Michael 'Nick' Nichols has for decades created powerful and eloquent images of iconic wildlife species. His vision is to stir the emotions of viewers leading to empathy and conservation. Melissa Harris has provided a sparkling text not just of Nick and his colleagues at work in the field, but one which provides many fascinating insights into the conservation issues related to his photographic quests. Among these are the survival of mountain gorillas during nearly six decades of civil war in their realm, the horrendous elephant slaughter for ivory, and the ethics of trophy hunting, of killing lions for pleasure. This is an illuminating and honest book about some of the world's greatest natural treasures and those who strive to protect them.--George B. Schaller, author of The Serengeti Lion and The Year of the Gorilla A Wild Life is Nichols's story, told with passion and insight by author and photo-editor Melissa Harris. Nichols' story combines a life of adventure, with a conviction about how we can redeem the human race by protecting our wildlife. The book's two central characters are the photographer--who journeys from the American South, via the photographers' co-operative Magnum, to becoming lead wildlife photographer of National Geographic magazine--and the author, who travels with the photographer on assignment in Africa, to gain intimate and deep insight into her subject. Harris's story also draws on meetings with some of the world's leading eco-scientists--including legendary primatologist, Jane Goodall.

A National Book Critics Circle finalist • One of People's top 10 books of 2021 • An instant New York Times bestseller • Named a best book of the year by NPR and Time A magnificent biography of one of the most protean creative forces in American entertainment history, a life of dazzling highs and vertiginous plunges—some of the worst largely unknown until now—by the acclaimed author of Pictures at a Revolution and Five Came Back Mike Nichols burst onto the scene as a wunderkind: while still in his twenties, he was half of a hit improv duo with Elaine May that was the talk of the country. Next he directed four consecutive hit plays, won back-to-back Tonys, ushered in a new era of Hollywood moviemaking with Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, and followed it with The Graduate, which won him an Oscar and became the third-highest-grossing movie ever. At thirty-five, he lived in a three-story Central Park West penthouse, drove a Rolls-Royce, collected Arabian horses, and counted Jacqueline Kennedy, Elizabeth Taylor, Leonard Bernstein, and Richard Avedon as friends. Where he arrived is even more astonishing given where he had begun: born Igor Peschkowsky to a Jewish couple in Berlin in 1931, he was sent along with his younger brother to America on a ship in 1939. The young immigrant boy caught very few breaks. He was bullied and ostracized--an allergic reaction had rendered him permanently hairless--and his father died when he was just twelve, leaving his mother alone and overwhelmed. The gulf between these two sets of facts explains a great deal about Nichols's transformation from lonely outsider to the center of more than one cultural universe--the acute powers of observation that first made him famous; the nourishment he drew from his creative partnerships, most enduringly with May; his unquenchable drive; his hunger for security and status; and the depressions and self-medications that brought him to terrible lows. It would take decades for him to come to grips with his demons. In an incomparable portrait that follows Nichols from Berlin to New York to Chicago to Hollywood, Mark Harris explores, with brilliantly vivid detail and insight, the life, work, struggle, and passion of an artist and man in constant motion. Among the 250 people Harris interviewed: Elaine May, Meryl Streep, Stephen Sondheim, Robert Redford, Glenn Close, Tom Hanks, Candice Bergen, Emma Thompson, Annette Bening, Natalie Portman, Julia Roberts, Lorne Michaels, and Gloria Steinem. Mark Harris gives an intimate and evenhanded accounting of success and failure alike; the portrait is not always flattering, but its ultimate impact is to present the full story of one of the most richly interesting, complicated, and consequential figures the worlds of theater and motion pictures have ever seen. It is a triumph of the biographer's art.

What do knights in shining armor have to do with slimy snails and porcupines? A lot, actually! Armor & Animals brings together two things kids love to provide an entryway into the world of art. The armor collection at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, beloved by its young visitors, provides the remarkable helmets, shields, and more that appear in the book, and which experienced museum educator Liz Yohlin Baill compares to the shells, scales, and spikes that protect animals. Lively text paired with bright, modern graphics and real-life armor informs kids about art and animals in tandem. A rhino crashes into a knight, teaching kids that a group of rhinos is called a crash—so stay out of the way! Dragons may be imaginary, but a fire-breathing dragon etched on armor can still make a horse look extra tough. Kids can consider the helmets, goggles, and other "armor" they use that help make their own activities safer, and connect art to their world as they learn.

Why did Henri Cartier-Bresson nearly have a posthumous exhibition while still alive? What led Stephen Shore to work with color? Why was Sophie Calle accused of stealing Vermeer's The Concert? And what is Susan Meiselas's take on Instagram and the future of online storytelling? Aperture Conversations presents a selection of interviews highlighting critical dialogue between photographers, esteemed critics, curators, editors, and artists from 1985 to the present day. Emerging talent along with well-established photographers discuss their work openly and examine the future of the medium. Drawn primarily from Aperture magazine with selections from Aperture's booklist and online platform, Aperture Conversations celebrates the artist's voice, collaborations, and the photography community at large.

“Wise and ebullient . . . . Gefter takes the reader inside so many of Avedon’s photo shoots, and so deftly explicates his work, that you’re thirsty to sate your eyes with Avedon’s actual images . . . . One of the achievements of Gefter’s biography is to argue persuasively for Avedon’s place, as a maker of portraits, as one of the 20th century’s most consequential artists.” — Dwight Garner, New York Times "Gefter weaves the particulars of Avedon’s life story into a larger narrative about American culture in the decades after World War II . . . . Read in the context of our own precarious political and ecological moment, this assessment alone argues eloquently for the abiding, even urgent relevance of Avedon’s imperfect Art." — Caroline Weber, New York Times Book Review “Imagine the offspring of Marcel Proust and the Energizer Bunny—that’s who Richard Avedon was, a chronicler of fashion, an analyst of social types, the author in pictures of his era. And Philip Gefter captures him. His biography is an Avedon of Avedon.” — Louis Menand, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of The Metaphysical Club “Mesmerizing. . . . Like Avedon’s blank white backgrounds, blasted with light, Gefter’s pages expose in a controlled and intelligent manner all the bigness and littleness of one of the greats.” — Brad Gooch, New York Times bestselling author of Flannery and City Poet "A compelling, beautifully written examination of Avedon's life as it reflects the larger cultural milieu of post–World War II New York, and, more importantly, an argument for the role of the artist in contemporary society." — Stephen Shore, photographer "The portrait that emerges in these pages is not only a biography of the artist—his professional triumphs and disappointments and personal demons—but also a beautifully written assessment of his work, which brings Avedon to life and also vividly evokes his most memorable images." — Kate Betts, Air Mail “Revealing, fluent, and very well written—an exemplary biography of an underappreciated artist.” — Kirkus Reviews (starred review) "Gefter’s expert, comprehensive, and sensitive biography embodies the electricity and complexity of Avedon’s work as he centers Avedon within the crossfire of both the battle to legitimize photography as a fine art form and the struggle for gay rights… Gefter’s engrossing portrait of a master portraitist vividly proves his claim that Avedon is “one of the most consequential artists of the twentieth century." — Booklist, starred review "Definitive and insightful." — Publishers Weekly "With this engrossing biography, readers will come away with a greater appreciation of Avedon’s artistic strengths and achievements, as well as the complex man behind the camera." — Library Journal (starred review) "Philip Gefter’s welcome new biography . . . takes Avedon at his own estimation as a serious 20th-century artist. It creates a dense, convincing portrait of a man with huge talent and a gift for life." — Scott Eyman, Wall Street Journal

From hunting lions to foraging baboons, from trekking elephants to balletic giraffes, animals in the wild have long fascinated man. This book celebrates the diversity of the African natural world with a lively text and more than 200 full-color photos.

A beautifully illustrated volume chronicles the authors' two-thousand-mile expedition through wilderness Africa, from the dense forests of the Congo to the shore of Gabon, featuring remarkable images of the wildlife of the continent in their native habitat.

This exclusive boxed set from beloved New York Times bestselling author Walter Isaacson features his definitive biographies: Steve Jobs, Einstein, Benjamin Franklin, and Leonardo da Vinci. “If anybody in America understands genius, it’s Walter Isaacson.” —Salon Celebrated historian, journalist, and bestselling author Walter Isaacson’s biography collection of geniuses now available in one boxed set—the perfect gift for history lovers everywhere. Steve Jobs: The “enthralling” (The New Yorker) worldwide bestselling biography of legendary Apple cofounder Steve Jobs. The story of the roller-coaster life and intense creative entrepreneur whose passion for perfection and ferocious drive revolutionized six industries: personal computers, animated movies, music, phones, tablet computing, and digital publishing. Isaacson’s portrait touched millions of readers. Einstein: How did his mind work? What made him a genius? Isaacson’s biography of Albert Einstein—also the basis for the ten-part National Geographic series starring Geoffrey Rush—shows how Einstein’s scientific imagination sprang from the rebellious nature of his personality. His fascinating story is a testament to the connection between creativity and freedom. Benjamin Franklin: In this colorful and intimate narrative, Isaacson provides the full sweep of Ben Franklin’s amazing life, showing how the most fascinating Founding Father helped forge the American national identity. Leonardo da Vinci: History’s consummate innovator and most creative thinker. Isaacson illustrates how Leonardo’s genius was based on skills we can improve in ourselves, such as passionate curiosity, careful observation, and an imagination so playful that it flirted with fantasy.

Michael 'Nick' Nichols has for decades created powerful and eloquent images of iconic wildlife species. His vision is to stir the emotions of viewers leading to empathy and conservation. Melissa Harris has provided a sparkling text not just of Nick and his colleagues at work in the field, but one which provides many fascinating insights into the conservation issues related to his photographic quests. Among these are the survival of mountain gorillas during nearly six decades of civil war in their realm, the horrendous elephant slaughter for ivory, and the ethics of trophy hunting, of killing lions for pleasure. This is an illuminating and honest book about some of the world's greatest natural treasures and those who strive to protect them.--George B. Schaller, author of The Serengeti Lion and The Year of the Gorilla A Wild Life is Nichols's story, told with passion and insight by author and photo-editor Melissa Harris. Nichols' story combines a life of adventure, with a conviction about how we can redeem the human race by protecting our wildlife. The book's two central characters are the photographer--who journeys from the American South, via the photographers' co-operative Magnum, to becoming lead wildlife photographer of National Geographic magazine--and the author, who travels with the photographer on assignment in Africa, to gain intimate and deep insight into her subject. Harris's story also draws on meetings with some of the world's leading eco-scientists--including legendary primatologist, Jane Goodall.