Art History Beginners

The definitive account of Whitney Houston’s astonishing life, ground-breaking career, and tragic death — complete with never-before-seen photographs — from the only one who truly knows the story behind the headlines: her mother, Cissy Houston. Cissy has said little publicly about...

Art historian Catherine McCormack challenges how culture teaches us to see and value women, their bodies, and their lives. Venus, maiden, wife, mother, monster—women have been bound so long by these restrictive roles, codified by patriarchal culture, that we scarcely see them. Catherine...

“Orenstein is such a breezy, funny writer, it’s easy to forget she’s an important thinker too.”—People In this lively, funny memoir, Peggy Orenstein sets out to make a sweater from scratch—shearing, spinning, dyeing wool—and in the process discovers how we find our deepest selves...

The musician and Hip Hop legend—hailed as “the greatest MC of all time” and compared to Thelonious Monk—reimagines the writing handbook in this memoir and guide that incorporates the soulful genius, confidence, and creativity of a master artist. When he exploded on the music scene...

From the MTV trailblazer, stand-up comedian, and actor, a hilariously candid memoir that is an intimate, entertaining, and heartfelt tour through the exclusive, elusive, and eternally iconic world of ’90s pop culture. Imagine 50 Cent’s Hustle Harder, Hustle Smarter written by a nerdy Black...

The raucous and surprisingly poignant story of a young, Russia-obsessed American writer and comedian who embarked on a solo tour of the former Soviet Republics, never imagining that it would involve kidnappers, garbage bags of money, and encounters with the weird and wonderful from Mongolia to...

The world-renowned scholar and author of Vermeer’s Hat does for China what Mary Beard did for Rome in SPQR: Timothy Brook analyzes the last eight centuries of China’s relationship with the world in this magnificent history that brings together accounts from civil servants, horse traders...

Rob Sheffield, the Rolling Stone columnist and bestselling author of Love Is a Mix Tape offers an entertaining, unconventional look at the most popular band in history, the Beatles, exploring what they mean today and why they still matter so intensely to a generation that has never known a world...

The “baddest man on the planet,” undisputed, three-time WWE Champion and current UFC World Heavyweight Champion, Brock Lesner, shares his true personal story of determination, domination, and survival in Death Clutch. A raw, no-holds-barred memoir from one of the most popular—and...

From the author of the international bestseller Mr. China comes another rollicking ride through the slick mega-cities and industrial backwaters of twenty-first-century China—part adventure story, part erudite myth-buster, and part practical rule book to help Westerners win in China. China's...

Now the FX limited series Fosse/Verdon starring Sam Rockwell and Michelle Williams with Lin-Manuel Miranda executive producing. “Wasson is a smart and savvy reporter, and his book abounds with colorful firsthand tales.” — Janet Maslin, New York Times “Fascinating . . . Wasson has taken...

You’ve almost certainly laughed at Scovell’s jokes—you just didn’t know it until now. Just the Funny Parts is a juicy and scathingly funny insider look at how pop culture gets made. For more than thirty years, writer, producer and director Nell Scovell worked behind the scenes of iconic...

“Drag embodies the queer possibility that exists within each of us—the infinite ways in which gender, good taste, and art can be lived.” –Sasha Velour This book is a quilt, piecing together memoir, history, and theory into a living portrait of an artist and an art. Sasha Velour...

The first definitive biography of Richard Avedon, a monumental photographer of the twentieth century, from award-winning photography critic Philip Gefter. In his acclaimed portraits, Richard Avedon captured the iconic figures of the twentieth century in his starkly bold, intimately minimal, and...

The legendary icon tells his story—a tale of art, passion, commitment, addiction, as intense and hypnotic as the man himself. In a career spanning five decades, Nick Nolte has endured the rites of Hollywood celebrity. Rising from obscurity to leading roles and Oscar nominations, he has been...

From T. J. English, the New York Times bestselling author of Havana Nocturne, comes the epic, scintillating narrative of the interconnected worlds of jazz and organized crime in 20th century America. ""[A] brilliant and courageous book."" —Dr. Cornel West Dangerous Rhythms tells the...

In this intoxicating concoction of history, travelogue, and memoir, one of the perfume industry’s leading scouts of natural ingredients tells the story of the precious ingredients needed to make our favorite fragrances. Do you know how many flowers it takes to produce a kilo of rose oil? One...

Interior designer and television host Jeremiah Brent explores the emotional meaning of home in this warm and inviting book that illuminates what make peoples’ spaces so personally significant. For many of us, our houses are more than just where we hold our belongings. They are reflections of...

"Informative and entertaining...Rogers is a seasoned raconteur, unreeling an eons-spanning tale with skill." —Wall Street Journal A lively account of our age-old quest for brighter colors, which changed the way we see the world, from the best-selling author of Proof: The Science of Booze From...

In this startling candid and poignant memoir, the legendary Emmy Award-winning star of The Young and The Restless, America's #1 soap opera, chronicles his amazing life, from his birth in World War II Germany to his arrival in America to his rise to humanitarian and daytime superstar for the past...