With the Almanach de Gotha's return in 1998, after a hiatus of more than 50 years, Sir Stephen Runciman wrote in the Spectator "In this present age, which we are often told sees the twilight of royalty, it is comforting to be able to welcome the reappearance of the most distinguished of genealogical almanacs." The 2014 192nd edition follows the successful format of previous editions with family listings including births, marriages and deaths of all living members. Volume II lists the non-sovereign Princely and Ducal Houses of Europe. This new edition has been fully updated to include additional families with a number of those houses appearing for the first time, including Almazan de Saint Priest, Altemps, Amalfi, Assergi, Aveiro (Aveyro), Bailen, del Balzo, Baucina, Belmonte, Belosselsky Belozersky, Carpegna Falconieri Gabrielli, Castro-Enriquez, Galati, Gallese, Giuliano, Gualtieri, Lante Montefeltro della Rovere, Lobanov-Rostovsky, Lopukhin-Demidov, Mestchersky, Montealegre, Nemi, Pescolanciano, Pozzo di Borgo, Putiatin, Raffadali, Reburdone, Sant' Elia, Serradifalco, Tetuan, Turrisi Grifeo, Union de Cuba, Valencia, and Valguarnera. This is the official and authorised publication. The most comprehensive listing of its kind, with an impeccable pedigree, the book remains an essential reference for genealogists, libraries and scholars. There is and never has been a comparable source, a book once described as "the second most important ever published."

The Times Literary Supplement praised the Almanach de Gotha for a "punctilious itemization of titles, lineage and heraldry (aiming) for scholarship rather than sensation." Sir Stephen Runciman wrote in the Spectator "In this present age, which we are often told sees the twilight of royalty, it is comforting to be able to welcome the reappearance of the most distinguished of genealogical almanacs." The 250th Anniversary 2013 edition follows the successful format of previous editions with families listed by rank in their corresponding parts. Births, marriages and deaths of all members of the Gotha have been updated and it remains the only publication to list all the members of all the imperial, royal, princely and ducal houses and the courts of the Holy Roman Empire. Even family disputes are handled by the careful noting of competing claims. This new edition also sees a full list of the households of the courts of Europe, diplomatic listings and a full entry for the Holy See. This is the official and authorised publication. The most comprehensive listing of its kind, with an impeccable pedigree, the book remains an essential reference for genealogists, libraries and scholars. There is and never has been a comparable source, a book once described as "the second most important ever published."

First part of 5-part history of the development of Gothic in the churches of the Paris Basin, 1120-1250. The Creation of Gothic Architecture is a five-part illustrated thesaurus of the Early Gothic churches in the limestone region of northern France known as the Paris Basin. It focuses on the transformation from romanesque togothic architecture during the years between 1120 and 1250, and when complete it will provide a comprehensive pictorial history of the 1,420 churches of the Paris Basin. Most of these churches, which represent a vital step in theevolution of western European architecture, are barely known outside the region, and have been little recorded. The completed project will: provide a photographic description of all the more significant churches; analyse stylisticchanges to foliate capitals and vault-erection techniques; establish a foundation for dating the contruction phases of the churches; and, using this chronology, will identify the time and place for each of the creative ideas, inventions and innovations that produced the gothic style, follow their evolution from place to place, and identify the major creators. Dr JOHN JAMES is a world authority on medieval architecture, author of oversixty books and articles.

A further volume in this monumental series on the architecture of the Gothic churches of the Paris Basin. A complete collection of all the capitals carved in the Paris Basin before 1130 - over 4,000 - few of which have ever been published before. From this has come a profoundly significant analysis: That these carvers pursued what might be called a Quest for Order, a quest that grew into an obsession over the next two generations. By following each step in this quest in the dateable buildings in the rest of Europe, James has dated nearly every campaign in theBasin to within +/-5 years - a unique achievement possible only because every one of the 147 remaining works have been included. This holistic approach provides the evidence that pointed arches and rib vaults were both being employed in the Paris Basin from the mid-1080s. Volume 3 in Part B of The Creation of Gothic Architecture: The Ark of God provides valuable insights into the development of Early Romanesque carving and architecture prior to theseminal work at Chartres and Saint-Denis. It complements Part A and, with the later volumes, aims to establish from all the evidence a comprehensive chronology for the Creation of Gothic Architecture.

No serious art-historical library should be without it. [The publisher] is to be congratulated for taking on this epic venture. BURLINGTON MAGAZINE. The fifty years between 1130 and 1180 produced some of the most original and evocative capitals of the middle ages - a period that was largely responsible for the evolution of the Gothic style. But despite the fact that many are hard to examine in situ and are often too dark to observe closely, they have rarely been published before. These volumes will therefore be widely welcomed. The 7,600 illustrations they contain cover, in large and exquisite detail,nearly every capital; they include the multitude of works in the great cathedrals and abbeys of the time, including Chartres, Laon, Noyon, Paris, Saint-Denis, Senlis and Sens. The staggering range of individual creativity shows aculture able to reinvent itself in a rare and exciting way. The publication of the fourth and fifth volumes in the sequence completes the photographic archive of foliate carving from the Paris Basin during the formative two centuries in which architecture and the techniques of building were transformed. They are also the foundation for subsequent volumes which will establish a chronology for Early Gothic architecture and sculpture, as well as technological developments in rib vaults and construction methods. Dr JOHN JAMES is a world authority on medieval architecture, and author of over sixty books and articles.