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It was precisely this lucky scoop, portraying the young and fairly sleepy Rolling Stones at the tables of a London café, that baptised John “Hoppy” Hopkins’ career (and the pages of this book), photographer of the Stones, the Beatles and many others, famous and not, on the 60’s cultural and political scene. Thanks to an extraordinary ability to step into various worlds, over the years Hopkins’ lens has collected the most diverse personalities: from beat poet Allen Ginsberg to the “holy idols” of black American music (Louis Armstrong, Ray Charles, Duke Ellington) right on to pacifist leaders Martin Luther King and Malcolm X. But the 150 plus photos also document the “peace & love” marches, young heroin users, bikers, Mods, tattoo artists and, more generally, all the outsiders of the 60’s counterculture. Setting aside his Cambridge degree in physics and a promising career as a nuclear physicist, John Hopkins drifted into photography when someone made him a present of an ordinary camera. The Sunday Times, The Observer, Melody Maker, Jazz Journal and Peace News are only some of the publications he contributed to before founding, with the help of Paul McCartney, the first British underground daily, The International Times. Hopkins must also be credited with opening the first psychedelic club in London, the legendary UFO, and with being one of the most active supporters, towards the mid 60’s, of a young band then unknown: Pink Floyd.

Even as Mario Testino has become a royal image-maker in England and in Hollywood, where his portraits define the new glamour for a generation of stars, models and celebrities, he has cherished visions of the elegance and endless beaches of Lima, the city where he grew up. He has always confessed his love: «I'm very proud of being Peruvian, I would not want to be from anywhere else. I've lived in Europe for 30 years, but the moment I see our flag I get soppy.» And he confesses it again here, though not in a traditional book of his own photography. For in «Lima, Peru» Testino make his first foray into the role of photo editor, celebrating the title city through the eyes of its artists, photographers, artisans and photojournalists. Of this project's genesis Testino says, «I wanted to capture Lima's positive chaos... I wanted to find a book which conveyed this — the way Lima's artists and photographers have captured their city's color and complexity, its art, its people and its buildings, its street life and its interiors. But no such book existed, and so I decided to edit one myself.» In «Lima, Peru», Testino sets sweeping views of the city's architecture opposite details of its ceramic tiles. He collects observations of the city's natural exhibitionists as well as those who would normally shy away from the camera. He showcases art, parades, religion, sex, football, market life, architecture, interiors, high society, the bourgeoisie, teenagers, soldiers, surfers, priests, bullfighters, brides, hostesses, street sellers, waiters, artists, dancers, musicians and sun-worshippers. This is a shimmering, kaleidoscopic view of the city — a considered, eclectic and detailed composite from a master portraitist.

»Vivienne Westwood Shoes» is the first book to look exclusively at Westwood’s shoe designs from her own historic collection – over 130 classics. With specially commissioned colour photography and accompanying detailed captions that describe the history and design of each shoe, this book is essential reading for all lovers of great shoe design and fans of this great British designer. Through Westwood's shoes we are not only able to retrace her own ascent to the olympus of fashion, but at the same time, we are also able to build on the history of fashion design of the last forty years. Today Westwood’s designs continue to combine a fearless unconformity with a sense of tradition, renowned for her gentle parody of Establishment styles and her use of very British fabrics. Dame Vivienne Westwood is the undisputed Queen of British fashion. Born in Cheshire, England, she is best known as the creator of punk and new wave fashions. In the 1970s she opened the Sex boutique on the King’s Road, London, with Malcolm McLaren. Since then, her design style has been influenced by not only youth and street culture, but also tradition and technique.