THE MOST BEAUTIFUL BOOKS TO GIVE

The BN team loves beautiful books. We are all ravenous collectors. And we love giving them as gifts too.

 

We’ve curated 10 of the most beautiful books for giving and receiving right now.

 

Photo: Courtesy of Taschen Books. Around the World in 125 Years.

 

1. National Geographic: Around the World in 125 Years

 

It’s hard to top 125 years worth of National Geographic photo masterpieces beautifully packaged in a special edition boxed set by Taschen. That’s why it’s at the top of our most beautiful books to give and receive right now.

Photo: Courtesy of National Geographic. Around the World in 125 Years.

“National Geographic: Around the World in 125 Years,” by Reuel Golden is a recently released Deluxe Edition containing the Society’s best photos ever.

 

"TASCHEN has taken these photos out of our archives and elevated them into the realm of fine art." -- Declan Moore (Executive VP, National Geographic Society)

 

(Taschen, 2013)

Image: Courtesy of Goff Books.

 

2. Paul Chesley: A Photographic Voyage

 

“Paul Chesley: A Photographic Voyage” is another National Geographic collection of extraordinary images from the 40-year career of National Geographic photographer Paul Chesley.

 

Give the gift of exotic travel to your favorite armchair voyagers, with 300 riveting photos from  Bhutan, Cambodia, and Bali --  to Cuba, Greenland, and the American West.

 

Chesley captures moments of beauty in these places where the landscapes and the people who live in their midst dance together even as the music changes. Exotic cultures in transition as you’ve never seen them before -- and never will again.

 

Noted journalist Keith Lorenz adds dimension and insight to these incredible images with a set of fascinating essays.

 

(Goff Books, 2013)

Image: Courtesy of Taschen Books.

 

3. Fritz Kahn

Considered the father of infographics, Fritz Kahn was a renaissance man. His work as a German doctor, educator, popular science writer, and information graphics pioneer, while brilliant, has been largely forgotten, not because of their lack but because of his life’s turmoil.

 

Kahn was chased out of Germany by the Nazis, who banned and burned his books. He fled to to Palestine, then France, and finally the United States to continue his life's work.

 

Perhaps Kahn’s most notable achievement was his ability to convey complex scientific ideas through creative illustrations.

 

“Fritz Kahn,” by Uta and Thilo von Debschitz, published on the 125th anniversary of Kahn's birth, features more than 350 illustrations with extensive captions, three original texts by Fritz Kahn, a foreword by Steven Heller, and an essay about Kahn’s life and œuvre.

 

It’s a beautiful gift for natural science buffs, graphics professionals, and anyone interested in visual expression of ideas.

 

(Taschen; Mul edition, 2013)

Image: Courtesy of Race Point Publishing.

 

4. The Art of the Handbag: Crazy Beautiful Bags

 

If you know someone who has a passion for beautiful handbags, “The Art of the Handbag: Crazy Beautiful Bags,” by Clare Anthony will blow them away. They’ll love the 100 beautifully photographed bags created by 25 contemporary handbag designers.

 

Check out the crystal-studded Judith Leiber metal “minaudières,” the James Piatt “Peacekeeper” with its brass-knuckle handle, the Lulu Guinness red snakeskin “Lips” clutch, the Hester van Eeghen “Monocle” bag, the Kathleen Dustin delicate “Rose Bud” wrist purse, and the Inés Figaredo retro “Telephone” shoulder bag, among others.

 

 

(Race Point Publishing, 2013)

Image: Courtesy of Rizzoli.

 

5. One Hundred & One Beautiful Small Towns in Italy

 

The is a small book about small towns in Italy. Pop it in a stocking or a pocket. You can carry it with you as you travel deep into Italian countrysides. “One Hundred & One Beautiful Small Towns in Italy,” by Paolo Lazzarin, is packed with information about the landscapes, architecture, history, and culture in and around 101 towns, scattered among twenty diverse regions.

 

The sidebars contain travel tips you will appreciate. Check it out if you want to know where to find the best art, the best place to buy Parmigiano Reggiano, the best local music, the best places for horse races, and more. If there is such a thing as guided serendipity -- this is it -- a beautiful best of off-the-beaten-path.

 

(Rizzoli, 2014)

Image: Courtesy of Sterling Signature.

 

 

6. Style & Simplicity: An A to Z Guide to Living a More Beautiful Life

 

It’s not just about what you have that counts. It’s about what you do with what you have… how you arrange it makes all the difference. The art of display is beautifully on display in “Style & Simplicity: An A to Z Guide to Living a More Beautiful Life,” by Ted Kennedy Watson.

 

Watson, an acclaimed retailer, blogger, and stylist, has a passion for the beautiful and unusual. He shares it with us in his gorgeous guide. And he shows us how we can create spectacular environments with the sensual art of arrangement.

(Sterling Signature, 2014)

Photo: Courtesy of Metropolitan Museum of Art.

 

7. Ink Art: Past as Present in Contemporary China

 

Ink art is a Chinese tradition that dates back over 5,000 year ago. From swift brush slashes to rough ink stick swipes to meticulous drawings,we’ve seen,  by many examples, how ink runs through the veins of a wide range  Chinese artists.

 

It is a joy to see how 40 contemporary artists work with ink in “Ink Art: Past as Present in Contemporary China,” by Maxwell K. Hearn and Wu Hung. The book features 80 works, by 40 contemporary artists, including variations on the written word, radical abstractions, and contemporary landscapes. Ink makes art as expressed a range of surfaces, from paper to human skin.

 

The book includes such iconic pieces as Book from the Sky by Xu Bing, Han Jar Overpainted with Coca Cola Logo, by Ai Weiwei, “pseudo-characters” by Gu Wenda, handscrolls by Liu Dan, as well as videos and animation by Qiu Anxiong and Chen Shaoxiong.

 

(Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2013)

Image: Courtesy of Potter Craft.

 

8. Little Book of Book Making: Timeless Techniques and Fresh Ideas for Beautiful Handmade Books

 

Now that bound books with black ink printed on paper pages are sharing the reading universe with the digital variety, we’ve come to especially cherish the handmade variety.

“Little Book of Book Making: Timeless Techniques and Fresh Ideas for Beautiful Handmade Books,” by Charlotte Rivers, shows you how they can be made into works of art.

 

Making books by hand has never been cooler, with this inspiring guide to 30 top bookmakers working today, plus 21 tutorials for essential techniques to make your own books.

 

(Potter Craft, 2013)

Image: Courtesy of Laurence King Publishing.

 

9. Bold, Beautiful and Damned: The World of 1980s Fashion Illustrator Tony Viramontes

 

“Bold, Beautiful and Damned: The World of 1980s Fashion Illustrator Tony Viramontes,” by Dean Rhys-Morgan, Amy Fine Collins (Afterword), Jean Paul Gaultier (Foreword).

 

Tony Viramontes was a fashion illustrator star that emerged in the late 1970s that brought a bold colorful splash to a world used to soft pastel. Fashion publications clamored for his work, including Lei, Per Lui in Italy, Vogue in the USA, The Face in Britain, and Le Monde and Le Figaro in France.

 

This beautiful hardcover book brings together an extensive collection of his work. Known for his smoky eyes and searing stares, Viramontes worked with some of the most celebrated names in fashion including Yves Saint Laurent, Valentino, Chanel, Claude Montana, and Christian Dior.

 

(Laurence King Publishing, 2013)

Image: Courtesy of Bloomsbury USA.

 

10. A More Beautiful Question: The Power of Inquiry to Spark Breakthrough Ideas

The most beautiful questions are the ones that spark new ideas.

 

Innovation guru Warren Berger shows us how they work in his new book, “A More Beautiful Question: The Power of Inquiry to Spark Breakthrough Ideas.”

 

It is the ability to question—and to do so deeply, imaginatively, and “beautifully” that sets great thinkers apart. Berger gives examples from companies who celebrate questions, such as Google, Nike, Netflix, Pandora and Airbnb and draws parallels to questions we might ask of ourselves.

 

Beyond the broad Who What Where When Why and How pillars of inquisitive minds, Berger shows the layers and angles of life-changing asks.

 

• “In this wise book, Warren Berger shows us how crucial it is to question every aspect of our lives, from business to school to our choice of toothpaste. My question: Why wouldn’t you read this book?”

• —A.J. Jacobs, New York Times best-selling author and Esquire columnist

•  

 

(Bloomsbury USA, 2014)

 

 

Read more about Beautiful Giving, as it relates Arts/Design, Nature/Science, Food/Drink, Place/Time, Mind/Body, and Soul/Impact in our posts throughout this week.

 

Get busy and enter the BN Competitions, Our theme this week is Beautiful Giving. Send in your images and ideas. Deadline is 12.15.13.

 

Photo: Courtesy of InterActiveMediaSW.

 

Also, check out our special competition: The Most Beautiful Sound in the World! We are thrilled about this effort, together with SoundCloud and The Sound Agency. And we can’t wait to hear what you’ve got!