With around 200 breathtaking close-ups of the world's most exotic, beautiful and even frankly ugly fish, scuba-diver and photographer David Doubilet has created one of the most stylish volumes in the Phaidon imprint. For colour it is hard to beat the multicoloured bands of the Stoplight Parrot Fish, the orange and turquoise Indonesian Beaked Leather Jacket, or Egypt's Red Sea Coral Grouper with its sharp white teeth offset by a rich red spotty face. Extraordinary in both shape and colouring is the Tomato Clown Fish photographed in Papua New Guinea, while the Spinyhead Blenny from Cuba looks startled by its own luminous weirdness. The close-up of a Stingray from Grand Cayman Island is both perfect in its expanse of whiteness and disturbing in its parody of human facial features. Ragged Tooth Sharks have the same eerie quality, with the sinister addition of the mesh of teeth revealed in their predatory mouths, while a Great White Shark has fewer but more effective teeth. Wild staring eyes are a feature of many fish including the Australian Morwong, the Yellow Damsel Fish, the Map Puffer Fish, or the South African Hotlips Triplefin, where the eyes glow at least as redly as the lips. Many fish have extraordinary camouflage such as the mottled Stone Fish of the Great Barrier Reef, the Australian Leafy Sea Dragon or the Bicolour Parrot Fish from the Red Sea. Around 350 unnumbered and gorgeous pages, rare softback.

Beautiful and heart-warming photographs of newborn animals, the book is an intimate look at the early days in a wild baby's life. From an adorably gangly giraffe calf, a wide-eyed elephant seal pup, a playful pair of opossum joeys, an innocent-eyed fluffy zebra, a ruby-throated hummingbird which will take its first flight at 18-22 days old and live a solitary life coming together only to mate, the elusive baby pigeon or squab with its sparce canary yellow downy feathers, and a tiny curled up pink weasel at five days old, and another with shiny black eyes and fur at six weeks old, meerkats, seal pups, a racoon, red fox, cotton-tailed rabbits, and a beautiful red and black striped painted turtle - for each there is not only a full page or double spread colour photograph, but short entries of facts and a longer introduction to the portraits of more than 30 baby animals. 136pp, colour.

This gorgeous volume does exactly what it says on the cover: gives us portraits of kittens from 25 different breeds, both pure and mixed, reproduced on large pages at life size, some with their friends and siblings. A three-week kitten is just beginning to explore the world, and at six weeks is learning how to play. Older kittens, between nine and 12 weeks, are at their most entertaining - rambunctious, athletic, all over the place, and in some cases changing their eye colour and fur colour. Snow White and Gretel are lovely white examples of Cornish Rex, with their huge mesmeric eyes, while Waylon and Oreo, both Tuxedo Mix with their distinctive black and white markings, are photographed at 8 and 9 weeks and are obviously enjoying an audience. Joey is an 11 week old Birman with long silky white fur, weighing 3 lbs, and looking proportionally more like an adult cat than some of the others. True Blue is a 12-week old Oriental with a pointed face, magnificent ears and very short brown fur, while Mabel, a 9-week old Sphynx, has no fur and the highly prized pedigree wrinkled skin. Tonkinese Cosmo is utterly gorgeous at 6 weeks, squeezing his eyes shut at first and then coming out to play with his mate Joe, both of them adorable. Bella is an Exotic Longhair, with thick unruly brown fur at 9 weeks and a squashed-looking face which adds to the pugnacious air. Johnny and June are Black Mix kittens, thin in the body with a prowling walk, in total contrast to tiny Tillie, a 6-week-old Napoleon weighing only three quarters of a pound, but very furry and with an expression of cute appeal. Sonnet is a lovely Siamese with huge ears and those arresting blue eyes, at 7 weeks weighing in at almost 2 lbs. Four 4-week old Siamese kittens, Twist, Cachet, Rhyme and Melody, are pictured playing together in a tangle of legs, ears and tails. 120 VERY LARGE pages 33 x 28cm, life-size photos. A total delight for a cat lover.

Sub-titled 'Life, Love and Lambing in the Middle of Nowhere - A Shepherdess's Story' here is a great read about a strong young lady who loves the companionship of her award-winning sheepdogs. When shepherdess Emma Gray breaks off her engagement, the chance to take over an isolated Northumberland farm seems just the fresh start she needs. But while the beautiful scenery offers plenty of scope for contemplation, a date with an eligible bachelor soon seems more remote than the farm itself. And once you add fugitive sheep and freak blizzards into the mix, Emma's dreams of a happy life quickly begin to fade. Winters are harsh and despite her unrelenting tenacity Emma kicks each obstacle out of the way and for the most part retains her sense of humour. Throughout the long nights of lambing and the day-to-day chores of running a large farm, Emma's four collies are her most loyal companions and with them by her side she'll never really be alone. You may have seen Emma on television's Farming Life and this is her story of her remarkable first year at Fallowlees Farm, an inspiration for anyone who has ever dreamt of starting all over again. 276pp, paperback.

The growth of the scientific study of earthquakes is woven into this far-reaching history. The story begins with a series of earthquakes in England in 1750. Today seismologists can monitor the vibrations of the planet second by second, and the movement of tectonic plates millimetre by millimetre, yet even in the 21st century great earthquakes are still essentially 'acts of god', striking with much less warning than volcanoes, floods, hurricanes and even tornadoes and tsunamis. Since antiquity on every continent human beings in search of attractive landscapes and economic prosperity have made a Faustian bargain with the risk of devastation by an earthquake. Today around half of the world's largest cities, as many as 60, lie in areas of major seismic activity. Many such as Lisbon, Naples, San Francisco, Teheran and Tokyo have been severely damaged or destroyed by earthquakes in the past. Throughout history starting with ancient Jericho, Rome and Sparta, cities have proved to be extraordinarily resilient. Only one, Port Royal in the Caribbean, was abandoned after an earthquake. The book seeks to understand exactly how humans and earthquakes have interacted. In some cases, physical devastation has been followed by decline but in others, the political and economic reverberations of earthquake disasters have presented opportunities for renewal. After its wholesale destruction in 1906, San Francisco went on to flourish, eventually giving birth to the high-tech industrial area on the San Andreas fault known as Silicon Valley. An earthquake in Caracas in 1812 triggered the creation of new nations in the liberation of South America from Spanish rule. Another in Tang Shan in 1976 catalysed the transformation of China into the world's second largest economy. Other chapters look at grief and growth in the land of Gandhi, Gujarat 2001, the tsunami in the Indian Ocean 2004, and meltdown and after in Fukushima 2011. With chronology of earthquakes, maps and references, a very well illustrated 256 page Thames & Hudson 2016 first edition.

The author became famous for his documentary series Walking With Elephants on Channel 4 TV. His book comes at a critical time. 50 years ago, Africa was home to just over 1.3 million elephants, but by 1990 the number had halved. Meanwhile in the span of a lifetime, the human population has more than doubled. This book explores the rapid decline of one of the world's favourite animals. Filled with stories from his own time spent travelling with elephants in Africa, and documenting their migration for his TV series, the book is a passionate wake-up call for this endangered species we take for granted and to help halt their extinction and the measures required. Chapters include Ancestors and Evolution, Friends and Relations, A Curious Mind, Poaching, Ivory and Trade, Taking Trophies, Habitat Loss and A World Without. Filled with facts, stories and history. 260pp, paperback with 16 pages of mostly colour photos.

On deep blue or black glossy pages, superb photographs of 46 sharks loom from the depths with their beady eyes and sharp teeth, fins and gills. Some are easily recognisable like the Great Hammerhead or the Goblin shark with its pinkish white teeth, very long tail, rounded fins and large sword-like extended snout. It is harmless to humans. There are fact boxes and statistics giving common name, family, size at birth, maximum size and weight, maturity for males and females, reproduction, litter size where known, food eaten like fish and squid and maybe also crustaceans, top speed, teeth count and depth. There is a cookie-cutter shark, a Caribbean reef shark, and for each a diver is pictured in silhouette alongside a silhouette of the shark itself in this superb A-Z directory of 46 of the most astonishing marine creatures. Ages seven to adult, colour softback.

Rivers are extraordinarily beautiful, from the trickle of a stream at its source and its gentle meandering bends, to the expansive estuaries as they meet the sea. In more than 200 images, learn how to tackle each stage of painting rivers, from inspiration, focus and sketching, to information gathering, planning and painting. The author Rob Dudley is an experienced artist known for his riverscapes and takes the opportunity in this book to share his methods and techniques for landscape and en plein air artists. There are fantastic step-by-step demonstrations for artists to follow as they attempt to paint a boat on the side of a river in 'Woodbridge Workings' or create a sunset at Aveton Gifford. The demonstration for 'Looking Upstream from Greenwich' will show artists how to transport their audience to a London skyline and artists can study the texture of water and stone in 'Butterbrook Cascade'. The guide takes a painter from drawing out the main elements of a scene and applying a 'wash' of lemon yellow and rose to the background, to painting details such as a river bank and reflections of the landscape in the water. The guide not only shows pictures of each step in the painting but also lists the type of paper needed, required materials and equipment such as masking fluid and a palette, and artists? quality watercolours. Learn that it is important to be selective when painting and, if an artist feels the feature may dominate the composition, they can exclude it, such as ignoring a fallen tree in a woodland scene. Discover how to make a brush that creates a watery texture in one swoop using masking fluid and a round bristle. The guide also includes fantastic advice on the necessities for painting rivers, from selecting the perfect brush to paint details and picking out the perfect painting board for stretching paper, to understanding how to mix greens from Windsor blue with lemon yellow, cobalt blue with cadmium yellow, or adding a little burnt sienna to a ready mixed green to create a softer colour. Paperback, 8.8" x 11", colour images, 160pp.

The leaves of the coca plant from Peru are the organic source from which cocaine is synthesised but it also has medicinal and healing properties, just without the same addictive qualities or negative side effects. Its most famous commercial appearance was in the 19th century when Corsican pharmacist Angelo Mariani produced 'Vin Mariani', a coca-based tonic wine which was praised by prominent figures such as Pope Benedict XV, Sarah Bernhardt, Thomas Edison, H. G. Wells, William McKinley and Emile Zola. This illustrated history explores a fascinating history, from the coca plant's medical applications to the creation of the tonic wine. Hailed as the 'vogue beverage of la Belle Époque' the tonic wine was in fact created by the infusion of coca leaves in Bordeaux wine, and notably became the forerunner for Coca-Cola. It found success through a genius marketing practice which included advertising using hundreds of postcards illustrated by famous artists, silver and bronze medals and objects magnificently engraved such as silver jewellery. Mariani's first success with the wine came when Dr Charles Fauvel recommended him to Georges Régnal, a female singer, who tasted his new preparation, meditated for a while and, after a moment, said: 'It is excellent, you'll send me a dozen bottles.' The wine's success went so far that, after the 1889 influenza outbreak in Paris, the coca wine was one of the most highly recommended drugs and Dr Fauvel humorously christened it 'the lightning rod of the flu'. It was not always easy for Mariani and, in 1903, a pharmacist in Marseilles called Antoine Mariani took advantage of having the same last name and launched a tonic wine 'à la coca de Pérou' that he sold misleadingly in a bottle with a label similar to the original. In the end, Angelo had to reluctantly take the plagiarist to court and, on 4 August 1905, the fraud was found guilty. Mariani's work not only went into medicinal wines but also into the Orphelinat des Arts association in 1882 which he took care of. The organisation was founded in 1880 by the actress Marie Laurent, with the help of friends such as Sarah Bernhardt, and it was an education centre for young girls who were the children of dramatic artists, painters sculptors, architects, writers, musicians, journalists and literary people. There are also stunning images used in the book, including a drawing from a New York magazine advertising the bottle and a poster for 'Elixir Peruvien' by Leonetto Cappiello in 1902, to a photo of an authentic advertisement for Coca-Bola chewing gum. 8" x 10", gorgeous colour images, posters and Art Deco designs, 246pp.

"Dogs have owners, cats have staff." Gone are the days when your cat could expect to prowl the streets at night and come home to a bowl of tinned food. Today's cat is a pampered feline surrounded by luxury products. The author wants her cat, Sushi, to feel she is queen of the palace, kindly entertaining her human as a guest. After traumatic events such as getting her teeth cleaned, Sushi always has a therapy session with the cat psychologist, sometimes receiving medication for depression, though this has led in the past to a 12-paw detox programme. Sushi has her own diamond tiara and a pink rhinestone collar, as well as a number of outfits for special occasions. This big and lavishly illustrated book shows how your cat can be like Sushi, starting with "Fashion and Accessories" in which a range of beautiful felines show off their luxury lifestyle. A long-haired white cat models a gold lame jacket, a hairless Sphinx has a heavy silver collar while another simply wears pearls. A handmade necklace by renowned artisan Dorothy Bower is matched by a Swarovski crystal tiara perched on the head of a cross-looking Persian. A range of boutique toys for cats is showcased here, with mobiles and mazes being pursued by an adorable blue-eyed Siamese. Architecture and Interiors features a top-end range of chairs and sofas made from the finest quality fabrics and fur in styles ranging from Louis Quatorze to Frank Lloyd Wright. When it comes to dining, cats are notoriously fussy, and the range of bowls here includes a signature folding Goyard travelling bowl. A section on Beauty and Wellness features shampooing, acupuncture and cat perfume. 220 pp, colour photos throughout, text in English, German, French, Spanish, Italian. Sources given for featured products. HUGE, 25.4 x 3.18 x 32.39 cm.
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