The Ashley Book of Knots takes us back to a time when knots saved lives and put dinner on the table. Whether out at sea or in a pioneer cabin, knots were a part of daily life, one that is nearly lost today. But in this attractive, well-organized archive of more than 3,900 different knots--presented through 7,000 illustrations--the art of knot tying lives on, both as a historical reference and a reservoir of handy knowledge.

Describes every practical knot, what it looks like, where it comes from, and how to tie it. The book includes 4,000 knots, with all the varieties of shipboard knots as well as knots used by butchers, steeplejacks, electric linesmen, knitters, cobblers, surgeons, poachers and cowboys.

"I was no sooner out of my mother's womb, than I turned around and photographed her sex!"

The subject of the first volume in TASCHEN's Limited series is Japanese photographer Nobuyoshi Araki, a man who talks about life through photographs. Araki's powerful oeuvre, decade's worth of images, has been pared down to 1,000 photographs to comprise the ultimate retrospective collection of his work. This volume, titled Araki, is an enormous and highly unique book with a print run of only 2,500 signed and numbered copies worldwide.

Known equally for his intimate images of women, often bound in kinbaku, the Japanese art of rope-tying, and for images of brilliant, sensual flowers, Araki is an intensely emotional artist who uses photography to experience these passionate feelings more fully. Obsessed with women, Araki seeks to come closer to them through his work, using ropes like an embrace, and the click of the shutter like a kiss, creating provocative images at once shocking and mysteriously tender. He said of this collaboration with TASCHEN: "This book will expose everything of myself. It is a testament which reads: photography is love and death."

Adult Ed has an entirely new meaning, thanks to this first-of-its-kind guide to bondage in consensual relationships. This book corrects many misconceptions about bondage, educating readers and giving them the tools needed to explore their desires using restraint and rope bondage. This type of erotic play requires trust between two people and can be a wonderful way to bond with a partner. Chanta crushes the misconception that bondage is violent or dangerous and explains

• How to approach your partner in non-threatening way about your kinky desires
• Professional, step-by-step instruction
• Graphic, full-color photography With a few simple knots and some well-thought-out positions and guidance, you and your partner will be able to experience this taboo form of love making

Lone Wolf and Cub is the story of the wandering samurai Ogami Itto and his son Daigoro. Itto is the official executioner of the shogun. His flashing blade brought swift release to those ordered to commit seppuku (ritual suicide), be they man, woman, or even child. He gets framed by Retsudo, leader of the Yagyo-clan.

Itto's wife is murdered but he manages to escape with his son and with him wanders through Japan as an assassin. As such he collects money, determined to ruin his enemy Retsudo and restore his family name.

His assignments bring him in touch with people of all social classes: corrupt politicians, peasant, prostitutes, ninja's, priests, yakuza, the poor and homeless, killers, rapists, etc. Itto proves to be invincible and gets feared all over the country. When the determination of Itto to destroy Yagyo-clan is evident Retsudo does all in his power to destroy Itto. His odyssey becomes more and more intense, in the end he can trust no one. Itto and Daigoro's "quest" last for over three years and the background is told in flashbacks throughout the entire series.

Lone Wolf and Cub is famous for its carefully researched re-creation of Edo-period Japan. There are 28 volumes, all in the original Japanese format. Each volume collects five stories in 300 pages.

Amazon.com review: Philip Miller and Molly Devon think that S/M is fun, and "that reading about it should be fun, too." Screw the Roses, Send Me the Thorns is definitely fun, not to mention approachable, chatty, and insightful. What makes it truly special, however, is the sheer weight of loving details. There's clear explanations and detailed tutorials for beginners, as general as "safe, sane, and consensual" and as specific as "you will be swinging the whip with your arm pivoting at the shoulder." There's also solid advice, safety measures, steamy suggestions, plenty of black-and-white photographs, useful and humorous drawings, an extensive glossary, and over 900 entries of S/M clothing and equipment vendors, publications, computer bulletin boards, and organizations worldwide. As sadomasochism is a practice that's still taboo for many people, the chapter on finding partners and sharing your fantasies with existing partners can be invaluable.

Screw the Roses enthusiastically covers all the basics and even some of the not-so-basics--bondage, negotiation, sex, endorphins, dominance and submission, toys, safety, S/M community, and beyond. It's written primarily from the point of view of male dominant/female submissive interactions, but it's easily translatable into valuable advice for any relationship configuration. Miller and Devon's explanations of not just the how, but also the why, of sadomasochism are honest, sexy, funny--and a must-have for anyone who wants to learn about sadism, masochism, dominance, submission, or bondage. --Cheryl Trooskin

From ornately decorative to excruciatingly stringent, Japanese rope bondage is an art which has developed over centuries of martial and erotic practice. Now, accomplished Japanese-born educator and bondage practitioner, Midori shows step by step how to achieve beautiful and exciting Japanese bondage on a variety of genders and body types.

Each chapter starts with a spectacular, tasteful full-color photo of the finished bondage pose - harnesses, hogties, standing and bent-over poses, and more - then goes back and explains with text and line art how each rope and knot is placed to achieve the final result. Readers can use the detailed instructions to experiment safely and erotically with their own partners - or simply enjoy viewing the pictures of Midori's expertise.

Shibari (Japanese rope bondage), one of the most beautiful and erotic of SM techniques, it's secrets have been locked in the mysterious orient for hundreds of years. Now, with the publication of "Shibari, the Art of Japanese bondage" this ancient practice is revealed to the Western reader in a profusely illustrated, limited edition, photo art book with text in both English and German.

Written by Master "K," one of the most noted and gifted of Western Shibari practitioners, this book combines history, technique, and a full glossary of terms as well as an extensive bibliography with sumptuous color photographs to explore this subtle but very erotic art.

Don Cunningham´s previous book, Secret Weapons of Jujutsu, focused on the small, specialized hand weapons used in Edo Japan. Taiho-Jutsu examines the variety of weapons available to law enforcement and their uses. This volume includes a history of the criminal organizations, hooligans, feuds, and vendettas that developed in feudal Japan and the civil government, police system, and criminal investigations that arose to counteract them. There are discussions of such law enforcement weapons as torimono sandogu ("the three tools of arresting"), sodegarami ("the sleeve entangler"), and the hachiwara ("helmet breaker"). Cunningham discusses the weapons and demonstrates their use in a series of clear, easy-to-follow illustrations. Also included are historical photographs, reproductions of paintings, and line drawings of these weapons and their bearers.

When Two Knotty Boys, Dan and J. D., began teaching rope bondage together in 1999, they discovered that most people learn best when they're shown - close up, step by step, and repeatedly - how to tie basic knots and combine them into bondage techniques. It is this learning process that they duplicate in this book. With the help of world-renowned photographer Larry Utley, they use over 750 photos and captions to explicate the soup-to-nuts techniques for turning great knots into great bondage that is safe, sensual, attractive, and effective. Readers can learn at their own pace, review whole techniques at a single glance, or even lay it flat on the table (beside their blindfolded partner) and follow along as they tie. Two Knotty Boys Showing You the Ropes appeals to those interested in improving the quality of their sex lives, not to mention aficionados of bondage and discipline/sadomasochism (BDSM), both curious newcomers and serious players alike.