Lighthouses may stand watchfully over serene waters one day and be bombarded by immense waves the next. They may look out on the most spectacular views, mark the entrance to a busy harbour or be placed in some of the world's most desolate locations. To seafarers they are guiding lights in dangerous waters, but, once decommissioned, they can acquire an air of mystery. They are the most strictly functional of all civilian buildings and yet they can be surprisingly beautiful and varied in design. Are they square, cylindrical or octagonal? Are they single structures or towers on top of other buildings? Are they made of wood, stone, brick, or concrete? Are they coloured with stripes or bands? From Lake Michigan to the Arctic Circle, from the British Isles to Brazil, Lighthouses celebrates more than 200 structures and the stunning vistas that surround them. Taking examples from all around the world, the book features an immense array of operating and disused lighthouses from the 18th century to the present day, from those marking ocean coastlines to structures besides lakes and on rivers, from lighthouses cloaked in ice to Art Deco classics to tilting structures abandoned in sand dunes. Presented in a handy pocket-sized format, Lighthouses is arranged geographically, with more than 200 colour photographs and captions explaining the construction, operation and history of each entry.

A pictorial history of the world's most enigmatic city
From the first known photograph taken in Los Angeles to its most recent sweeping vistas, this photographic tribute to the City of Angels provides a fascinating journey through the city's cultural, political, industrial, and sociological history. It traces the city's development from the 1880s' real estate boom, through the early days of Hollywood and the urban sprawl of the late 20th century, right up to the present day. With over 500 images, L.A. is shown emerging from a desert wasteland to become a vast palm-studded urban metropolis.
Events that made world news-including two Olympics, Bobby Kennedy's assassination, and the Rodney King riots-reveal a city of many dimensions. The entertainment capital of the world, Hollywood, and its celebrities are showcased along with many other notable residents, personalities, architects, artists, and musicians. The city's pop cultural movements, its music, surfing, health food fads, gangs, and hot rods are included, as are its notorious crimes and criminals. This book depicts Los Angeles in all its glory and grit, via hundreds of freshly discovered images including those of Julius Shulman, Garry Winogrand, William Claxton and many other superb photographers, culled from major historical archives, museums, private collectors, and universities. These are given context and resonance through essays by renowned California historian Kevin Starr and Los Angeles literature expert David Ulin.

Featuring more than 200 intriguing images taken by space probes travelling billions of kilometres from Earth, The Solar System is an exhilarating exploration of the mysteries of our local planetary space. Within the span of a human lifetime, our spacecraft have visited all eight planets of the Solar System, together with several dwarf planets, asteroids and comets. We have mapped the surface of Mercury and Venus in exquisite detail, landed rovers on Mars, placed orbiters around Jupiter and Saturn, and parachuted to the surface of Titan. Our emissaries have visited icy worlds five billion kilometres from home and continued onwards to reach interstellar space. The pictures and science returned by these intrepid travellers have transformed our understanding of the Solar System in which we live.

Featuring a series of images, this title takes you on a tour of South-East England. It includes photographs of the South Downs, the Weald of Kent, the Thames and its estuary, and the White Cliffs of Dover, as well as castles, stately homes and gardens.

Must 22 is a series of inspirational travel books which combine accurate information on key locations in individual countries and outstanding photography. The books are carefully packaged by awarded designers and written by a team of experienced travel writers. The Must 22 series is designed to inspire the armchair traveller and to provide a reliable source of information for the visitor.This edition reveals twenty-two places you just can't miss when you come to Iceland. The island is sparsely populated and the enormity of nature dominates it wherever you look - in contrast to the warmth of the people who make themselves known at every opportunity, parading the cultural heritage of the 1,200 years that the island has been populated. Even once you've seen these 22 places, you're still far from uncovering all of Iceland's secrets. But you will have come a little closer to understanding why this enigmatic rock in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean is one of the most peculiar, yet more charming places in the world.