The photography collected in A View from the Top may have arisen out of a desire to document a singular body of work—the Viewpoint Collection. Through Kelley’s eye, lens, and postproduction choices, however, it advances the very way that buildings can be photographed and understood, allowing us to visit residences that most of us will never see in person. The photographs also demonstrate that these projects are quintessentially Californian. Their emphasis on open plans, airy modernism, the indoor-outdoor relationship, natural textures and colour-palette, and an intensive attention to landscaping are also quintessentially Los Angeles. The buildings—which are the creations of some of the world’s most renowned architects—are inspired and inspiring. They are luxurious, aspirational, and visually exciting. The book is both a valuable contribution to architectural history and a pleasure to read.

This is an amazing account of the author's life as a British expatriate, when he spent more than twenty-seven years within some of the most radical countries on earth; including, Libya, Yemen and Sudan. A facinating story relating how he got caught up in the First Gulf War, and the civil wars in both Yemen and Sudan. He was at a gas plant when it exploded, held captive by Al Qaeda in Yemen, and evacuated by the French Foreign Legion. He saw beauty and horror, met with radical Islamists as well as an Imam preacher of peace. Here you will find tears and laughter along with a first-hand account of world events

When Jacques Gendron experiences the brutal force of Radical Islam, he sets out to find the answer to the question, 'Why?' Why has there been so much violence in the name of the world's leading religions? The answers he uncovers are startling, disturbing and dangerous. Jacques takes a roller-coaster ride through many countries, from Canada to Pakistan, with a high price to pay. Find out why Jacques' search also reveals that "Israel does not have, and never did have, a divine right to the land of Palestine"

England was never to be the same again after this eventful year. Here is a powerful story, where you can feel the tension, live the actions and be amazed at the intrigue. This story covers just one tumultuous year, from Christmas Day 1065 to Christmas Day 1066. You will meet the heroes who stood against overwhelming odds to protect their families, and the traitors who sold their country for a price. What was it like to stand behind an English shield-wall on foot, against charging cavalry? What was it like to see 10,000 Vikings sack Scarborough? What was it like to be at the battles of Fulford, Stamford Bridge and Hastings? What was it like to see the rape of your beloved country? This is a book you will never forget; all based on real events.

Mike Kelley's "Arenas" series of the late 80s and early 90s mark a shift away from the artist's performance-oriented activity and towards a new sculptural dexterity, in which cultural resonance is elicited from an eerie reframing of everyday objects. First exhibited in 1990 at Metro Pictures, the "Arenas" are comprised of stuffed animals arranged around the edges of blankets (or occasionally posed isolate in their center). Ten or twenty such toys in such groupings might convey a cheery childhood picnic scenario, but Kelley rarely selects more than five or six, and places them carefully so that their cuddliness and their capacity to comfort is entirely canceled out. Instead, we encounter the toy as a commodity entity-a mass-manufactured product positioned to enter into play but far from inviting it. Skarstedt's exhibition of seven of the eleven "Arenas" is here recorded in superb installation shots and with critical commentary.

Spanning 1989 to 2009, this anthology collects the influential writings of American artist, musician and critic John Miller (born 1954), which have been lauded by Bruce Hainley in "Artforum" as "a pungent intervention into the ideologies of beauty, representation and looking." Ranging from reviews and cultural essays to theory and artist's statements, Miller's writings distinguish themselves from other styles of art criticism insofar as they relate to his larger artistic concerns with the social context of the art object and its sociopolitical ramifications as a commodity (as the title of this volume implies); they are also deeply informed by Miller's vast knowledge of art history and popular culture. More recently, Miller has entered into close dialogue with Dan Graham, Bob Nickas and Nicolas Guagnini. Many of the essays collected here--such as his contributions to the German magazine "Texte zur Kunst"--appear in English for the first time.

The second volume of writings by Los Angeles artist Mike Kelley, focusing on his own work. What John C. Welchman calls the "blazing network of focused conflations" from which Mike Kelley's styles are generated is on display in all its diversity in this second volume of the artist's writings. The first volume, Foul Perfection, contained thematic essays and writings about other artists; this collection concentrates on Kelley's own work, ranging from texts in "voices" that grew out of scripts for performance pieces to expository critical and autobiographical writings.Minor Histories organizes Kelley's writings into five sections. "Statements" consists of twenty pieces produced between 1984 and 2002 (most of which were written to accompany exhibitions), including "Ajax," which draws on Homer, Colgate- Palmolive, and Longinus to present its eponymous hero; "Some Aesthetic High Points," an exercise in autobiography that counters the standard artist bio included in catalogs and press releases; and a sequence of "creative writings" that use mass cultural tropes in concert with high art mannerisms-approximating in prose the visual styles that characterize Kelley's artwork. "Video Statements and Proposals" are introductions to videos made by Kelley and other artists, including Paul McCarthy and Bob Flanagan and Sheree Rose. "Image-Texts" offers writings that accompany or are part of artworks and installations. This section includes "A Stopgap Measure," Kelley's zestful millennial essay in social satire, and "Meet John Doe," a collage of appropriated texts. "Architecture" features an discussion of Kelley's Educational Complex (1995) and an interview in which he reflects on the role of architecture in his work. Finally, "Ufology" considers the aesthetics and sexuality of space as manifested by UFO sightings and abduction scenarios.