Mapping London – Making Sense of the City is a 288 page hardcover featuring over 200 historical maps of the city of London. With detailed photos and writing the city’s changes are shown year by year and through generations, including historical events such as London’s great fire, the Plague, the two World Wars, and even future planning for the 2012 Olympics.

If you’re interested in cartography and history this is a must read.

From Black Dog Publishing:

The maps in this comprehensive survey are allowed to speak for themselves, revealing not only their political and social context, but also the dreams of their makers and the drama of their creation. The maps are often objects of great skill and beauty themselves, with the names of the greatest of their makers still revered today.

I recently perused Chef Masaharu Morimoto’s book “The New Art of Japanese Cooking.”  This Hiroshima native established his own restaurant at age 25, then moved to Manhattan to become head chef for several restaurants, and eventually opened “Morimoto Restaurant” in Philadelphia.

Although the foundation of his recipes and flavors are based in the traditional Japanese foods, Morimoto adds European and American elements to his dishes to create a blend that’s his own creation and style.  If you want to try something different in the kitchen this book is an excellent primer for Japanese cooking.  It’s well written, easy to reference while prepping and cooking, and the pages are full of sharp designs and colorful food presentations.

More about Chef Masaharu Morimoto at his personal site:  chefmorimoto.com