The most complete tattoo flash compilation by inkmaster John Wesley Harden

One hundred photographs from "Rolling Stone" magazine celebrate the art of the tattoo in shots of musicians, actors, and other pop icons, including Drew Barrymore, Eminem, Melissa Etheridge, and Ozzy Osborne.

A collection of themed designs for tattoos.

My new friends have begun to suspect I haven’t told them the full story of my life. “Why did you leave Sierra Leone?” “Because there is a war.” “You mean, you saw people running around with guns and shooting each other?” “Yes, all the time.” “Cool.” I smile a little. “You should tell us about it sometime.” “Yes, sometime.” This is how wars are fought now: by children, hopped-up on drugs and wielding AK-47s. Children have become soldiers of choice. In the more than fifty conflicts going on worldwide, it is estimated that there are some 300,000 child soldiers. Ishmael Beah used to be one of them. What is war like through the eyes of a child soldier? How does one become a killer? How does one stop? Child soldiers have been profiled by journalists, and novelists have struggled to imagine their lives. But until now, there has not been a first-person account from someone who came through this hell and survived. In A Long Way Gone, Beah, now twenty-five years old, tells a riveting story: how at the age of twelve, he fled attacking rebels and wandered a land rendered unrecognizable by violence. By thirteen, he’d been picked up by the government army, and Beah, at heart a gentle boy, found that he was capable of truly terrible acts. This is a rare and mesmerizing account, told with real literary force and heartbreaking honesty.

The original work of Christian Warlich, Europe's preeminent tattoo artist in the first half of the 20th century, is brought back to life in a stunning new volume. Christian Warlich was a world famous German tattooist and his flash book is one of the most coveted objects in the tattoo world. It is now available in this exquisite edition that includes over three hundred hand-drawn designs restored to their original vibrant state. It also includes photographs and other archival material, much of which has never been published before. This book brings Warlich's career into new focus, reflecting the latest research on how his early years at sea may have influenced his work. Intricate renderings of cowboys and indigenous Americans, Chinese dragons and Japanese geishas, daggers, snakes, and skulls reveal not only Warlich's influence in the iconography of tattoos, but also suggest the interplay of ideas with tattooists across Europe, North America, and Asia. The book also explores how the art of tattooing was reframed during the Nazi era and how Warlich's estate helped shape the state of tattoo art today. This elegant book is invaluable in understanding the importance of Warlich to the history of tattooing.

The enigmatic Rich Mingins -- "a very quiet man, smoking all the time. He used to tattoo while seated on a little bench in the back room of his house at 59 Redfern Road, Harleston, in London, while his wife busied herself in the kitchen. There was no flash on the wall, just a book on the table and on the side of his bench he had a roll of paper towel, actually a toilet roll. It was a small room. You had to wait outside. You could not go in until someone came out". "There is not much to tell about Rich Mingins" recalls George Bone, whose body is adorned with examples of Mingins' work. Tattoo artist George Bone is one of the few surviving people with tattoos by Mingins, who was an enigmatic man about whom very little is known. Bone: When he was doing his tattoos, he actually never spoke. His work spoke for itself'. And that it did. Mingins' work was extremely popular in his time. "His artistic work and custom designs were of high quality, and really stood apart from work of other tattoo artists", states Bone, "I had the impression, perhaps mistakenly, that he was the type of man who would say no to an interview, so it's not surprising that so little is known about him". Minigins' scrapbooks convey a beautiful overview of the world of tattoos and attitudes towards them during the first half of the twentieth century.

New York City is the birthplace of the electric tattoo machine, which has influenced modern tattooing worldwide, helping to define technical and artistic values intrinsic to the art form. After a 35-year ban, tattooing was re-legalized in the city in 1997; century-old values that were once shrouded in secrecy are now challenged by rapid growth and heavy demand. Loaded with color photos and commentary from artists throughout the city, this book is a fascinating glimpse into New Yorks unique tattoo culture, past and present.