Reaktion Books is an independent book publisher

Publishing

Publishing is the process of production and dissemination of literature or information—the activity of making information available to the general public...

 based in Clerkenwell

Clerkenwell

Clerkenwell is an area of central London in the London Borough of Islington. From 1900 to 1965 it was part of the Metropolitan Borough of Finsbury. The well after which it was named was rediscovered in 1924. The watchmaking and watch repairing trades were once of great importance...

, London, United Kingdom.
Reaktion Books was founded in 1985 in Edinburgh, Scotland, and moved to London in 1987.

Reaktion originally focused on the fields of art, architecture and design – its first book was Ian Hamilton Finlay: A Visual Primer by Yves Abrioux. In recent years Reaktion's list has broadened substantially, and now also encompasses animal studies, Asian art and culture, biography, cultural studies, current events, fashion, film, food history, geography, general history, music, philosophy, photography, politics and sports history. Reaktion now produces around 70 new titles each year, and has about 500 titles in print.

Among the monographs released by Reaktion are studies of the Ottoman architect Sinan, and the artists Delaroche

Hippolyte Delaroche

Hippolyte Delaroche , commonly known as Paul Delaroche, was a French painter born in Paris. Delaroche was born into a wealthy family and was trained by Antoine-Jean, Baron Gros, who then painted life-size histories and had many students.The first Delaroche picture exhibited was the large Josabeth...

, Holbein

Hans Holbein the Younger

Hans Holbein the Younger was a German artist and printmaker who worked in a Northern Renaissance style. He is best known as one of the greatest portraitists of the 16th century. He also produced religious art, satire and Reformation propaganda, and made a significant contribution to the history...

, Tintoretto

Tintoretto

Tintoretto , real name Jacopo Comin, was a Venetian painter and a notable exponent of the Renaissance school. For his phenomenal energy in painting he was termed Il Furioso...

, Bellini

Giovanni Bellini

Giovanni Bellini was an Italian Renaissance painter, probably the best known of the Bellini family of Venetian painters. His father was Jacopo Bellini, his brother was Gentile Bellini, and his brother-in-law was Andrea Mantegna. He is considered to have revolutionized Venetian painting, moving it...

, Malcolm Morley

Malcolm Morley

Malcolm Morley is an English artist now living in the United States. He is best known as a photorealist.-Early life:Morley was born in north London. He had a troubled childhood, and did not discover art until serving a three-year stint in Wormwood Scrubs prison...

, Leon Golub

Leon Golub

Leon Golub was an American painter. He was born in Chicago, Illinois, where he also studied, receiving his BA at the University of Chicago in 1942, his BFA and MFA at the Art Institute of Chicago in 1949 and 1950, respectively.He was married to and collaborated with the artist Nancy Spero...

 and Casper David Friedrich

Caspar David Friedrich

Caspar David Friedrich was a 19th-century German Romantic landscape painter, generally considered the most important German artist of his generation. He is best known for his mid-period allegorical landscapes which typically feature contemplative figures silhouetted against night skies, morning...

, of which the latter won the 1992 Mitchell Prize for the History of Art .

Reaktion also publishes many series of books, including Animal, short natural and cultural histories of individual animals, Edible, global histories of a particular food, drink or ingredient, and Critical Lives, concise critical biographies of important cultural figures.

Recent books of note from Reaktion include Twenty Minutes in Manhattan by Michael Sorkin

Michael Sorkin

Michael Sorkin is an American architecture critic. He is a Distinguished Professor of Architecture and Director of the Graduate Program in Urban Design at the Bernard and Anne Spitzer School of Architecture, City College of New York, part of the City University of New York , and the founder of...

, Travels in the History of Architecture by Robert Harbison, Boxing: A Cultural History by Kasia Boddy, and Owl by Desmond Morris

Desmond Morris

Desmond John Morris, born 24 January 1928 in Purton, north Wiltshire, is a British zoologist and ethologist, as well as a popular anthropologist. He is also known as a painter, television presenter and popular author.-Life:...

.