From the 1860s through to the early 20th century the rise of Japonisme and the Art Nouveau movement meant that few could ignore or resist the obsession with all things Japanese. This book includes examples of the designed and executed decorative arts of the Meiji periods from the Khalili Collection.

'I perhaps owe it to flowers', wrote Claude Monet (1840-1926), 'that I became a painter.' One of the leading figures of the Impressionist movement and perhaps the most celebrated landscape painter of his age, Monet dedicated his life to capturing the subtleties of the natural world. Trees - willows enveloped in the eerie mists of the Seine, palm trees beneath the bright Mediterranean sun or poplars heavily laden with snow - became a significant motif in his work, and he used them to experimen...

Gives you an understanding of the ways in which modern art differs from realistic works of earlier centuries. This book examines 100 works of modern art that have attracted critical and public hostility from Cy Twomblys scribbled "Olympia", Jean-Michel Basquiats crude but spontaneous "LNAPRK", and more.

A compact, introductory guide to modern art that explains styles, schools, and movements from Impressionism to the present day

The definitive introduction to the understanding and practice of archaeology, now in its second edition.

' The Book that really held me, in fact, obsessed me, was Rubicon ...This is narrative history at its best. Bloody and labyrinthine political intrigue and struggle, brilliant oratory, amazing feats of conquest and cruelty.' Ian McEwan, Books of the Year, GUARDIAN

A brilliant new account of the world's very first clash of civilisations between the Persians and the Greeks in 480BC.

Tony Blair learnt the precepts of governing the hard way: by leading a country for over ten years. In that time he came to understand that there are certain key characteristics of successful government that he wished he had known about when he started.

What did medieval people call the animals they lived and worked with? Why did they give them the names they did? This book sets out to answer these questions.