The China of Olivo Barbieri fills a mental void in our European imagination; it crowds us out, it pushes us to the margins, and for that reason it enriches us. It brings us closer.

In 1952 an Umbrian artist scandalized art critics worldwide with burned wood, flame-red paintings, dramatic combustions of plastics, and a black that was the color of tar: his name was Alberto Burri (Citta di Castello 1915 - Nice 1995), one of the greatest artists of all times. This book sets out to reveal many of his works that have remained unknown until today.

This pocket-size catalogue of the American artist Joel-Peter Witkin's inimitable work includes a selection of more than 50 astonishing photographs, a collection that expresses the artist's unique point of view on an extraordinary segment of humanity. Witkin's powerful and transgressive images are renowned for their depiction of outsiders including dwarves, transsexuals, hermaphrodites and physically deformed people. They are equally appreciated for their high aesthetic refinement, referencing classical paintings, Baroque art, Surrealism and other genres including still lifes and religious episodes. Witkin has said that his vision and sensibility were initiated by an episode he witnessed as a small child--a car accident in front of his house in which a little girl was decapitated. He has also said that difficulties in his family were an influence: his Jewish father and Catholic mother parted over religious differences.

Here's a book that for the first time collects and catalogues all Gabriele Basilico's photo books, from 1978 to 2006: over twenty years of career. Every book is presented with its original cover, bibliographic data and a photo taken from the interiors. Page by page, photo by photo, the reader will discover the richness and variety of matters in Basilico's photos: Milanese suburbs in the last Seventies, dancing halls in Emilia, industries, ports and finally Beirut in early Nineties and the new soul of Berlin. This book is a useful way for scholars but also for simple lovers of good photography to make a point about the career of a photographer that has built our perception of contemporary landscape. With an introduction by Italo Rota and a comment by Gabriele Basilico.

As well as containing many color plates that document the illusive quality of Paladino's work, this monograph also includes seven essays that explore the nature and meaning of his imagery and the temperament that produced them.

Every kid knows that pirates talk funny, swing a big sword, and seek buried treasure—don’t they? What do we really know about Blackbeard, Madame Cheng, Sir Francis Drake, and other men and women of pirate history? What drove them to sail the high seas? What were their bad habits, favorite foods, and silly quirks? And did they actually talk like that? A lively style, lots of surprises, and solid research have made the Lives of . . . series of collective biographies popular with both kids and adults. Now the series returns, spanning the globe with profiles of the nineteen most notorious pirates in history.