Defining what makes a good gift

Mother's birthday? Nephew's graduation? Second cousin twice removed's wedding? If you need help selecting a gift for any occasion, you've come to the right place. What gift is always the right color, the right size, and the right price? Why, books, of course!

REVIEWS BY MIRIAM DRENNAN

It seems dinosaurs are more popular than ever (well, who was around during the Jurassic period who can tell me differently??). Academic Press and private collector John Lanzendorf joined forces to present Dinosaur Imagery: The Science of Lost Worlds and Jurassic Art. A phenomenal collection of paleo-art and commentary, the book offers browsers glimpses of intricate sculptures, precision sketches, and action-packed paintings alongside text written by some of the world's best research paleontologists. The featured works are as varied as the famous artists who created them: drawings by James Gurney from the Dinotopia series; sculptures by Disney animator David Krentz (yes, he was involved in the blockbuster Dinosaur); King Kong; and Charles Knight-inspired works by husband and wife team Stephen and Sylvia Czerkas, who are also accomplished scientists.


Ever thought about where our world would be without risk takers like Jacques Cousteau, Charles Lindbergh, or Ernest Shackleton? The mission of the explorer includes finding the lost and undiscovered. The National Geographic Society has taken 122 years of discovery and produced National Geographic Expeditions Atlas: True Stories of the Adventurers Who Helped Define Our World. Revisit the 1910 expedition of Ralph Tarr and Lawrence Martin, who studied Alaskan glaciers; the near-disastrous re-entry of John Glenn aboard the Mercury capsule; Jacques Cousteau's inventing and re-inventing the Aqua-Lung. Packed with photographs, maps, and contributions from National Geographic staff as well as the explorers themselves, Expeditions Atlas reaches from the depths of the sea to outer space, and all that's east and west.


Of course, there's much to be discovered in the interior as well. American Modern: 1925-1940, Design for a New Age covers the unique period known for housing the Art Deco movement, among other distinct design influences. Compiled from the traveling exhibition that features objects from both the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the John C. Waddell Collection, American Modern captures the utilitarian emphasis of this unique period. Beginning with the 1925 Exposition des Arts Decoratifs et Industriels Modernes and ending with World War II, readers can glimpse the search to "clean up" design as objects become less ornate and more geometric and streamlined. The influence is apparent in architecture, furniture, floors, even vacuum cleaners (the Electrolux Model 30 is featured amid some very "clean" radios, coffee pots, and clocks). American Modern is the crisp accessory for the giftee whose style reflects this period.


And if definition can bring order to things, there is also a lot to be said for knowing the terms defined. For example, what's that mustache style called when it's connected to the sideburns? (A la Souvaroff, of course.) And what's that short thing that steadies a painter's hand to do detail work? (Oh, do you mean the mahlstick?) Here's one for the pre-MTV set: what do you call those folks who introduce music videos? (Veejays!) No, I am not naturally knowledgeable; I have a copy of Descriptionary: A Thematic Dictionary, Second Edition. Probably the most helpful update included is the category for the Internet, but literally thousands of words have been defined with regard to the question "what's that thing where/that . . . ?". Descriptionary is a very handy item to have around for that next term paper, article, or . . . what's the name of that board game where you have to know the words???


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