In July 1897, in a flourish of publicity, Sir Benjamin Stone - Birmingham industrialist, Member of Parliament and passionate, almost obsessive collector, announced the formation of the National Photographic Record Association. Its prime objective was to make a record of England for future generations, to foster "a national pride in the historical associations of the country, or neighbourhood, in family traditions, or in personal associations." Over the next 13 years, Stone and his amateur supporters deposited their photographs at the British Museum. In 2000, these were moved to the V&A. This book examines Stone's central role in the project and presents over 100 of his photographs, many of which have never been published before. It also charts the history of the NPRA and points to its legacies within photography. What is especially striking is the resonance of these pictures in our own age.

The nature of any society and its future can be read in its entrails - in what is left behind, what is discarded. Each creates, uses and casts aside its wastelands in very different ways and it seems that a proportion of every city is always wasteland. These neglected or abandoned places are fragile and ephemeral, a transient aspect of a changing, living city, yet development appears unable to clear them away for good, only to move them on to a different site. This book explores some of these wastelands that collectively form a sustained and permanent feature of the modern city.

In History and Modern Media, John Mraz largely focuses on Mexican photography and his innovative methodology that examines historical photographs by employing the concepts of genre and functions. He developed this method in extensive work on photojournalism; it is here tested through examining two genres: Indianist imagery as an expression of imperial, neo-colonializing and decolonizing photography, and progressive photography as embodied in worker and laborist imagery, as well as feminist and decolonizing visuality. The book interweaves an autobiographical narrative with concrete research. Mraz describes the resistance he encountered in U.S. academia to this new way of showing and describing the past, as well as some illuminating experiences as a visiting professor at several U.S. universities. More importantly, he reflects on what it has meant to move to Mexico and become a Mexican. Mexico is home to a thriving school of photohistorians perhaps unequaled in the world. Some were trained in Art History, and a few continue to pursue that discipline. However, the great majority work from the discipline we have here defined as 'photohistory,' which focuses on vernacular photographs, those made outside of artistic intentions, and which constitute some 98% of all photographic images. A central premise of the book is that knowing past and other cultures is crucial in societies dominated by short-term and parochial thinking, and that today's hyper-audiovisuality requires historians to use modern media to offer their knowledge as alternatives to the 'perpetual present' in which we live.

"A career in music ... is a calling with such a strong pull; you'd think a tide was sucking you under. It becomes an intense obsession of such great intensity that you can almost think of nothing else, it drives you with a fever and fervor."

In the early 70s, an idealistic young man - Brian Torff - arrived in New York to pursue his passion for music. During an excursion to Long Island, Brian found his dream instrument: a 1775 re-built Nicola Galliano bass.

Such was the beginning of a career that led Torff from Cafe Carlyle to Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, the Kennedy Center, and the White House. He has toured worldwide with the greatest: from Frank Sinatra, Mel Torme, George Shearing, and Erroll Garner to Stephane Grappelli, Benny Goodman, Mary Lou Williams, and Marian McPartland.

As Brian notes, "bass players do a lot of observing from the back of the bandstand." It is this supportive role that qualifies Torff to share his insight into jazz music, and its many personalities. Torff takes us beyond the music by adding depth with his vision of American music, and paints vivid portraits of the musicians with whom he played.

Torff's memoir is one of creativity, and determination mixed with timing, and plain good luck. His sharp narrative not only brings the legends of jazz to life, but reading about them here will certainly motivate you to add some music to your collection.

Ever since he was a teenager growing up in Houston, Texas, Carlyle Thompson wanted to visit Africa. In 2006, he got his chance. Thompson shares his incredible journey to one of the world's most mysterious countries in "Africa: A Photographic Safari."

Instead of traveling to Africa as a tourist, Thompson chose to go as a photographer. He explores the red soil of Africa for five days in the bush, and through the lens of his camera he is exposed to a completely different aspect of visiting a foreign country. From wildlife safaris to coming face-to-face with the Laikipia Masai and Samburu people, Thompson experiences Africa at its most intimate.

Thompson's stunning pictures and vivid descriptions create a sobering portrait of Africa's poverty. In a place so rich in mystical beauty, minerals, and wildlife, Africa's poor present a marked contrast to their environment. Yet Thompson shows the warmth and strength of these people who love life despite having to do without.

A truly remarkable work, "Africa: A Photographic Safari" takes you into the very heart of Africa and reveals the triumphant nature of the human spirit.

Featuring over a century of striking images, this beautiful volume celebrates the men and women behind the lens. It showcases known, unknown and celebrity photographers with their cameras: at work, in candid snaps, and posed self- portraits. An array of photographic styles and influences are represented, capturing some of the most celebrated names in photography, including Robert Capa, Weegee, Margaret Bourke-White, Philippe Halsman, Dennis Stock, David Bailey, Bill Cunningham, and Annie Liebovitz. This magnificent tome includes many unseen images and all are reproduced to the very finest quality yet seen in print. The book has been produced in collaboration with Getty Images: one of the world's leading and most respected photographic archives. The photographs and details of the different cameras used are brought alive by accompanying text from one of the world's leading photographic specialists, Michael Pritchard.