• An MP3 audio CD and dedicated website.
• Rich and highly nuanced examples with brand new illustrations.
• Detailed but on–technical grammar notes, ample writing exercises with an accompanying answer key.
• Detailed examples of authentic dialogue.
• Highly technical grammar notes.
• Plenty of writing practice.

In the same style, manner, and format as The Louvre: All the Paintings (Black Dog & Leventhal, 2011), every Old Master painting on display in the Vatican, as well as hundreds of additional masterpieces and treasures in the papal collection, is included in this deluxe slipcased volume with companion DVD.

The Vatican is one of the most visited sites in the world and houses many museums and palaces, as well as one of the finest art collections known to man. Works of interest include Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel and his Pietˆ; the Raphael frescoes; the works of Giotto, Fra Angelico, Titian, and Caravaggio; and some of the world's finest statues, manuscripts, architecture, and gardens, as well as the world's most precious Christian relics.

The Vatican: All the Paintings is an unprecedented celebration of this great collection. The book is organized into 23 sections representing the museums and areas of the Vatican, including the Pinacoteca, the Sistine Chapel, the Raphael Rooms, the Borgia Apartments, the Vatican Palaces, and St. Peter's Basilica.

Each one of the 1,206 works of art represented in the book—including 788 classical paintings on display in the permanent painting collection and 418 other masterpieces—is annotated with the name of the painting and artist, the date of the work, the birth and death dates of the artist, the medium that was used, the size of the work, and the catalog number (if applicable). In addition, 180 of the most iconic and significant paintings and other pieces of art are highlighted with 300-word essays by art historian Anja Grebe on such topics as the key attributes of the work, what to look for when viewing the work, the artist's inspirations and techniques, biographical information on the artist, and the artist's impact on art history.

The design of the book enables the reader to carefully examine and enjoy the 180 full- and half-page featured paintings as well as the rest of the collection of paintings, which appear four or six to a page. Larger works of art, like ceilings and frescoes, include overall views and details of the masterpieces.

An enclosed DVD-ROM contains every image from the book and allows readers to view many at a slightly larger size and to search and sort the paintings by type, artist, era, and date, or by location in the Vatican museums.

As with The Louvre: All the Paintings, The Vatican: All the Paintings is a complete treasure trove of one of the most exquisite and important art collections in the world. The book itself is a beautiful object.

The author of The Prince—his controversial handbook on power, which is one of the most influential books ever written—NiccolÒ Machiavelli (1469-1527) was no prince himself. Born to an established middle-class family, Machiavelli worked as a courtier and diplomat for the Republic of Florence and enjoyed some small fame in his time as the author of bawdy plays and poems. In this discerning new biography, Ross King rescues Machiavelli's legacy from caricature, detailing the vibrant political and social context that influenced his thought and underscoring the humanity of one of history's finest political thinkers.