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From popular history to pop culture
A first look at some of the big books to give this year REVIEWS BY ALISON HOOD The holidays are nigh, but you can be ready with gifts aplenty for friends and family. Here are five books that are big and beautiful, soul-stirring and amusing. They're passports to distant eras and far-flung worlds, both real and imagined. So, before you wrap up these extraordinary gifts, take a peek into their pages and enjoy the adventure! Hands-on history
Tucked throughout the book are vellum envelopes filled with removable reproductions of historical documents, most notably Washington's letters to his wife and colleagues and recollections of the war from Continental Army soldiers. McCullough has wonderfully re-created the "times that try men's souls," not only from the American perspective, but from the viewpoint of the British commanders and Loyalists. This is a robust and insightful look into the hard-won freedom of our nation.
By David McCullough Simon & Schuster, $65 256 pages ISBN 9781416542100
100 Days in Photographs: Pivotal Events that Changed the World, by Nick Yapp, Douglas Brinkley and Chris Johns, is a powerhouse blend of image and story. Photographs selected from the historic collections of the National Geographic Society and Getty Images show us our world, from 1851 to the present day, with both elevating and awful truth. "Photography," says historian Brinkley in the book's foreword, "is a window onto our collective souls and struggles." This book, without a surfeit of unnecessary words, inarguably illustrates our human sufferings, but also our triumphs, curiosities and joys. Presented in chronological order and accompanied by brief, succinct histories written by London-based journalist Yapp, the photographs reflect a gamut of ground-breaking and mind-boggling events, from the Wright Brothers' first flight at Kitty Hawk, the fall of Saigon and the tumbling of the Berlin Wall, to a placid portrait of Dolly, the infamous cloned sheep. Photo captions give information about the photographers, their equipment and technique, and historic quotes round out the history behind each photograph. Many of the images included here are disturbing; they remind of us our most terrible capabilities. But they are, says Brinkley, "testimonials to an ever-evolving art form that teaches about ourselves. . . . And all we can do is be grateful for the discovery and recognition."
By Nick Yapp, Douglas Brinkley and Chris Johns National Geographic, $35 320 pages ISBN 9781426201974
The second-worst thing that gonzo chef, writer and intrepid traveler Anthony Bourdain has ever eaten, he claims, was "the notoriously stinky fermented shark" served to him in Iceland. This chef-turned-author and TV host (Kitchen Confidential, "A Cook's Tour") braves the rigors of the road and many an eclectic cuisine in No Reservations: Around the World on an Empty Stomach, a companion photo "scrapbook" to his latest Travel Channel television show. With just a five-person crew, a couple of cameras and a soupçon of offbeat sensibility, Bourdain and his cohorts reveal the world and its variant cultures through the lens of our universal human need to eat. From Asia to Africa, Paris to Beirut and on to our own great continent, they poke into unusual corners, alleys and the occasional jungle to capture on film an "honest and direct recording of the way life is lived in the rest of the world." No Reservations features the crew's own photos, behind-the-scenes glimpses of how the TV show comes together (or not), and Bourdain's bad-boy wit and acerbic commentary via small essays and photo captions. And, as he and his cohorts are travel pros, there's a down-and-dirty critique of the best and worst lavatories worldwide, and a commentary on "indigenous beverages" (most of which, he says, you must imbibe in order not to offend your host). Zany antics aside, No Reservations amply reflects Bourdain's search for the heart and soul of humanity—and, of course, the ultimate roast pig.
By Anthony Bourdain Bloomsbury, $34.95 288 pages ISBN 9781596914476
If you adore Wookiees and droids, long for a lightsaber of your own, or are eager to explore faraway galaxies, then The Star Wars Vault: Thirty Years of Treasures from the Lucasfilm Archives, is your go-to cache of intergalactic goodies. Brought to you by two of George Lucas' employees, Stephen J. Sansweet and Peter Vilmur, this collection of Star Wars memorabilia and (removable) ephemera is a one-of-a-kind paean to the creative fertility of Lucas and the cast of thousands who contributed to this massive franchise. The Star Wars Vault includes hundreds of photos and pieces of art; 50 items of memorabilia (notably, reproductions of Lucas' handwritten scripts); and two CDs featuring cast interviews, radio spots and a song or two from Princess Leia! With this scrapbook to end all scrapbooks, the authors have also framed a mind-bending, exacting prose history of the Star Wars saga, from its early days to the final Episode III; the book is a testament to moviemaking and the complex science of special effects. The imagined world of George Lucas has become a global cultural icon, with characters and dialogue inextricably sunk into our collective psyches. The Star Wars Vault reveals the complete genesis of Luke, Leia, Han and the Dark Lord, and is a must-have for all fans of The Force.
By Stephen J. Sansweet and Peter Vilmur HarperEntertainment, $85 128 pages ISBN 9780061257315
Maslon starts his tribute "at the very beginning," introducing us to the indomitable, irrepressible Maria and her adopted family, and intersperses their saga (from Salzburg to the States) with Oscar Hammerstein's memorable song lyrics and production shots from both movie and musical versions. The book segues almost seamlessly into a thoughtful and entertaining history of the show's genesis, from its very first production with Mary Martin, to the movie version with Julie Andrews and all the variant productions since and in between (including the Sound of Music sing-along phenomenon), ending with the recent Lloyd Webber stage revival. With its history of the rise of the Third Reich, a wealth of behind-the-scenes production anecdotes and a fascinating look at the creative processes of Rodgers and Hammerstein, The Sound of Music Companion is thoughtfully conceived, beautifully written and well-researched—a guaranteed candidate for any fan's shortlist of favorite things.
By Laurence Maslon Simon & Schuster/Fireside, $40 192 pages ISBN 9781416549543
Alison Hood writes from Marin County, California, where she regularly bumps into George Lucas (without his Wookiees) at the supermarket.
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David McCullough, Pulitzer Prize-winning author and historian, has improved upon his best-selling history, 1776, with 1776: The Illustrated Edition. An "interactive" version that includes relevant period artwork and facsimiles of historic maps, documents, broadsides, newspapers and correspondence, this beautifully designed edition adds a visual grace note to McCullough's eloquent, moving text. The narrative is abridged from the original book, but it is no less informative—the full impact of the trials of Gen. George Washington and America's fledgling rebel army is brought startlingly to life with the addition of famous images such as Washington Crossing the Delaware and portraits of key personages like Gen. Nathanael Greene, Alexander Hamilton and Gen. Henry Knox.
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The Sound of Music, a cultural icon of a different sort and one of the most beloved stories of our time, is lovingly and thoroughly celebrated in Laurence Maslon's The Sound of Music Companion. With a heartfelt foreword by Andrew Lloyd Webber (who recently brought the show back to the stage), this captivating, joyful book bursts with history, artwork and mementos, production still photography, song lyrics and stories all devoted to the musical and cinematic productions of the Von Trapp family story.