More than a fashion accessory or means to tell the time, the wristwatch has become a statement of identity; politician or celebrity, scientist or sportsman, what you choose to wear on your wrist speaks volumes about who you are. The World's Most Expensive Watches presents some of the most extravagant, intricate, collectable, decadent, or just plain interesting modern-day timepieces that sit at the top of the price spectrum. Starting at a threshold price of about $200,000, it is a trip through the last decade or so of watches whose values soar incredibly to prices of $5 million dollars or more. Additionally, there is a selection of notable watches that yielded extremely high prices at auction - many of which are historically relevant. A stunning collection that is both informative and entertaining; with detailed descriptions of individual watches and articles that usefully deconstruct the price tag with an explanation of the relevance of craftsmanship and complexity of design, as well as the importance of exclusivity, prestige and collectability. Prepare to be impressed by a larger-than-life-look at some relatively small items that command not only huge prices but kudos and respect, in all areas of a global society fascinated with using accessorising to create identity. This is the second expanded and updated edition.

Blue Ice is the new book from photographer Alex Bernasconi whose unique approach to wildlife photography has been honoured with multiple prestigious awards. Bernasconi's breathtaking panoramas reveal the spectacular beauty of the Antarctic landscape shaped by its extreme climate, while his wildlife portraits depict the surprising diversity of Species, highly adapted to the challenging conditions in which they live. A foreword by the British glaciologist Professor Julian Dowdeswell, Director of the Scott Polar Research Institute, explains the dynamics of the geography and ice masses, and the effects of climate change, while Dr Peter Clarkson draws on his personal experiences as a member of the British Antarctic Survey in his introduction, which also recounts the challenges of working and living in one of the harshest environments on Earth. Blue Ice provides a remarkable Visual record of an eco-system at risk, revealing the extraordinary, unexpected beauty of the Antarctic, the most remote and endangered place on Earth.

From 1870 to 1920, McIntosh County, Georgia, was one of the most energetic communities on the southern coast. Its county seat, Darien, never had a population of more than 2,000 residents; yet, little Darien was, for a considerable time, the leading exporter of yellow pitch pine timber on the
Atlantic Coast. Burned to ashes during the Civil War, Darien
rose up and, with its timber booms and sawmills, took its place among the leading towns of the "New South" of the late nineteenth century. In this unique photographic retrospective of Darien and McIntosh County, over 200 images evoke generations past of dynamic, hard-working people. Pictured within these pages are timber barons, sawmill workers, railroad builders, and shrimp fishermen. They are depicted among views of the buildings and structures associated with an era that was the most active in the recorded history of the community, which dates back to the earliest days of the Georgia colony in 1736.

Music made in Akron symbolized an attitude more so than a singular sound. Crafted by kids hell-bent on not following their parents into the rubber plants, the music was an intentional antithesis of Top 40 radio. Call it punk or call it new wave, but in a short few years, major labels signed Chrissie Hynde, Devo, the Waitresses, Tin Huey, the Bizarros, the Rubber City Rebels and Rachel Sweet. They had their own bars, the Crypt and the Bank. They had their own label, Clone Records. They even had their own recording space, Bushflow Studios. London's Stiff Records released an Akron compilation album, and suddenly there were "Akron Nights" in London clubs and CBGB was waiving covers for people with Akron IDs. Author Calvin Rydbom of the "Akron Sound" Museum remembers that short time when the Rubber City was the place.