Click here to check out Tom Atwood's Kings in Their Castles!

Of his latest book, photographer Tom Atwood explains, “Nothing provides insight into an individual’s personality as clearly as their home and how they live in it. In many ways, your home is a metaphysical extension of yourself.” And he's right. In many ways, Atwood's concept is far from original—we've been subjected many a time and oft to the pun, "home is where the art is"—but his execution elevates these photos from the quotidian into the sublime. Take, for example, novelist Michael Cunningham biting his nails, director John Waters packing fake food into his suitcase, and playwright Edward Albee deep in thought at his piano. Atwood uses the comforts of home to prod his subjects into opening up for the camera. It might be called Kings of Their Castles, but this is most certainly an exploration of men who are nothing if not human. —N.H.