Great Books

For seven decades, LIFE has been thrilling the world with its unrivaled presentation of the very best photography to be found. Here, the editors have assembled the crème de la crème from the magazine's vast collection of images. Because LIFE has always dealt with matters of every sort, the entire spectrum of society is represented in these pages. One after another, there are unforgettable photos from Hollywood's greatest stars, from teh wonders of small-town America, from the terrible wars, as well as from the zestful years of childhood. LIFE has always represented the apex in photojournalism and its roster of great photographers is unequaled.

The idea of choosing the Wonders of the World can be traced all the way back to the 5th century, B.C., when the Greek historian Herodotus of the Halicarnassus listed seven must-sees, the Great Pyramid of Khufu in Egypt and six other constructions that long ago vanished from the earth. In this delux new LIFE book, Wonders of the World, the editors return to the sites of the original Seven Wonders and then keep right on traveling around the globe--eventually visiting in words and pictures seven-times-seven Wonders, plus one more. There are old Wonders here and a new list offered by the New7Wonders Foundation, a Switzerland-based organization that conducted an online poll that saw more than a millioin votes cast for the world's greatest Wonders. There are man-made Wonders and natural Wonders. There are obscure Wonders and famous Wonders. The amazing stories behind your favorites are recountered as LIFE goes to the Colosseum, to Stonehenge, to the Great Wall, to Machu Picchu, to the Taj Mahal, to Easter Island, to The Acropolis and the Vatican and back to the Great Pyramid. We travel into outer space for a close-up look at the International Space Station, and into the sea for a sensational vantage on Australia's Great Barrier Reef. We go to the summit of Mount Everest and down into the mile-deep Grand Canyon in Arizona. We could not choose between the world's tallest waterfall, 3,212-foot-high Angel Falls in Venezuela, or that which is arguably the world's most awesome, Victoria Falls ont he Zimbabwe-Zambia border--so we went with both. Fifry Wonders in all, each more wondrous than the last. A reader cannot help being amazed and inspired by what man's inustry has built through time, and what sublime Wonders nature has graced us with. This a book Herodotus would have loved! And then comes the big bonus: The 7 LIFE Wonders. We were sure that some of these fabulous sites were suitable for framing, and so we went to the vast LIFE archives and picked pictures of some of the most wonderful Wonders taken by famous LIFE photographers. Using a technique we developed in our 2009 book The Classic Collection, we inserted prints of these places in the last section of our book. Better yet: When you remove the prints to frame them, the image stays on the page, sp your lovely coffee-table book remains intact. For these wonders, a wondrous book.

Out of the hardscrabble port city of Liverpool, England, there emerged a rock +n+ roll group that would become the most celebrated of all time. And the soul of that group was John Lennon, -the Smart Beatle,+ who with his mates changed the way the world looked, partied and lived. From the days in a Hamburg basement club to the Ed Sullivan Show to the movies to the White Album, the music traced a phenomenal trajectory. Along the way came his beloved Yoko and sons Julian and Sean, the breakup of the Fab Four, the fascinating solo albums, and finally, in the end, an assassin+s bullet. Life was there with John and the Beatles from their first visit to these shores till the final days. This exultant tale is told in vivid photography and words, as John is brought to life in a truly special volume from the editors of Life.

Here are wonders of the animal kingdom, bizarre social practices of the past and present, remarkable and compelling human achievements, and breath-taking tales of nature at its most unpredictable. The photographs do not lie, and this book proves the adage: Seeing is believing.The true details of the famous stories are here: What's really going on at Loch Ness; what does Roswell, New Mexico, tell us; and, what about that cloud that looked like Jesus during the Korean War? The surprising, little-known tales are here as well: the window washer who fell 47 floors and walked away; and, the Christmas burglar who got stuck in a chimney.As P.T.Barnum might say: "Strange but True" is a colossal compendium of crazy coincidences, peculiar people and astounding animals. Step right up!

A powerful, beautifully illustrated remembrance of the terrible morning of September 11, 2001 and the amazing courage, strength and patriotism that followed from the award-winning editors and photographers of Life Magazine. This is about firemen going in amidst the rubble, but it is also about a Frenchman in Paris holding up a sign that says "We are all Americans". This is about leaders taking charge, but it is also about schoolchildren in Iowa hanging an American flag on a tree in their backyard. Beginning with the history of lower Manhattan, the book explains what happened on September 11, profiles many of the heroes, victims and rescuers (fireman, police, doctors, and rescue dogs among them), and paints an inspiring portrait of a nation and world coming together in sadness, pride and resolve.

In well-considered words and vivid pictures, the editors of LIFE create another definitive document of a critical event in American history. As they did with the best-selling ONE NATION: America Remembers September 11, 2001, which was called 'a thorough and thoughtful telling' by The Wall Street Journal, and cited as the most successful photo history of September 11 and its aftermath by many other reviewers, they now tell the story of the 2003 Iraqi war. Remarkable pictures from the Gulf, drawn from sources worldwide including Reuters and all the wire services, The New York Times and all the newspapers and news magazines (including many from Europe, providing several shots not yet seen in America), as well as those taken by today's best independent photographers who have an intimate association with LIFE, will tell the history-and be accompanied by a dramatic, authoritative timeline of events. Other chapters in LIFE's The War in Iraq will include "The World Reacts"; "The Faces of War", about people such as Jessica Lynch, the rescued POWs and the young Iraqi boy, Ali; "A Free Press: How We Saw the War"; and "Aftermath"-which looks at the fluid situation on the ground today, and the difficult road ahead for a liberated nation. LIFE's The War in Iraq, will be about the pictures, as is always the case with LIFE. And it will be the complete story. - Large collection of exclusive frontline photos - Introduction by well known journalist Walter Cronkite - Complete detailed and colourful war maps. - The book covers both the history of the country, and the war, which is the dominant coverage. - Pictures are drawn from worldwide sources and wire services, including images not seen before in the U.S.

There is of course a real Mount, and there is a Sea of Galilee. There are the plains of Abraham, and there are mountain caves where writings from the Biblical age have been lately discovered. This special keepsake volume, takes you to sites prominent in both the Old and New Testaments, explaining during our journey the intertwining histories of two of the world's great faiths: Judaism and Christianity. (At the same time, the importance of Abraham and other Biblical figures to Islam unfolds.) Come and take this stirring walk with us. Never has such a book been more timely than today.

From the Great Pyramid and the Sphinx to the mysteries of Easter Island and Stonehenge, the editors of Life draw on the world's finest photography to reveal why you must include these truly special 100 places in your life's itinerary. Drink in the kaleidoscope that is Australia's Great Barrier Reef and gaze at the majesty of Africa's Mount Kilimanjaro. Sample the sophisticated splendor of the Tuileries Gardens in Paris and the sun-baked wonders of the fortress city of the Andes, Machu Picchu. And, of course, the treasures of America are not forgotten, such as the awe-inspiring Grand Canyon and the serene Atlantic beauty of Nantucket Island.

The most famous, wonderful AND inspiring pictures ever to appear in the pages of LIFE are here. All the great action shots are here--from the sailor kissing the nurse to the first astronaut walking in space. The unsurpassed portraiture-- from screen icons like Marilyn Monroe and Elizabeth Taylor to world leaders including John Fitzgerald Kennedy and Winston Churchill--are all here as well. LIFE has, of course, visited its archives before--but never like this. This edition puts the photographs on display, not only as part of the page layout but as the page itself. The explanatory text will be out of the way, so that each image can be savored. Moreover, prints will be included that are not just suitable for framing, but meant for framing. And not only will there be photographic prints; there will also be 75 other famous pictures that appeared in LIFE's pages, the story behind each of them and the narrative history of what LIFE's photography has long meant to the country and, indeed, to the world.

A stunning collection of more than one hundred images by celebrated photographer Bob Willoughby captures Audrey Hepburn`s legendary film career, personal life, and tireless activism in support of children and animals around the globe, accompanied by the photographer`s personal reminiscences of the much-loved star.