For everyone on your list


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For the Civil War buff

REVIEW BY CAROLYN CATES

Why does the Civil War still enthrall Americans and generate such keen interest? Why is it that people just won't let it go, insisting on reenacting battles and clinging to any bit of personal history that connects them with the war? Perhaps because oral history is such an important part of American culture, and this terrible war was so close to home. A new book gives voice to America's past in a unique way.

The Civil War: Unstilled Voices, by Chuck Lawliss, is a special collection of replicas of letters, memoirs, and newspaper articles that describes the war in different voices, from different perspectives. The war's varied participants tell their stories -- the soldiers, spies, nurses, writers, and prisoners, to name a few, both famous and unknown. These items can be removed from their envelopes as if readers have discovered them after many years. What an ingenious way to encourage interest in American history!


For Madeline fans

REVIEW BY MIRIAM DRENNAN

Bemelmans: The Life and Art of Madeline's Creator depicts Ludwig Bemelmans's life in such a way that the subtitle could easily be changed to "Life Beyond Madeline."

Austrian-born Bemelmans had a lovely early childhood, but it was interrupted at the age of six years, when his parents divorced. The next few years, spent primarily in Germany, were troublesome for him. Everyone wondered what kind of future awaited him. And while we think we know the rest of the story, Bemelmans gives us the scenic tour. John Bemelmans Marciano, Bemelmans's grandson, has assembled letters, excerpts, and delightful artwork to reflect his grandfather's lifelong love of drawing. We learn that though Bemelmans was no overnight success and experienced many dark periods throughout his life, his pens and sketchbook never left him.

Now, after reading and viewing Bemelmans, do we have the full story? Well, according to Marciano, we'll know "some of it anyway."


A way of life

REVIEW BY JONATHAN SHIPLEY

In Gift of the Whale: The Inupiat Bowhead Hunt, Alaska photographer Bill Hess offers a moving portrait of a remote and unforgiving region, a community, and the sacred traditions of the bowhead whale hunt that continues to sustain its people to this day. With this elegant and poignant book, we come to know the Inupiat community high in the Arctic region of Alaska. We find powerful images of harpooning. We cheer when hunters help rescue three whales caught in the ice. We worry as a friend is lost in the snow. We learn to understand and appreciate the whaling tradition and its importance to a people who have survived for 5,000 years -- and we can only hope will survive for 5,000 more.


For music lovers

REVIEW BY CHARLES WYRICK

If you are like me, then you know that one of the best places to catch live music on Saturday nights is your local PBS station. Why? Because Austin City Limits always delivers great music. From blues to country, folk to rock, tejano to swing, this program showcases almost every imaginable genre of music known to humankind. Austin City Limits: 25 Years of American Music celebrates the performers and songs that have made this fascinating program legendary. Packed with photographs and insightful artist profiles, this handsome book is perfect for music lovers. From Jerry Jeff Walker to Jerry Lee Lewis, Los Lobos to Lyle Lovett, this book, like the TV show that inspired it, has it all.


For movie lovers

REVIEW BY JIM RIDLEY

From Abbott and Costello to Close Encounters cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond, The Movie Book covers a century of cinema in alphabetical order in the latest edition of Phaidon Press's handsome

A-to-Z gift books. As a reference tool, the book is limited by its format, which restricts biographical information to terse (yet informative and judicious) blurbs. The main attractions, though, are the book's 500 stunningly presented photographs and stills, which will leave movie lovers salivating. For them, the book's worth having just for the shot of an exultant John Cassavetes recording the soundtrack for his landmark Shadows. And kudos to Phaidon for celebrating giants of world cinema such as Wong Kar-Wai and Abbas Kiarostami -- not to mention cult heroes like special-effects genius Ray Harryhausen and nudie auteur Russ Meyer -- along with the expected Tinseltown faves. Five hundred more, please.


The dog days of Christmas

REVIEW BY HEATHER BACON

In welcome contrast to typical coffee-table art books, George Rodrigue's Blue Dog Man provides a glimpse of the artist's creative evolution. Millions today are familiar with Blue Dog and his curious stare. Few, however, understand the relationship between the painter and his subject. Born as a "loup garou" (French for werewolf), Blue Dog has grown to symbolize Rodrigue's search for truth.

Though far from his Arcadian roots, Rodrigue has never forgotten his heritage and home. Without this foundation, there would be no Blue Dog to allow the artist to grow artistically. It is precisely this growth that has marked Rodrigue as one of the most interesting painters today. Concerned little with whether critics regard Blue Dog as high art or low art, Rodrigue is content that his icon provides him with a means of expression for his journey through life. While Blue Dog Man presents the reader with some of Rodrigue's finest images, it is the artist's prose that makes the book special. This fascinating account of an artist's favorite icon reminds us of one of the most valuable elements of artistic expression: change.


For genealogists

REVIEW BY BECCA HARBIN

Looking for that long lost great-aunt who once lived in California, got married, and moved to Timbuktu? Well, the key to tracing your ancestry is at your fingertips -- or your keyboard -- with Genealogy Online, a book by Elizabeth Crowe including 50 sites used to conduct genealogical searches online. This comprehensive and informative book has widespread appeal for people interested in finding their roots and creating or discovering their family trees. For those who are not Internet savvy, Part 1: The Basics, provides an excellent introduction to understanding modems, software, Internet jargon, and basic tips for online searches. This step-by-step guide to online family history searches is interesting, informative, and user-friendly. And you just might find that elusive aunt after all.



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