In the holiday season of gift-giving, there are those items known in the publishing trade as gift books, more popularly identified by the consumer as coffee-table books. Every autumn seems to deliver more luxuriously appointed, oversized books than the year before, priced from $25 upward, and usually upward a lot. Once again the Harry N. Abrams imprint dominates the field.
The 1993 inventory contains hundreds of titles, too many to write about or even enumerate. For recommending, we'll do our best, each of us saluting 10 premiere gift books of the season, followed by a selective listing (by category) of other titles.This may guide you in getting just the thing for the person who already has everything . . . or you may drop a hint that you would like to receive this book or that one as a holiday gift.
Larry Swindell Selects 10 Gift Books (listed alphabetically):
"The Age of Innocence" (Newmarket, $49.50) is an illustrated portrait of the lavish film adapted by director Martin Scorsese and Jay Cocks from Edith Wharton's novel. The complete screenplay is augmented by a portfolio of other, earlier films that were sources of inspiration for this 1993 masterwork.
"The Book of Life" (Norton, $40) is subtitled "An Illustrated History of the Evolution of Life on Earth" - easily the best of several similarly themed luxury books of the season, and definitely a work to be read, with the redoubtable Stephen Jay Gould as general editor for a top team of contributing scientists and illustrators.
"The Complete Lyrics of Ira Gershwin" (Knopf, $45) presents in more than 400 pages a brilliant legacy attesting that "the other Gershwin" was also a giant. The words to hundreds of songs from 1917 to 1964 are supported by fine vintage photographs, and the volume, edited by Robert Kimball, is a classic of graphic design.
"Endangered Peoples" (Sierra Club, $30) is the year's ecological winner. Thoughtful essays by Art Davidson consider the plights of residents on every continent, from American Indians of North America to the "small peoples" of Russia to the Australian aborigines.
"The Face of Mercy: A Photographic History of Medicine at War" (Random House, $40), an Epicenter Communications Book, conveyed in hundreds of heart-stopping pictures, mostly in stark black and white, covering wars of the world in the age of photography. The stirring prologue is by William Styron.
"Girlhood Embroidery" (Knopf, 2 volumes, boxed, $125) is an unexpected treasure from the foremost expert on embroidery in America - Betty Ring of Houston, presenting a thrilling festival of delicate samplers once stitched by "ordinary" girls ages 6 to 18. It's "American Samplers and Pictorial Needlework, 1650-1850."
"Great French Paintings from the Barnes Foundation" (Knopf/Lincoln University Press, $65) offers superb color reproductions of impressionist, post-impressionist and early modern masters. Art lovers can catch the glorious Barnes collection at Fort Worth's Kimbell Art Museum for a four-month engagement beginning April 24.
"History of Japanese Art" (Abrams, $55), while undoubtedly addressed to a specialized interest, may be the best book yet produced on its subject, with an authoritative text by Penelope Mason that carries from the Jomon Period (10,500-300 B.C.) to our own time.
"The Sacred Earth" (Abrams, $49.50) is an exotic guided tour (by photographer Courtney Milne) of the numerous sites around the world that hold mystical and sacred importance for humanity. The foreword is by his holiness the Dalai Lama.
"The South: A Treasury of Art and Literature" (Hugh Lauter Levin Associates/Macmillan, $75) is an ambitious regional anthology, successfully realized - edited by Lisa Howorth, who brings together timeless poetry and prose, photography and fine art.
Jeff Guinn Selects 10 Gift Books (listed alphabetically):
"Baseball's Golden Age" (Abrams, $29.95) utilizes the 1904-1942 photographic efforts of Charles M. Conlon, whose superior prints have already been the basis of a special black-and-white issue of collector-quality baseball cards. From Honus Wagner's hands to Wes Ferrell's curly hair, this work speaks directly to the fan's heart.
"Buckaroo" (Callaway/Simon & Schuster, $45) is subtitled "Visions and Voices of the American Cowboy" and comes with a CD that, together with its printed word, forms a fine starter collection of western music, poetry and prose.
"Charles M. Russell, Word Painter" (Amon Carter Museum/Abrams, $95) offers proof that the justly celebrated artist used the written word as effectively as the paints on his palette; Brian Dippie's commentary further illuminates Russell's correspondence, which is reproduced in its original form.
"Chronicle of America" (JL International Publishing, $54.95) is the latest addition to the Spirit of Liberty Library that studies individual years, centuries, nations and wars. Detractors will call it the USA Today of coffee-table books, but its brief, cogent summarizations of significant events occurring on the North American continent since 1606 B.C. will be just fine for the rest of us.
"The Disney Villain" (Hyperion, $45) captivates such "bad guys" as Malificent, Captain Hook and Stromboli; here we learn how these tremendous folk icons were created, with the special pleasure of watching them evolve from sketches to full-blown cartoon monsters.
"Fra Filippo Lippi" (Phaidon/Abrams, $195) is a massive (550-page) documentation of perhaps the greatest artist of the early Renaissance. Author Jeffrey Ruda takes pains to trace Fra Lippi's development as an artist as well as presenting him later in life as a full-blown genius.
"Illustrated History of Europe" (Henry Holt, $35) is a brilliantly condensed illumination of centuries captured in photographs and prose, and one that millions of high school and college students could use as an indispensable reference work.
"Mine Eyes Have Seen the Glory: The Civil War in Art" (Orion, $60) collects the best art depicting that sad, epic conflict and presents it as both commemoration and commentary. Author Harold Holzer has created a must-have here that features the works of such diverse artists as Edouard Manet and Winslow Homer.
"Native Nations" (Bulfinch, $60) celebrates the best of photographer/ethnographer/adventurer Edward S. Curtis' 20-volume study of the Indians of North America, with gorgeous, sepia-tinted photos and sparse, articulate commentary.
"The Worlds of Thomas Jefferson at Monticello" (Abrams, $60) proves, if there was ever doubt, that the eclectic talents and interests of our third president are best realized by thorough familiarization with his home. The most dedicated Jeffersonians will find new insights here.
A selection of other notable gift books, by categories:
ART
"American Self Taught: Paintings and Drawings by Outsider Artists" by Frank Maresca and Roger Ricco (Knopf, $75).
"The Art of James Bama," text by Elmer Kelton (Bantam, $60)
"The Art of Michael Whelan" (Bantam, $60)
"Art of the Electronic Age" by Frank Popper ($45)
"Artists at Gemini G.E.L." (Abrams, $60)
"Chicago Architecture and Design" by George A. Larson and Jay Pridmore (Abrams, $49.50)
"The Drawings of Stuart Davis" (Abrams, $35)
"George Inness" by Nicolai Cikovsky Jr. (Abrams, $39.95)
"Hand to Earth: Andy Goldsworthy Sculpture, 1976-1990" (Abrams, $45)
"Masaccio and Masolino: A Complete Catalogue" by Paul Joannides (Phaidon/Abrams, $125)
"Pre-Columbian Art and the Post-Columbian World" by Barbara Braun (Abrams, $75)
"Sir Edward Burne-Jones" by Russell Ash (Abrams, $29.95)
"That's the Way I See It" by David Hockney (Chronicle Books, $35)
"Tolkien's World: Paintings of Middle-earth" (Harper-Collins, $25)
"The Unknown Modigliani: Drawings from the Collection of Paul Alexandre" (Abrams, $75)
FAUNA
"Echo of the Elephants: The Story of an Elephant Family" by Cynthia Moss and Martyn Colbeck (Morrow, $30)
"Penguins, Puffins and Auks: Their Lives and Behavior" (Crown, $45)
"Wild Beasts," photographed by Nicolas Bruant (Chronicle Books, $29.95)
"Wild Cats" by Candace Savage (Sierra Club, $30)
"The Wildest Places on Earth" by Jim Fowler (Time-Life Books, $39.95)
FLORA
"A Feast of Flowers" by Jacqueline Heriuteau (Houghton Mifflin, $35)
"The Garden of Life: An Introduction to the Healing Plants of India" by Naveen Patnaik (Doubleday, $35)
"Gardening Through the Ages" by Penelope Hobhouse (Simon & Schuster, $50)
"Highgrove: An Experiment in Organic Gardening and Farming" by HRH the Prince of Wales and Charles Clover (Simon & Schuster, $50)
"100 Garden Designs" by Jack Kramer and Andrew Addkison (Lyons & Burford, $29.95)
"Royal Gardens" by Roy Strong (Pocket Books, $40)
FOOD & COOKING
"Chateau Cuisine" by Anne Willan (Macmillan, $35)
"Fish & Seafood Cookbook" by Kevin Graham (Stewart, Tabori & Chang, $35)
"The Foods of Greece" by Aglaia Kremezi (Stewart, Tabori & Chang, $39.95)
"The Heritage of Chinese Cooking" by Elizabeth Chong (Random House, $45)
"Taste of New York: Signature Dishes of the Best Restaurants" by Karen Gantz Zahler (Addison-Wesley, $35)
"Toulouse-Lautrec's Table" (Random House, $40)
"The Victory Garden Food and Vegetable Cookbook" by Marian Morash (Knopf, $35)
HOME DECOR
"The Bath" by Diane Von Furstenberg (Random House, $37.50)
"Brickwork: Architecture and Design" by Andrew Plumridge and Win Meulenkamp (Abrams, $29.95)
"Caring for Antiques: The Complete Guide to Handling, Cleaning, Display and Restoration" (Simon & Schuster, $35)
"Classical Furniture" by David Linley (Abrams, $60)
"The Complete Book of Shaker Furniture" by Timothy Rieman and Jean Burks (Abrams, $75)
"The Floral Decorator" by Kenneth Turner (Random House, $35)
"The New Fine Points of Furniture: Early American" by Albert Sack (Crown, $50)
"Tiles: 1,000 Years of Architectural Decoration" by Hans van Lemmen (Abrams, $60)
PERFORMING ARTS
"The Disney Poster: The Animated Film Classics from Mickey Mouse to Aladdin" (Hyperion, $35)
"Film: An International History of the Medium" by Robert Sklar ($49.50)
"Life into Art: Isadora Duncan and Her World" (Norton, $40)
"The Variety History of Show Business" (Abrams, $39.50)
"The Who's Tommy" (Pantheon, $40)
"The Ziegfeld Touch: The Life and Times of Florenz Ziegfeld Jr." by Richard and Paulette Ziegfeld (Abrams, $49.50)
PHOTOGRAPHY
"Alfred Stieglitz's Camera Notes" by Christian Peterson (Norton, $39.95)
"Ansel Adams in Color" (Little, Brown, $50)
"Double Exposure: Take Four," compiled and photographed by Roddy McDowall (Morrow, $65)
"JFK Remembered: An Intimate Portrait by His Personal Photographer, Jacques Lowe" (Random House, $37.50)
"Moments: Roxanne Lowit Photographs" (Vendome Press, $45)
"Phil Stern's Hollywood: Photographs, 1940-1979" (Knopf, $40)
"Stephen Sondheim" by Martin Gottfried (Abrams, $49.50)
"Van Der Zee, Photographer, 1886-1983" (Abrams, $39.95)
"Walker Evans: The Hungry Eye" by Gilles Mora (Abrams, $60)
PLACES & TRAVEL
"Africa: A Continent Revealed" by Rene Gordon (St. Martin's, $40)
"Big South Fork Country" by Sen. Howard Baker and John Netherton (Rutlege Hills Press, $29.95)
"Canyons of the Southwest" by John Annerino (Sierra Club, $25)
"Far Journeys: Photographs and Notebooks" by Bruce Chatwin (Viking, $35)
"Florence: The Biography of a City" by Christopher Hibbert (Norton, $35)
"The Great Hotels of Paris" by Bernard Etienne and Marc Gaillard (Vendome, $60)
"The Landmarks of New York II" by Barbaralee Diamonstein (Abrams, $49.50)
"Living in a Dream: Great Residences of the World" (Simon & Schuster, $60)
"Marin" (the California coastal county) by Beth Ashley and Hal Lauritzen (Chronicle, $29.95)
"Mission: The History and Architecture of the Missions of North America" by Roger Kennedy (Houghton Mifflin, $45)
"Morocco" by Paul Bowles and Barry Brukoff (Abrams, $49.50)
"Palaces of Vienna" by Wolfgang Kraus and Peter Muller (Vendome, $60)
"Portrait of Nepal" by Kevin Bubriski (Chronicle, $40)
"Reflections of Ireland" by James Joyce (Macmillan, $35)
"San Francisco" by Morton Beebe, Herb Caen et al. (Abrams, $49.50)
"Shropshire: A Memoir of the English Countryside" by Ellis Peters and Roy Morgan (Mysterious Press, $35)
"To Walk in Wilderness: A Rocky Mountain Journal" by John Fiedler and T.A. Barron (Westcliffe, $29.95, paper)
"The Traveler: An American Odyssey in the Himalayas" by Eric Hansen and Hugh Swift (Sierra Club, $25)
SPORT
"The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Fly-Fishing" by Silvio Calabi (Holt, $45)
"Golf Resorts of the World" by Brian McCallen and Mike Klemme (Abrams, $45)
"Legends of the Field: The Classic Sports Photography of Ozzie Sweet" (Viking, $40)
"Long Live the Longhorns!: 100 Years of Texas Football" by John Maher and Kirk Bohls; foreword by Darrell Royal (St. Martin's, $29.95)
"Muhammad Ali: A 30-Year Journey" by Howard L. Bingham (Simon & Schuster, $32.50)
OTHER NOTEWORTHY GIFT BOOKS NOT EASILY CLASSIFIED
"The African Americans" Viking, $45)
"Bob Vila's Toolbox: The Ultimate Illustrated Guide to Portable Hand and Power Tools" (Morrow, $25)
"Cowboy Gear: A Photographic Portrayal of the Early Cowboys and Their Equipment" (Dober Hill, $59.95)
"Dugout to Deco: Building in West Texas, 1880-1930" by Elizabeth Skidmore Sasser (Texas Tech University Press, $45)
"Faberge, Lost and Found: Recently Discovered Jewelry Designs from the St. Petersburg Archive" by A. Kenneth Snowman (Abrams, $49.50)
"The First Humans: Human Origins and History to 10,000 B.C." (HarperCollins, $40)
"Flowers, Birds and Unicorns: Medieval Needlepoint" by Candace Bahouth (Abrams, $29.95)
"From So Simple a Beginning: The Book of Evolution" by Philip Whitfield (Macmillan, $40)
"The Gods of Greece" by Arianna Huffinton and Francoise Gilot (Atlantic Monthly Press, $35)
"Graceland: The Living Legacy of Elvis Presley" (Collins, $50)
"The Great Domaines of Burgundy" by Remington Norman (Holt, $40)
"Quilt Paths Across Illinois: A Two-Century Heritage" by E. Duane Elbert and Rachel Kamm Elbert (Rutlege Hill Press, $34.95)
"Howard Carter Before Tutankhamun" by Nicholas Reeves and John H. Taylor (Abrams, $39.95)
"Icons: Creativity with Camera and Computer" by Douglas Kirkland (Collins, $25)
"The Jewelry and Enamels of Louis Comfort Tiffany" by Janet Zapata (Abrams, $39.50)
"The Lost Ships of Guadalcanal" by Robert D. Ballard (Warner Books, $39.95)
"The Metamorphoses of Ovid," a new verse translation by Allen Mandelbaum (Harcourt Brace, $40)
"Needlework Antique Flowers" by Elizabeth Bradley (Clarkson Potter, $35)