The Beatles fans will be looking forward to the latest Taschen’s exceptional collection of Harry Benson photography from the glory years of the super group. Harry Benson: The Beatles is a 272 page,  12 x 17 inch!! hardcover book inside a solid clamshell closure. 1,764 signed and numbered copies are being produced. Two art editons of 100 copies each with silver gelatin prints are available on Taschen (though one is already sold out).

The standard, signed and numbered edition retails for $700. Amazon has the best price on the pre-order at $612.

Photography: Harry Benson

It seems appropriate to return to Taschen’s best selling series on all things boobs, butts and penis.

We shared with you their Big Book of Pussy and more not too long ago but our good friends at CH point us at some fresh releases from the series in more handful and manageable sizes. Two new titles in smaller format are coming this summer: Little Book of Big Breasts and Little Book of Big Penis feature the same ideals of their “bigger” book brothers and sisters but in new compact sizes that condense down into 150 pages or so of imagery on the subject matters, with more than 40% of the content exclusive to these editions.

And as usual, the photography found within both new volumes are no where near safe for posting on these here pages. We’ll leave the exploration to you. Both Little Books are published by Taschen this coming June and will available from Amazon.

We share full looks at the covers on the following page.

Taschen have put together this new edition of Jazz Covers, a sizeable volume of exceptional Jazz LP covers dating back to the 40s. The kind of vinyl you buy purely for the cover, this brings together hundreds of designs across two books, with an emphasis on the colourful midcentury atomic style graphics that covered everything from food packaging to cushion covers. Helpfully, each record is accompanied by it’s illustrator’s name, photographer, label etc, so plenty of hard info to geek out on.

Taschen have also included “special features for jazz lovers include a top-10 favorite records list by leading jazz DJs such as King Britt, Michael McFadden, Gilles Peterson, Andre Torres, and Rainer Trüby, as well as interviews with legendary jazz personalities Rudy Van Gelder, Fred Cohen and Ashley Kahn.” Even if jazzing out in a leather recliner and cashmere sweater isn’t your thing, this is an incredible overview of design through the decades.

Available in May from Amazon.

Big-time publisher Angelika Taschen gave Nowness a list of the books that have informed her existence and some backstory on when and where she read each one. Artist Joe McKendry then converted the info into some stellar comics-style illustrations for a truly engrossing web experience. Taschen’s parent’s were bookstore owners, so the grip of great literature seems to have been inevitable. “I always knew my life would never be boring as long as there were books around to read and inspire me,” she says.

After 23 years working with her ex-husband, Benedict Taschen, at his eponymous publishing house—where she helped elevate coffee table art and design books—she has struck out on her own with Berlin-based Angelika Publishers. Her list features a decuplet of fetching titles (and, sadly, not a single one that we have actually read). Highlights include Gottfried von Strassburg’s Tristan (”This is one of the highlights in my life. It was quite a long time ago when my daughter was born, and we went camping somewhere in England.”), Hans Fallada’s The Drinker, Paul Morand’s The Allure of Chanel and Victor Hugo’s Les Miserables. We sense an impending trip to the bookseller.

More looks in our gallery…

Unexpected gifts are some of the more eye opening moments in life. Take for example Taschen’s massive The Big Book of Pussy that landed on our doorstep this week (via a good friend). Published in November 2011, the Big Book follows a “big” list of Taschen titles exploring all parts human, including their best selling, The Big Penis Book, The Big Book of Legs, The Big Butt Book, and The Big Book of Breasts books.

The Big Book of Pussy is laced with more than 400+ photographs exploring and exposing the female vulva with photographs dating back to the 1900’s and beyond. Taschen makes a strong point of noting that all models showing their private parts do so “enthusiastically, happily.” Pussy done the Taschen way. Nice one. Available from Amazon.

Seeing as not a single photograph inside the book is work safe, we leave you with a look at the full cover in our gallery.

Acq points us at this new book from Taschen that explore the art of using graphic images to communicate information. Information Graphics is a study in graphic communication that uses more than 400 examples of contemporary information graphics across a multitude of disciplines including art, government works, education, business, and of course, journalism in expressing the development of the information graphics. Information Graphics features essays and more than 200 projects – some as old as cave paintings – that explore the methods of graphic communication. A perfect gift for nerds like me.

Forthcoming March 20, 2012 on the Taschen imprint. Available from Amazon.

More looks from inside Information Graphics after thew click.

Next month sees the release of Hadid, an overview of the work of Zaha Hadid, one of the most celebrated and inventive architects of the age. Taking on relatively small scale projects such as the Strirling Prize winning Evelyn Grace Academy School in Brixton and The Bergisel Ski Jump; alongside London’s 2012 Aquatic Centre and Guangzhou Opera House, Hadid is currently working on the first project in her native Iraq. Images, essays, sketches and floor plans, the book is a detailed survey of an incredible career. Published by Taschen.  Available from Amazon.

Jean Claude Gautrand takes a look at Paris in his latest book, Paris: Portrait of a City. Showcasing photography from past and present, it includes the works of Cartier-Bresson, Doisneau, Kertesz, Ronis and Lartigue. Perfect for the francophile in your life. Published by Taschen. Available from Amazon.

Take a leap to see more.

We’re not usually fans of things with exclamation points but Cars Now! looks good enough for us to make an exception. With features on just about every brand making cars today, it’s the sort of guilty pleasure book you put next to your unread Tolstoy biography. Published by Taschen. Available December 24 from Amazon.
Take a leap to see some spreads.

Marilyn season comes round again, at least once a year we’re reminded why the ultimate blond bombshell remains one of the few true movie stars, perhaps legend is more appropriate. We never tire of these Miss Monroe coffee table books and while we’ll reserve judgement on ‘My week with Marilyn’ until we see it, this collectors volume book, Norman Mailer, Bert Stern: Marilyn Monroe, looks to be a surefire hit.

Intimate photographs by the great Bert Stern taken over 3 days at the Bel-Air for Vogue. 6 weeks after they were shot, Marilyn was dead. The accompanying text by the equally legendary Norman Mailer makes this a bit of a must-buy coffee table book. This edition of 125 numbered copies comes with a pigment print signed by Stern. From Taschen. Available from Amazon.

Click for more