A great look at a really unique moment in fashion – a time when the mainstream trappings of ivy league styles were taken up by African-American cultural figures – a moment of cooption that led was key to a rising sense of pride and power in the postwar years! You'll instantly recognize the look from the image of Miles Davis on the cover – and Davis is one of the figures who gets focus in the book – alongside other jazz musicians like Billy Taylor and Sonny Rollins, writers like Amiri Baraka and James Baldwin, and civil rights icons like Martin Luther King and Malcolm X – all of whom wore button down shirts, well-crafted blazers, and hip skinny ties as they helped forge a whole new identity for black America in the 50s and 60s. The book is beautifully done – and ties together so many images we know from the press and record covers, mixed with others we're seeing here for the first time – all give thoughtful text along the way by British writer Jason Jules. The heavy, hardcover book is 224 pages in all – with color and black and white images throughout. Book

Beautiful work from the glory days of the adult film – hundreds of posters that were used to publicize erotic cinema – often themselves a masterpiece in erotic aesthetics! Given that most of the posters were outside the theater, open to the public, there's a fair bit of hide and seek, teasing-type material here – at a level that's maybe even more creative than the images on the screen, especially when set to the typography and color filters of the late 60s/early 70s print world! The book features all posters in full color, and also intersperses some bits from magazines and other publications too – all at a level that's really playful, reveling in the style of the genre, while also poking a slight bit of fun. Graham Marsh was the art director, and you may know his name from a number of excellent album cover books – and overall, most images are softcore at best, with a small amount of nudity – although there are some heavier images from time to time. 352 pages, hardcover, and in full color. Book

The French new wave – or nouvelle vague – was not just a revolution in cinema, but also in the way that cinema was presented – a new generation of scenes and shots that led to a newly modern level of movie poster too – represented in beautiful ways in this very hefty book! The large volume presents key images from French films, alongside full color poster reproductions – showing the way the films helped to beget their representation in other forms of media – which are so beautiful here, they're almost another art form unto themselves! The book is very heavy – over 300 pages, in full color, with some black and white shots. Book

Dozens of interviews with key figures in the art world over the past four decades – all done by Michael Auping, in a way that really seems to quickly get to the heart of what makes the work of his subjects so special! This is hardly the usual interview book, as the volume is oversize, and done in conjunction with a museum exhibit – so it has art book presentation, with large images of the work of most of the interviewees – an all-star list that includes Bruce Naumann, Robert Duncan, Frank Stella, Agnes Martin, Robert Creeley, Julian Schnabel, Kara Walker, Morton Feldman, Ed Ruscha, Anselm Keifer, and many others. As you can see, there's a few composers and writers in the mix, and Auping handles those equally well – and the book is very heavy, hardcover, 340 pages, and filled with images in color and black and white! Book

A totally cool book – and one that goes way past the familiar Led Zep images you may know from their classic records of the 70s – as this hefty volume is filled with strange an unusual covers for records that contain music by the band – rare imports, unusual pressings, and a huge amount of concert recordings as well! There's just a hint of what's inside on the cover – and the collection features Led Zeppelin records from around the world, both full LPs and 7" pic sleeves – some on black vinyl, others on colored vinyl and strange pressings – all lovingly collected, and served up here in full color images throughout! The book is heavy, hardcover, and features over 300 illustrations – oversize, and in glorious color. Book

An essential look at black voices within music criticism – one that features articles from the 60s up to the present, plus individual sections that look at important black musical writers and publications that supported their work! Editor Willard Jenkins presents the whole thing almost like a conference based around historical works – blending articles by Leroi Jones, Stanley Crouch, Greg Tate, Billy Taylor, Herbie Nichols, Rex Steward, AB Spellman, and others – with an introductory round table discussion between some of the readers in the book, then initial chapters on black jazz magazines, black press dispatch, newspaper writers, magazine freelancers, and up-and-coming younger black music writers. The revelatory book is 312 pages in this softcover edition. Book

A massive celebration of the legendary Woodstock festival in 1969 – a heavy, oversized book that's filled with rare images from the event, unusual documents and plans for the performances, and all sorts of obscure bits of history and other details! This isn't some cheaply-done trivia book about Woodstock – as the whole thing was done with help from original planner Michael Lang, who provides countless never-seen items from his own archives – mixed with famous and rare photographs of the event by Henry Diltz, and work by other photographers too – in a huge book that follows the planning, the pilgrimage, the performance, and the legacy of the event – in a huge hardcover volume that's almost 300 pages, and full color throughout! Book