King Adz, author of STREET KNOWLEDGE, painting the Details Wall!

Note the crocodile: the Details Wall is being co-sponsored by Lacoste. Check out this art, inspired by Street Knowledge!

Happy birthday to three new books!

3/31 is a particularly great--and particularly diverse--pub date for us. Three wildly different books, all of which we love for different reasons. Please give a warm welcome to these new books, available at bookstores and online! Also, New Yorkers, there's still room at Ludmila Ulitskaya's event at Columbia on Tuesday--the rest are sold out. Learn more here!

And without further ado, hello to...


DANIEL STEIN, INTERPRETER Ludmila Ulitskaya
Learn more here

Daniel Stein, a Polish Jew, miraculously survives the Holocaust by working in the Gestapo as a translator. After the war, he converts to Catholicism, becomes a priest, enters the Order of Barefoot Carmelites and emigrates to Israel. Despite this seeming impossibility, the life and destiny of Daniel Stein are not an invention, the character is based on the life of Oswald Rufeisen, the real Brother Daniel, a Carmelite monk.


STREET KNOWLEDGE King Adz
Learn more here

An encyclopedia of street culture for those who love Banksy or Irvine Welsh and want to know about the cutting-edge talents, past and present who have shaped urban cool.


THE WHITE-LUCK WARRIOR: THE ASPECT-EMPEROR, BOOK TWO R. Scott Bakker
Learn more here

Widely praised by reviewers and a growing body of fans, R. Scott Bakker has already established his reputation as one of the few unique new talents in the fantasy genre. Now comes the second book of the Aspect-Emperor series. As Anasûrimbor Kellhus and his Great Ordeal march ever farther into the wastes of the Ancient North, Esmenet finds herself at war with not only the Gods, but her own family as well.

"Groundbreaking, encyclopedic" - Foreword on STREET KNOWLEDGE

We're gearing up for the 3/31 publication of King Adz's STREET KNOWLEDGE, the new insider's guide to Street Art being published for the first time in the U.S. Much more to come, but first, here's FOREWORD's excellent review of why, exactly, this book matters.

Street Knowledge

Genre: Art

Author: King Adz
Publisher: The Overlook Press (March 1, 2011)
ISBN: 9781590204771
Reviewed: March/April 2011

Street Knowledge, by artist and author King Adz, is a groundbreaking, encyclopedic insider’s guide to the world’s fantastically diverse urban landscapes and the arts cultures that identify each of these places as unique neighborhoods.

But why do we need a printed guide? Isn’t this concept counter to the subject’s inherent spirit of rebellion? Shouldn’t we be able to check out these places easily enough by typing ‘street art’ into a search engine?

Scottish author Irvine Welsh’s foreword to the book explains the purpose of this lavish assembly of places Adz has traveled to and the art, fashion, food, and people he encountered. “It’s 2010 and we’re all down with the latest thing,” says Adz. “Nothing is hidden; everything is instantly accessible.” Welsh goes on to question whether the Internet brings “everything that’s good up into the light?” Food for thought. In his collection, Adz has gathered magnificent images and interviews and offers low and high art for us to consider together. Welsh suggests we look into his book and try shaking off the ways we are “being force fed” the polished and carefully formulated world on our screens that has been increasingly manufactured by marketing professionals. He suggests perceiving the world as a richer, more complicated place than one that identifies “art, literature, travel, cooking, crime, romance, thrillers, classics” as simply things to just consume.

Street Knowledge incorporates the history of old-school graffiti legends as well as current thinking concerning avant-garde street artists, photographers, filmmakers, DJ’s, designers, writers, and spoken word artists. It includes work and interviews from some of this arena’s most infamous artists, such as Banksy, David LaChapelle, Kelsey Brookes, Quik, Tony Kaye, Tama Janowitz, The KLF, Shawn Stussy, Obey, Irvine Welsh, Martha Cooper, and Benjamin Zephaniah, as well as rising talent. The book may be read in two ways, both valuable: as a reference tool or a narrative journey. See the section called “How to Use This Book as a Time Machine.” Using the journey approach, there are clues to follow; the way the reader jumps around sifting through layers of assembled history isn’t that different from flipping through an artist’s sketchbook or a museum collection’s database, building knowledge as you explore. As he takes us from the pop culture of MTV to the present work of Know Hope, Adz invites us to dip into websites and blogs that expand upon his subjects and even recommends the best places for snacks in Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, and Hong Kong. “Don’t be afraid of eating street food as it is the absolute bomb,” assures the author. If you’re looking for an adventure, so is this book.

Pamela Ayres

Calling all street art fans...

Zocalo Public Square has some fantastic preview photos up from our upcoming book STREET KNOWLEDGE, by King Adz. It's the insider's guide to street art, featuring some of the biggest names and rising stars in that world, and full of history, anecdotes and how street art has influenced urban development.

Any photography or design aficionado will appreciate these gorgeous images, though. Head on over to Zocalo Public Sqaure to enjoy!

Our personal favorite:


Can't wait for this book to go on-sale on March 31!