John Berendt

From the bestselling, iconic author of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil comes an irreverent and essential style guide—from boxers to button downs, turtlenecks to tuxedos For more than a decade, beloved author John Berendt wrote a series of smart, sophisticated columns for Esquire on matters of manners and men''s clothing. Class Act brings together over fifty of these updated and revised pieces, as well as two new additions, each focusing on an item of iconic men’s fashion. Whether interviewing the Duchess of Argyll about her family''s connection to a certain pair of socks, revealing the identity of the mild-mannered gentleman who invented the most macho item in the male wardrobe (the motorcycle jacket), or laying bare the bloody Crimean war origin of the cardigan sweater, Berendt informs and entertains in equal measure. Full of surprising facts, unforgettable characters, and amusing anecdotes, this fully illustrated collection of snappy, elegant essays is as stylish as its subject matter. Part cultural history, part handbook, Class Act serves as a reminder that the clothing we wear is not simply fabric, but a reflection of our character... and sometimes our sheer audacity. A wildly entertaining ride through men''s style and its place in our collective imagination, Class Act makes a strong case that taste and wit will never go out of fashion.

Exciting, unexpected, realistic, impressionistic, abstract. The bunny paintings of celebrated artist Hunt Slonem have something for everyone. A treasury of enchanting paintings that are at once pop culture and fine art, Slonem's bestselling 2012 large-format book, Bunnies, appears here in a brand new collector's edition. In Bitty Bunnies, the artist's world-renowned paintings have been transformed into a more compact version, but one that is equally as glamorous as the original it replicates in miniature. A remarkable ode to one of nature's most beloved and symbolically rich creatures, never before has the subject been treated by a major artist in such depth and breadth. The collection here is whimsical, gorgeous, lively - every shape and form of bunny as a single subject and en mass is presented by an artist whose design sense is as acute as his artistry as painter. This is a collection destined to appeal to art- and nature-lovers alike; a body of work as inimitable as it is recognisable and sure to appeal to anyone who encounters it, as is the artist himself. A treasury of enchanting paintings that are at once pop culture and fine art, Slonem's bestselling 2012 large-format book, Bunnies, appears here in a brand new collector's edition. In Bitty Bunnies, the artist's world-renowned paintings have been transformed into a more compact version, but one that is equally as glamorous as the original it replicates in miniature. A remarkable ode to one of nature's most beloved and symbolically rich creatures, never before has the subject been treated by a major artist in such depth and breadth. The collection here is whimsical, gorgeous, lively - every shape and form of bunny as a single subject and en mass is presented by an artist whose design sense is as acute as his artistry as painter. This is a collection destined to appeal to art- and nature-lovers alike; a body of work as inimitable as it is recognisable and sure to appeal to anyone who encounters it, as is the artist himself.

Hunt Slonem, an international art and society celebrity is renowned for his bunny art and this is the first published collection. Rabbits are a perennial of children's books and an iconic image for adults as well. Set to publish for Easter, the holiday where the rabbit rules supreme! A luxurious collection, finely-designed and crafted and as much of an artwork as the painting themselves. Exciting, unexpected, impressionistic - the Slonem bunny paintings run the gamut. This is a mega collection for the adult and child alike that is publishing for the Easter holiday but is sure to last for many years to come. A treasury filled with enchanting full-colour and black-and-white paintings by celebrated artist Hunt Slonem, Bunnies features a foreword by bestselling author (and friend of the artist) John Berendt, and an essay by artist and gallerist, Bruce Helander. John Berendt writes, "Every morning, upon rising - even before he's had his first cup of coffee - Hunt Slonem performs his daily warm-ups . He approaches his worktable where a stack of small rectangular panels awaits. Some of the panels are made of wood, some of Masonite. In the course of the next half hour he will have populated all the panels with rabbits. These paintings are what he calls his warm-ups."

Genteel society ladies who compare notes on their husbands' suicides. A hilariously foul-mouthed black drag queen. A voodoo priestess who works her roots in the graveyard at midnight. A morose inventor who owns a bottle of poison powerful enough to kill everyone in town. A prominent antiques dealer who hangs a Nazi flag from his window to disrupt the shooting of a movie. And a redneck gigolo whose conquests describe him as a 'walking streak of sex'. These are some of the real residents of Savannah, Georgia, a city whose eccentric mores are unerringly observed - and whose dirty linen is gleefully aired - in this utterly irresistible book. At once a true-crime murder story and a hugely entertaining and deliciously perverse travelogue, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil is as bracing and intoxicating as half-a-dozen mint juleps.

Traces the aftermath of the 1996 Venice opera house fire, an event that devastated Venetian society and was investigated by the author, who through interviews with local figures learned about the region's rich cultural history.

'Glittering, entertaining' Sunday TimesA beguiling portrait of the city of Venice from the bestselling author of the classic true crime Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. Beneath the exquisite facade of the world's most beautiful historic city, scandal, corruption and venality are rampant. Venice and its eccentric locals come to life in the words of exquisite storyteller, John Berendt. Ezra Pound and his mistress, Olga; poet Mario Stefani; the Rat Man of Treviso; or Mario Moro - self-styled carabiniere, fireman, soldier or airman, depending on the day of the week. City of Falling Angels is a mischievous, charming and compelling portrait of a beguiling city and its people.'Fascinating, fantastic' Observer

THE LANDMARK NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER, NOW A MAJOR MUSICAL COMING SOON TO BROADWAY - An enormously engaging portrait of a most beguiling Southern city: "Elegant and wicked.... This] might be the first true-crime book that makes the reader want to book a bed and breakfast for an extended weekend at the scene of the crime." --The New York Times Book Review - 30th Anniversary Edition with a New Afterword by the Author. Shots rang out in Savannah's grandest mansion in the misty, early morning hours of May 2, 1981. Was it murder or self-defense? For nearly a decade, the shooting and its aftermath reverberated throughout this hauntingly beautiful city of moss-hung oaks and shaded squares. John Berendt's sharply observed, suspenseful, and witty narrative reads like a thoroughly engrossing novel, and yet it is a work of nonfiction. Berendt skillfully interweaves a hugely entertaining first-person account of life in this isolated remnant of the Old South with the unpredictable twists and turns of a landmark murder case. It is a spellbinding story peopled by a gallery of remarkable characters: the well-bred society ladies of the Married Woman's Card Club; the turbulent young redneck gigolo; the hapless recluse who owns a bottle of poison so powerful it could kill every man, woman, and child in Savannah; the aging and profane Southern belle who is the "soul of pampered self-absorption"; the uproariously funny black drag queen; the acerbic and arrogant antiques dealer; the sweet-talking, piano-playing con artist; young blacks dancing the minuet at the black debutante ball; and Minerva, the voodoo priestess who works her magic in the graveyard at midnight. These and other Savannahians act as a Greek chorus, with Berendt revealing the alliances, hostilities, and intrigues that thrive in a town where everyone knows everyone else. Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil is a sublime and seductive reading experience. Brilliantly conceived and masterfully written, this true-crime book has become a modern classic.

Shots rang out in Savannah's grandest mansion in the misty,early morning hours of May 2, 1981. Was it murder or self-defense? For nearly a decade, the shooting and its aftermath reverberated throughout this hauntingly beautiful city of moss-hung oaks and shaded squares. John Berendt's sharply observed, suspenseful, and witty narrative reads like a thoroughly engrossing novel, and yet it is a work of nonfiction. Berendt skillfully interweaves a hugely entertaining first-person account of life in this isolated remnant of the Old South with the unpredictable twists and turns of a landmark murder case. It is a spellbinding story peopled by a gallery of remarkable characters: the well-bred society ladies of the Married Woman's Card Club; the turbulent young redneck gigolo; the hapless recluse who owns a bottle of poison so powerful it could kill every man, woman, and child in Savannah; the aging and profane Southern belle who is the "soul of pampered self-absorption"; the uproariously funny black drag queen; the acerbic and arrogant antiques dealer; the sweet-talking, piano-playing con artist; young blacks dancing the minuet at the black debutante ball; and Minerva, the voodoo priestess who works her magic in the graveyard at midnight. These and other Savannahians act as a Greek chorus, with Berendt revealing the alliances, hostilities, and intrigues that thrive in a town where everyone knows everyone else. Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil: A Savannah Story is a sublime and seductive reading experience. Brilliantly conceived and masterfully written, this enormously engaging portrait of a most beguiling Southern city is certain to become a modern classic.