Russell "Russ" Melcher came to Europe and photographed the superstars of the time, either during their visits to Paris and France or accompanied them on worldwide trips. He witnessed many world events from film festivals to terrorist attacks. Among the portrayed were royal families like the Windsors, Grace Kelly & the Monegasques, as well as film legends like Romy Schneider, Alain Delon, Burt Lancaster, Erol Flynn, Alfred Hitchcock, Sofia Loren, Brigitte Bardot, and music legends like Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, Harry Belafonte, and Yves Montand. In addition, there were political greats such as Charles DeGaulle, Fidel Castro, Nikita Khrushchev, the Shah of Persia, American presidents, and many more. Later Russ Melcher became director of the legendary photo agency MAGNUM and worked with photo legends Robert Capa, Henry Cartier-Bresson, Ian Berry, Bruce Davidson, Elliott Erwitt, to name a few. This large-format photo book is about the stories behind the images and personalities. Entertaining, humorous, but also profound, Russ describes his way to the perfect photo, his individual perspective, up to the importance of photographic storytelling of this 'Golden Age of Photojournalism'. Russ Melcher is an important witness to that time, but also an American entertainer in Paris who encouraged his protagonists to do things that few photographers could manage, a true and trusted partner to the stars of that era through the ages. The book is organised according to the two decades and Russell's encounters with the stars of the time. Text in English and German.

Our beautiful planet is in danger: the warning signs are there, year after year – from vast forest fires across Australia to coral bleaching in the Pacific and the rapid break up of polar ice and the consequent rise in sea levels, threatening low-lying coastal communities everywhere. Arranged by continent, Endangered Places introduces the reader to many of the most stunning natural locations from the around the world that are currently under threat. Learn about the magnificent Bornean rainforest, home to threatened species such as orangutans, probiscis monkeys and the Sumatran rhinoceros; marvel at the beauty of the Great Barrier Reef, stretching 2,300 kilometres along Australia’s east coast and built by billions of tiny organisms, known as coral polyps; explore the Aral Sea, formerly the fourth largest lake in the world and today less than 10 per cent of it’s original size after the rivers that fed it were diverted by Soviet irrigation projects; and understand the process of desertification, which has led to the huge expansion of the Sahara Desert and the dramatic shrinkage of Lake Chad. Illustrated with more than 180 photographs of more than 100 threatened locations, Endangered Places celebrates the beauty of our planet while reminding us of how easily this can be lost through human behaviour and climate change.

Shells are exoskeletons of living creatures and have fascinated humans for millennia. Interesting Shells presents portraits of beautiful specimens from the Natural History Museum's vast collections, each accompanied by a caption explaining their unique characteristics - whether biological, historical or geographical.

Abandoned Melbourne presents a collection of photographs of the perennially awarded world's most liveable city rendered empty, abandoned and in Covid lockdown during 2020. Abandoned Melbourne depicts Melbourne vacant, with the CBD's places and spaces, customarily buzzing, rendered motionless and without life. Landscape photographer Gavin John, a long-term resident of Melbourne, turned his camera and his focus onto vistas of a different nature and reveals downtown Melbourne as it has never been witnessed before.

Abandoned buildings are a viewfinder into our heritage and often offer a story to tell us, but not everyone will be lucky enough to hear these stories before these buildings are gone forever. It was this line of thinking that grew the author's passion for discovering and exploring abandoned buildings, heritage sites and locations not normally seen by the public eye. With camera in my hand, he set out to find, visit, photograph and document as many of these locations as he could before their stories are lost forever. With over 140 eye-catching images from abandoned places such as eerie old factories, crumbling asylums, untouched country theatres, forgotten homes, all mixed with a small insight into their history, Abandoned Brisbane is a showcase of just some of the amazing locations within a few hours' drive of Brisbane.

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.