Click the titles below to read a full review:

AFRICAN CEREMONIES: The Concise Edition

Carol Beckwith and Angela Fisher. Abrams, $49.95 (400p) ISBN 0810934841

THE ART OF YOGA

Sharon Gannon and David Life, forewords by Anouska and Ravi Shankar, photography by Martin Brading. Stewart Tabori & Chang, $40 (192p) ISBN 1584792078

BRADBURY: An Illustrated Life

Jerry Weist, foreword by Don Albright, introduction by Ray Bradbury. Morrow, $34.95 (195p) ISBN 0060011823

BUDDHIST HIMALAYAS

Olivier and Danielle Follmi and Matthieu Ricard. Abrams, $55 (424p) ISBN 0810934892

AN EYE FOR BEAUTY

Evelyn H. Lauder, introduction by Amy Spindler. Abrams, $35 (128p) ISBN 0810932849

FAERIES

Brian Froud and Alan Lee, edited by David Larkin. Abrams, $24.95 (216p) ISBN 0810932741

GREAT AMERICAN HOUSES AND GARDENS

Chuck Fischer. Rizzoli/Universe, $39.95 (unpaginated) ISBN 0789307987

JAMES BOND: The Legacy

John Cork and Bruce Scivally. Abrams, $49.95 (320p) ISBN 0-8109-3296-2

ONE HUNDRED SAINTS

The Editors of Bulfinch Press. Bulfinch, $40 (288p) ISBN 0821228161

PLANET EARTH

Introduction by Robert Hughes, foreword by Stefan Dech and Robert Meisner. Knopf, $40 (232p) ISBN 0375415300

AFRICAN CEREMONIES: The Concise Edition

Carol Beckwith and Angela Fisher. Abrams, $49.95 (400p) ISBN 0810934841

Beckwith and Fisher, two western photographers (the former American, the latter Australian) fascinated by the rituals of Africa, spent 10 years traveling the continent to document their passion on film for the first edition of this stunning book. In 1999, it was released in a slip-cased, $150, two-volume edition; it featured 850 images of the various namings, initiations, weddings and coronations the women witnessed during their travels, as well as countless other moments of consequence with their generous hosts. Now comes the concise edition, which boasts more than half the original collection assembled in a single, large, full-color book and accompanied by a CD of ceremonial African music by composer David Bradnum. The images are bright, intimate and genuinely exotic, and they speak to a diversity of fascinating and wildly inventive rituals. From the Pedi people's beadwork to the Do-society's shaggy raffia outfits, the images capture a multitude of beautiful costumes on beautiful people, celebrating their life cycles from birth to death. For those interested in the tribal cultures of Africa, this would be a tough volume to miss. Over 400 color photographs (Oct.)

THE ART OF YOGA

Sharon Gannon and David Life, forewords by Anouska and Ravi Shankar, photography by Martin Brading. Stewart Tabori & Chang, $40 (192p) ISBN 1584792078

Yoga reveals its astonishing, acrobatic side in this glossy art book of asanas. Gannon and Life, who developed Jivamukti ("living liberated" in Sanskrit), a challenging form of Hatha yoga, defy gravity and the strength of mere mortals--or so it seems--in the advanced positions shown here. Artfully shot over a 10-year period by British photographer Brading, also a disciple, the crisp duotone images express both the practitioners' physical skill and their spiritual concentration. Gannon and Life are masters: Jivamukti is recognized internationally; they've taught thousands of students in their centers around New York (including Madonna and Sting); even Ravi Shankar is a fan....