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Every
year at the holiday season I get to do a gift-books
roundup, and it’s almost as good as Christmas morning:
cracking open sumptuous, enticing and informative
volumes and then visualizing who might love them. What
follows is an idiosyncratic list — reflecting certain
personal obsessions (books, crafts, collectibles, maps,
nature and LEGOS, because I have 10,000 tiny plastic
bricks stored in my garage). It’s organized from
“A” (architecture) to “P” (pure fun).
ARCHITECTURE
“How to
Read Churches: A Crash Course in Ecclesiastical
Architecture” by Denis R. McNamara (Rizzoli, $17.95).
The perfect pocket-size companion for wanders around old
churches, here or abroad: McNamara’s elegant line
drawings are accompanied by clear explanations of church
styles and symbols. Campaniles, reliquaries and
clerestories explained!
BIBLIOPHILIA
“The
Annotated Peter Pan” by J.M. Barrie, edited with and
introduction and notes by Maria Tatar (Norton, $39.95).
The latest in Harvard scholar Tatar’s annotated
editions of childhood and folktale classics, this
handsome book traces Barrie’s myriad influences,
including back stories for the main characters, and
examines how remarkably persistent the tale of Peter,
Wendy and the Lost Boys has proved since “Peter and
Wendy” was first published in 1911.
“Ex
Libris: The Art of Bookplates” by Martin Hopkinson
(Yale University Press, $25). This compact volume traces
the 500-year history of the bookplate, those decorative
labels pasted inside a book’s cover that discreetly
declare ownership. There’s a book plate designed by
Rudyard Kipling for a friend; and Calvin Coolidge’s
bookplate. For more information on the resurgence of
this genteel art, go to www.bookplatesociety.org.
“Books:
A Living History” by Martyn Lyons (Getty Publications,
$24.95). A beautifully illustrated, must-have volume for
any book lover; the story of books, from Sumerian
cuneiform tablets to the e-book. Lyons, an eminent book
historian, casts his net worldwide — while
bibliophiles in the developed world wonder what forms
the future book may take, the developing world still
relies on the traditional book, which is “portable,
durable and reusable, and it needs no batteries or
maintenance or subscription payments of any kind.”
CRAFTS/DOMESTIC
“The
Knitting Book: Yarns, Techniques, Stitches, Patterns”
by Frederica Patmore and Vikki Haffenden (DK Publishing,
$40). Our office knitting expert’s opinion: This is a
great reference for anyone with a basic knowledge of
knitting who wants to take their craft to the next step.
Features DK’s trademark crisp design, beautiful
photography and crystal-clear instructional text.
“Dish:
813 Colorful, Wonderful Dinner Plates” by Shax Riegler
(Artisan, $35). Anyone who perks up when “Antiques
Roadshow” features dishware would salivate over this
sumptuously photographed volume, which tells the story
of classic dish manufacturers such as Meissen and
Wedgewood and brings the story forward into the age of
the dinner-plate classics, Homer Laughlin and Noritaki.
Riegler is the features editor at House Beautiful
magazine.
FRANCOPHILIA
“The
Louvre: All the Paintings” (several contributors)
(Black Dog & Leventhal, $75). A great reference for
any art or art-history aficionado, though to get all the
paintings in, many are reproduced in a, um, compact
manner. Combine this gift with the eye-popping,
muscle-building
“Monumental
Paris” by Herve Champollion and Aude de Tocqueville (Vendome
Press, $150), a 1-by-1-1/2 foot collection of more than
200 panoramic images of the City of Light’s delights,
and there’s no telling what kind of gratitude you’re
likely to get.
GEOGRAPHILIA
“Oxford
Atlas of the World, 18th Edition” (Oxford University
Press, $89.95). The venerable OUP says it’s the only
publisher that hits the “refresh” button annually by
issuing an updated world atlas. This one is chockablock
with new satellite imagery, new sections on new
countries (South Sudan) and burgeoning issues like
international shipping piracy.
“Essential
World Atlas, 6th Edition” (Oxford University Press,
$24.95 paperback), is a condensed and more affordable
version of the OUP view of the world.
“Maps”
by Paula Scher (Princeton Architectural Press, $50).
Scher, a renowned graphic designer (she designed
Springsteen’s “Darkness on the Edge of Town” album
cover) paints maps that are a cross between geography
and The Reverend Howard Finster’s folk art; a dizzying
array of words and lines that evoke the zeitgeist of
whatever area she’s mapping. And be sure to check out
the beautiful and informative
“Historical
Atlas of Washington and Oregon” by Derek Hayes
(University of California Press, $39.95), which will be
the subject of a Pacific Northwest Magazine cover story
on Dec. 18.
HISTORY
“Into
the Blue: American Writing on Aviation and Spaceflight,”
edited by Joseph J. Corn (Library of America, $40). A
classy collection of writings on air and space travel,
from Benjamin Franklin’s firsthand accounts of the
first hot-air balloons (1783) to astronaut Buzz
Aldrin’s magnificent moonwalk (1969) to Mark
Bowden’s account of the air war in Afghanistan
(2001-2002).
“The
Untold Civil War: Exploring the Human Side of War” by
James Robertson, edited by Neil Kagan (National
Geographic, $40). This book distinguishes itself from
others published for the War’s sesquicentennial
through its focus on everyday stories, from General
Ulysses Grant’s “hatred of the sight of blood” to
a tale of two brothers, one Confederate, one Union,
reunited as they lay dying on the battlefield. Artfully
illustrated with paintings, documents and ephemera of
the time.
And
“The Library of Congress Illustrated Timeline of the
Civil War” by Margaret E. Wagner (Little, Brown, $35),
offers a beautifully illustrated day-by-day account of
the nation’s most traumatic conflict.
“Castles:
A History of Fortified Structures Ancient, Medieval
& Modern,” consulting editor Charles Stephenson
(St. Martin’s Griffin, $29.99). This book should
really have been titled “Fortifications” — it’s
a history of fortifications of all kinds: forts, towers,
castles and kremlins, all over the world. Expertly
designed with numerous photos, maps and schemata, it
would please the armchair military historian in your
family, or someone who just can’t accept the fact that
the Lord of the Rings trilogy is over.
“The
Lost Photographs of Captain Scott: Unseen Images from
the Legendary Antarctic Expedition” by David M. Wilson
(Little Brown, $35). A haunting collection of
crystal-clear, beautifully composed photographs of
Captain Robert Falcon Scott’s final, ill-fated
expedition to the Antarctic — many taken by Captain
Scott himself. Rediscovered after gathering dust in the
basement of a photographic agency for decades, these
images will beguile anyone interested in photography,
exploration or the human will to survive.
NATURE/NATURAL
HISTORY
“Solar
System: A Visual Exploration of the Planets, Moons, and
Other Heavenly Bodies that Orbit Our Sun” by Marcus
Chown (Black Dog & Leventhal, $29.95). This book
began as an app, “Solar System for iPad” and then
turned into a book; a sort of reverse transition its
creators claim is a first. It’s an abundantly
organized and illustrated guide to all the moons,
planets and stars that comprise our solar system. Chown
is a former Caltech astronomer. Fun facts: Today’s
sunlight is 30,000 years old. The planet called Uranus
was originally called ... George.
“Frozen
Planet: A World Beyond Imagination” by Alastair
Fothergill and Vanessa Berlowitz (Firefly, $39.95). This
mind-bending book is the companion volume to the
forthcoming Discovery Channel series “Frozen
Planet,” the third installment to the BBC’s fabulous
“Planet Earth” series. The Antarctic and Arctic in
stunning photos, including images from the previously
restricted Russian Arctic.
“Beneath
Cold Seas: The Underwater Wilderness of the Pacific
Northwest” by David Hall (University of Washington
Press, $45). You will never look at the slate-gray
waters of Puget Sound with the same eyes after perusing
the photos of Hall, an accomplished underwater
photographer who took these eerie pictures of our
region’s sea life — invertebrates, fish, marine
plants and mammals — off the Pacific Coast of Canada
over a 15-year period (most of the sea life can be found
in the coastal waters of Northern California, Oregon,
Washington and Alaska). If there’s a diver on your
list, they can say, “I’ve seen that!” If there’s
an armchair aquanaut, they will appreciate the view
without the goose bumps.
“Relics:
Travels in Nature’s Time Machine” by Piotr Naskrecki
(University of Chicago Press, $45). This is
Harvard-based entomologist Naskrecki’s love song to
“relics,” so-called living fossils (the helmeted
katydid!) that have existed unchanged for eons. Embedded
in this showcase book of exotic plants and animals is a
plea to preserve what’s left of the planet’s
evolutionary history. I came across one blogger
(Scientific American) who said the book is actually hard
to read because the photos are so distractingly,
achingly gorgeous.
PURE FUN
“The
Cult of LEGO” by John Baichtal and Joe Meno (No Starch
Press, $39.95). This fascinating book explores the
popularity of LEGO bricks worldwide and its evolution
from child’s toy to art medium to technology
generator. Yankee Stadium and the Dome of the Rock in
LEGOS. Stephen Colbert and Sitting Bull, re-created in
LEGOS. Fresh from New Zealand, a LEGO robot called a
“Swimming Pool Insect Terminator.” There’s
something terrifically inspiring about all this, though
I’m not sure what.
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