired it.For millions of people around the world, skateboarding ismore than a mere hobby or a sport-it's a way of life thathas shaped everything from fashion and music, to videogames and art. Blabac Photo proves that point with 300awe-inspiring images that communicate the stories andexploits of some of the most creative athletes to ever stepon a skateboard including Eric Koston, Stevie Williams,Colin McKay, Rob Dyrdek, and Danny Way. As skateboardingevolved over time, from a hobby for kids on the Veniceboardwalk into a global culture, skate legends were born,records were broken, titans of industry materialized-andMike Blabac was there to document the history of themovement as it developed before his eyes.

Known for his unorthodox self-portraits, Lee Friedlander has given us another collection, but this time only in shadow, with The Shadow Knows, a reference to the 1930’s radio show that ended with the line: “Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men? The Shadow Knows.” Sometimes Friedlander's shadow is presented as ominous — imposed over another person, sometimes his wife — lending the impression of sneakiness, desire, or possession. Other times it's playful, draped over a cactus or a pile of rocks, turning the photographer into a cartoon character with exaggerated body parts. And sometimes he simply makes himself part of a scene, often where you can make out the camera held up to his eye — the photographer’s version of breaking the fourth wall. One thing is clear throughout the book: his shadow is treated as an honored guest, and Friedlander takes full advantage of the company, tirelessly finding ways of adapting it to his own drama. Historian and curator Rod Slemmons once wrote that Friedlander “provides us with a new visual world in which obstruction, confusion, and accident are the driving forces” — a statement never more evident than in this book. Friedlander, you imagine, has discovered not just the evil and not just in the hearts of men, but something more profound in his own, and in these 101 photographs shows us what it has come to know.

"[The dramatist] has used his hero, a fighter based on the first Black heavyweight champion of the world, Jack Johnson ... as a symbol in part of Black aspiration"--Back cover.

For much of the twentieth century, boxing was one of America’s most popular sports, and the heavyweight champions were figures known to all. Their exploits were reported regularly in the newspapers—often outside the sports pages—and their fame and wealth dwarfed those of other athletes. Long after their heyday, these icons continue to be synonymous with the “sweet science.” In The Boxing Kings: When American Heavyweights Ruled the Ring, Paul Beston profiles these larger-than-life men who held a central place in American culture. Among the figures covered are John L. Sullivan, who made the heavyweight championship a commercial property; Jack Johnson, who became the first black man to claim the title; Jack Dempsey, a sporting symbol of the Roaring Twenties; Joe Louis, whose contributions to racial tolerance and social progress transcended even his greatness in the ring; Rocky Marciano, who became an embodiment of the American Dream; Muhammad Ali, who took on the U.S. government and revolutionized professional sports with his showmanship; and Mike Tyson, a hard-punching dynamo who typified the modern celebrity. This gallery of flawed but sympathetic men also includes comics, dandies, bookworms, divas, ex-cons, workingmen, and even a tough-guy-turned-preacher. As the heavyweight title passed from one claimant to another, their stories opened a window into the larger history of the United States. Boxing fans, sports historians, and those interested in U.S. race relations as it intersects with sports will find this book a fascinating exploration into how engrained boxing once was in America’s social and cultural fabric.

The Darwinian elements of survival and harmony have always attracted writers, philosophers, and artists working in all mediums, specifically, in the sport of Boxing. Sports have always played an important role in the principle and foundation of Latino Culture, specifically in the Puerto culture and its Diaspora. This is true for the artist Carlos Rolon (Dzine). the sweet science played an important role within his family household. Watching a young Howard Cosell on ABCs Wide World and the infamous No Mas fight with Roberto Duran and Sugar Ray Leonard is how the artist a young age bonded with his father. His previous publication Nailed, which the artist viewed as a love letter to his mother, Rolon sees BOXED as a homage to his father. Following the success of the Nailed, the goal is to archive how artists and documentarians have historically used boxing as a metaphor used or been inspired by the sport from its inception into contemporary culture. As with Nailed, the publication will result and include a new body of work produced by the author. Co-published with Paul Kasmin Gallery a foreword by LACMA Chief Curator Franklin Sirmans, artists featured in Boxed include Andreas Gursky, Jean- Michel Basquiat, Andy Warhol, Gary Simmons, Satch Hoyt, Rashid Johnson, Christopher Wool, Cheryl Dunn, Terence koh, David Hammons, Ed Ruscha, Jeff Koons, George Bellows, Yoshitomo Nara, Jules De Balincourt, Paul Pfeiffer, Martine Barat, Claes Oldenburg, Glenn Ligon, Lyle Owerko, Chris Mosier and Ed Paschke, etc.

'Havana. Harlem. Haryana. There is a thread that runs through these centres of excellence in boxing... They are places where young boys can choose a career in crime if they want to, and they often do. Or, turn to boxing.' Vijender Singh's one bronze medal in Beijing has changed the fortunes of an entire sport in India. At the very least, it dramatically transformed one town: Bhiwani. Or did Bhiwani transform Indian boxing? The nation now knows Bhiwani as being synonymous with the handsome Olympian heartthrob and then some. Boxing is the new sexy, Vijender is the face of it, and Bhiwani is its home. But inspiring as that tale is and considerable though India's successes in the sport have been since his bronze, the story - as is true of everything in India - is more complex. The sport has a long and meandering history, a Raj connection and a nationalist one, and decades of Indian rule and misrule. There have been many boxing centres in the country, beginning with Calcutta and Mumbai. The state of Manipur has had a long, conflicted history with the sport, as has the Indian Army. Blood, sweat, tears and a healthy dose of conspiracy: the story of Indian boxing is dramatic, simultaneously dispiriting and inspiring.

The VANISHING CUBA Deluxe Edition photo book is limited to only 500 copies, each signed and numbered, and comes packaged in a beautiful protective slipcase. Vanishing Cuba is a curated visual storytelling photo book by American photographer Michael Chinnici. The collection depicts the changes Cuba faces as it emerges from more than 60 years of isolation and decay. Michael's 24 trips to Cuba have yielded tens of thousands of photographs, thought-provoking, and emotional stories, and created lifelong friendships. Vanishing Cuba is about capturing Cuba's past, present, and future, and even more so, about capturing the "Soul of Cuba." Michael's love affair with Cuba and the Cuban people comes through in this compelling and beautifully produced book. The Deluxe Edition contains over 300 photographs and stories in a beautifully printed and produced 12.30" x 13.25" hardcover book. Designed by Michael, this 348-page museum-quality photo book is offset printed in Italy using only the finest Italian papers. The book's color images are printed using a 7-color Spectra7 System to provide the most vibrant colors. The book's black & white images are printed using a 3-black TriTone System, delivering superior B&W images with breathtaking images results. Michael has curated his 24 trips to Cuba into a wonderful storytelling photo collection. Each beautifully crafted book is produced with stories in both English and Spanish, with Cuban friends helping guide the narrative with beautiful essays. Michael's style of photography captures the "Soul of Cuba" in the most authentic, endearing, beautiful, and honest light.