Let us be your personal shoppers!
ABC’s booksellers don’t just sell books: as well as being voracious readers, almost everyone you’ll meet at the cash desk at ABC is personally responsible for buying the books for one or more sections in the store. That means you’ll always find someone who can put exactly the right book in your hands when you need it. We asked our buyers for their tips for the best gifts for Christmas, and they came up with some crackers: a sackful of ideas to suit every taste and budget. There are new books, classic books, magazines, games, puzzles, and even cuddly toys. Here are just a few of their ideas. Follow the links to find more ideas on:
History
Animals
Fiction
Photography
Or, to see all of our gift ideas for 2011, see the other posts!
History
A Little History of the World: Illustrated Edition – E. H. Gombrich
E. H. Gombrich’s Little History of the World, though written in 1935, has become one of the treasures of historical writing since its first publication in English in 2005.
This illustrated edition of the Little History brings together the pellucid humanity of his narrative with the images that may well have been in his mind’s eye as he wrote the book. The two hundred illustrations—most of them in full color—are not simple embellishments, though they are beautiful. They emerge from the text, enrich the author’s intention, and deepen the pleasure of reading this remarkable work.
For this edition the text is reset in a spacious format, flowing around illustrations that range from paintings to line drawings, emblems, motifs, and symbols. The book incorporates freshly drawn maps, a revised preface, and a new index.
Blending high-grade design, fine paper, and classic binding, this is a sumptuous gift book.
Military History Magazine, History Today Magazine, Smithsonian Magazine. Have they arrived recently? Check here!
Military History magazine details land, naval and air warfare from ancient times to the late 20th century. History Today has the same broad time frame, and gives varied and educating articles, from a look at Libya before Gadaffi’s coup to lost letters from Admiral Nelson, to a look at how advertisements contain information about the times they were put together in. Smithsonian magazine, as you would expect, combines history with art and science – and has been doing so for 41 years!
The Embarrassment of Riches – Simon Schama
In a brilliantly inventive work, bestselling author Simon Schama explores the enigma of 17th-century Holland, a nation that attained an unprecedented level of affluence, yet lived in constant dread of being corrupted by prosperity. Drawing on a vast array of period documents and sumptuously reproduced art, The Embarrassment of Riches throbs with life on every page.
Catherine The Great: Portrait of A Woman – Robert K. Massie
The Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Peter the Great, Nicholas and Alexandra, and The Romanovs returns with another masterpiece of narrative biography, the extraordinary story of an obscure young German princess who traveled to Russia at fourteen and rose to become one of the most remarkable, powerful, and captivating women in history.
Vanished Kingdoms : The History of Half-Forgotten Europe – Norman Davies
Europe’s history is littered with kingdoms, duchies, empires and republics which have now disappeared but which were once fixtures on the map of their age – ‘the Empire of Aragon’ which once dominated the western Mediterranean; the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, for a time the largest country in Europe; the successive kingdoms (and one duchy) of Burgundy, much of whose history is now half-remembered – or half-forgotten – at best. This book shows the reader how to peer through the cracks of mainstream history writing and listen to the echoes of lost realms across the centuries.
Animals
I Am Maru – Mugumogu
This round, adorable Scottish Fold cat may be an internet sensation, but he knows how to keep his celebrity status from going to his fluffy head . . . mostly. Maru and his owner, mugumogu, give readers a peek into the low-key life of the world’s most famous cat. See all his favorite hiding places—trash cans, cupboards, cereal boxes… if it’s cozy, he’s there—meet his treasured toys, and learn what it means to wield just the right amount of cat-titude.
Unlikely Friendships: 47 Remarkable Stories from the Animal Kingdom – Jennifer S. Holland
Written by National Geographic magazine writer Jennifer Holland, Unlikely Friendships documents one heartwarming tale after another of animals who, with nothing else in common, bond in the most unexpected ways. A cat and a bird. A mare and a fawn. An elephant and a sheep. A snake and a hamster. The well-documented stories of Koko the gorilla and All Ball the kitten; and the hippo Owen and the tortoise Mzee. And almost inexplicable stories of predators befriending prey .These are the most amazing friendships between species, collected from around the world and documented in a selection of full-color candid photographs.
My Family and Other Animals – Gerald Durrell
‘What we all need’, said Larry, ‘is sunshine…a country where we can grow’. ‘Yes, dear, that would be nice’, agreed Mother, not really listening. ‘I had a letter from George this morning – he says Corfu’s wonderful. Why don’t we pack up and go to Greece?’. ‘Very well, dear, if you like’, said Mother unguardedly. Escaping the ills of the British climate, the Durrell family – acne-ridden Margo, gun-toting Leslie, bookworm Lawrence and budding naturalist Gerry, along with their long-suffering mother and Roger the dog – take off for the island of Corfu. But the Durrells find that, reluctantly, they must share their various villas with a menagerie of local fauna – among them scorpions, geckos, toads, bats and butterflies. Recounted with immense humour and charm, My Family and Other Animals is a wonderful account of a rare, magical childhood.
Cesar’s Way: the Natural, Everyday Guide to Understanding and Correcting Common Dog Problems – Cesar Milan
Cesar’s formula for a contented and balanced dog seems impossibly simple: exercise, discipline, and affection, in that order. Taking readers through the basics of dog psychology and behavior, Cesar shares the inside details of some of his most fascinating cases, using them to illustrate how common behavior issues develop and, more important, how they can be corrected.
Whether you’re having issues with your dog or just want to make a good bond even stronger, this book will give you a deeper appreciation of how your dog sees the world, and it will help make your relationship with your beloved pet a richer and more rewarding one.
Wildlife Magazine
Wildlife is a monthly magazine, founded by the BBC, with informative writing and world-class photography. It publishes the latest discoveries, views and news on wildlife, conservation and environmental issues.
Fiction
The Marriage Plot – Jeffrey Eugenides
First we had the thrilling The Virgin Suicides, then the amazing Middlesex and now, finally, the astonishing The Marriage Plot.
The Art of Fielding – Chad Harbach
A big, bold and bedazzling debut about a group of young men coming of age on the baseball field. Will uplift your spirit.
Rebecca – Daphne du Maurier
Immortalised by Hitchcock, but still a wonderful classic read on a dark winter’s night.
The Big Sleep – Raymond Chandler
Noir crime doesn’t come better than this. Will keep you up all night.
Shantaram – Gregory David Roberts
The most intriguing autobiographical novel of the last ten years about a man rising up from the crime-riddled slums of Bombay.
The Corrections – Jonathan Franzen
Before Freedom he was already of one the biggest literary talents around.
Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Raven”
It talks!!
Reading Lamp
It shines!!
The Believer magazine. Has it arrived recently? Check here.
Dave Eggers makes you believe!
The New Yorker magazine. Has it arrived recently? Check here.
The magazine for the inner literary snob.
Magnetic Bookmarks
Finally, bookmarks that don’t fall out of books!
Photography
Where Children Sleep – James Mollison
Where Children Sleep presents English-born photographer James Mollison’s large-format photographs of children’s bedrooms around the world–from the U.S.A., Mexico, Brazil, England, Italy, Israel and the West Bank, Kenya, Senegal, Lesotho, Nepal, China and India–alongside portraits of the children themselves. Each pair of photographs is accompanied by an extended caption that tells the story of each child: Kaya in Tokyo, whose proud mother spends $1,000 a month on her dresses; Bilal the Bedouin shepherd boy, who sleeps outdoors with his father’s herd of goats; the Nepali girl Indira, who has worked in a granite quarry since she was three; and Ankhohxet, the Kraho boy who sleeps on the floor of a hut deep in the Amazon jungle. Photographed over two years with the support of Save the Children (Italy), Where Children Sleep is both a serious photo-essay for an adult audience, and also an educational book that engages children themselves in the lives of other children around the world. Its cover features a child’s mobile printed in glow-in-the-dark ink.
Ed Fox, Vol. 2 – Dian Hanson
Ed Fox has become internationally known for a sensual photographic style that captures every curve of a woman’s body, right down to the tips of her toes. In Ed Fox II he brings us voluptuous new models, arresting locations–many blending the desert landscapes of Southern California with Fox’s passion for automobiles–and fantasies mild to extra spicy, all shot in warm, caressing natural light. And, like Glamour From the Ground Up, Ed Fox II comes with a 60-minute original DVD, bringing the still photos to vibrant life.
The Polaroid Book: Selections from the Polaroid Collections of Photography – Steve Crist & Barbara Hitchcock
This survey features more than 400 works from the Polaroid Collection along with essays by Hitchcock, who illuminates the beginnings and history of the Polaroid Corporation.
Lady Gaga x Terry Richardson – Terry Richardson
In this book of original, behind-the-scenes photographs, acclaimed photographer Terry Richardson follows superstar Lady Gaga during one year of her life, from Lollapalooza through the final show of her Monster Ball tour. During the time period he followed Gaga, Richardson took over 100,000 images and attended more than 30 Monster Ball dates around the world. From the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards to the Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell repeal rally in Portland, Maine, to the Thierry Mugler show at Maxime, Paris, Richardson captures Lady Gaga as you’ve never seen her before. A year-long global odyssey- -all access, nothing off limits–this is the book Lady Gaga fans have been waiting for.
Pilgrimage – Annie Leibovitz
Pilgrimage took Annie Leibovitz to places that she could explore with no agenda. She wasn’t on assignment. She chose the subjects simply because they meant something to her. The first place was Emily Dickinson’s house in Amherst, Massachusetts, which Leibovitz visited with a small digital camera. A few months later, she went with her three young children to Niagara Falls. “That’s when I started making lists,” she says. She added the houses of Virginia Woolf and Charles Darwin in the English countryside and Sigmund Freud’s final home, in London, but most of the places on the lists were American. The work became more ambitious as Leibovitz discovered that she wanted to photograph objects as well as rooms and landscapes. She began to use more sophisticated cameras and a tripod and to travel with an assistant, but the project remained personal.
Tags: animals, Fiction, gift ideas, gift ideas for christmas 2011, Gifts, History, lists, nature, Photography, recommendations