Books published by Reaktion Books

In this eye-catching, beautifully illustrated book, bestselling author Desmond Morris tells the compelling story of cats in art, from prehistory until the present day.

Peter Davidson's The Last of the Light is a meditation on twilight in the Western arts and imagination, in thought, painting and literature.

Orwell's Nose is John Sutherland's original and imaginative account of the life and work of George Orwell, exploring the 'scent narratives' that abound in Orwell's fiction and non-fiction. Orwell covered his tracks well; this illuminating and irreverent book provides a new understanding of one of our most iconic and influential writers.

This is a new history of gypsy music, from traditional performers such as Taraf de Haidouks and the Boban Markovic Orkestar, to more experimental groups such as Gogol Bordello. Covering the 13th century to the present, and from Romania to New York, Moscow and Andalusia, Gypsy Music reveals the remarkable diversity of this exuberant art form.

Highly regarded woodpecker expert Gerard Gorman presents a unique natural, social and cultural history of woodpeckers.

Filled with beguiling images throughout, Lizard is a unique and sometimes surprising introduction to this popular but little-understood reptile. Boria Sax describes the diversity of lizard species and traces the representation of this reptile in cultures worldwide.

This comprehensive, highly illustrated new study examines Titian's long career and varied output. Tom Nichols argues that Titian's works were self-consciously original, freely and intentionally undermining the traditional, more modest approach to painting in Venice at that time.

The Space Within explores how interior space has been integral to the development of Modern architecture from the late 1800s to today, and how generations of architects have engaged with interior space and its experience in their design processes.

A Philosophy of Loneliness explores the different kinds of loneliness, the philosophy of emotions, why some people are lonelier than others, and the psychological and social characteristics that dispose people to loneliness.

This is an absorbing account of the life and work of one of Russia's most inventive and exuberant novelists and playwrights.

This is a natural and cultural history of the hippopotamus, the well-loved, cumbersome, rotund mammal famous for lounging around semi-submerged in muddy pools.

This monograph, the first full account of Eileen Agar's complete works, including paintings, collages, photographs and objects, comes at a time when there is a major revival of interest in surrealism in the UK and worldwide.

Over the last twenty years museums have proliferated, attracting new audiences and assuming new prominence in public life. The Return of Curiosity offers a fresh perspective on museums and what they may now be good for.

Drawing extensively on Tchaikovsky's uncensored letters and diaries, this biography explores the composer's life in the artistic culture of nineteenth-century Russian society, revealing how he became a figure of international renown.

Almost three tons of concrete are produced each year for every person on the planet; only water is consumed more per head of population. Now used almost universally in modern construction, concrete polarizes opinion: provoking intense loathing and fervent passion in others. Concrete and Culture

Berlin is a comprehensive short history and portrait of the German capital today.

A new critical biography of Joseph Beuys, arguably the most important and controversial German artist of the late twentieth century.

Thomas Hoerber illustrates how classical economic theory as well as a qualitative method in economics can enlighten our understanding of the present day economic environment.

People collect to connect with the past, personal and historic, to exercise some small and perfect degree of control over a carefully chosen portion of the world. The Grain of the Clay is Allen S. Weiss's engaging exploration of the meaning and practice of collecting through his relationship with Japanese ceramics.

Lancelot 'Capability' Brown is often thought of as an innovative genius who single-handedly pioneered a new, 'naturalistic' style of landscape design. Illustrated with over 120 images, this beautiful book shows that Brown's style, like the organization of his business, was the product of a distinctly modern world.

A natural and cultural history of that most potent of arthropod, the scorpion.