When you still have people fingering the chords to “Stairway to Heaven” at your local guitar shop or while playing (insert either Rock Band or Guitar Hero), that’s how you know the meaning of transcendence. Enter Led Zeppelin. Now, rare and never before released photos of the band from their early years as the New Yardbirds to their last performance in London 2007 have been compiled in Led Zeppelin: Good Times, Bad Times. With a foreword by Anthony DeCurtis, Led Zeppelin: Good Times, Bad Times provides a photographic history of the band as ultimate decadent figures of ‘70s culture. Die hard fans and newbies to Led Zeppelin would appreciate this visual lesson in rock and roll glory.

—Eleanore Catolico

Renowned concert photographer Jim Marshall comes out with a legendary archive of musicians since the late 1950s entitled Trust: Photographs of Jim Marshall (October 2009). Totally relentless in his approach by demanding complete access to his subjects, Marshall documented the Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix, and John Coltrane with candid poignancy that few could ever really emulate. Marshall’s emphasis on ‘trust’ between both himself and these artists makes these images all the more relevant—a body of work that continues to grow into this century with portraits of artists that matter taken when it mattered. Give this gift to anyone who loves photography or music history.

  AMAZON

—Eleanore Catolico

Sometimes art shies away from political change and controversy, and sometimes art can ignite it. This coffee table book showcases the artwork inspired by Barrack Obama’s Campaign for Change. Shepard Fairey, the street artist who painted the now infamous “Obama Hope Stencil” (2008) edited this collection along with Jennifer Gross, of the Manifest Hope project. This book is the perfect gift for any loving-liberal who still tears up at the mention of Obama’s acceptation speech. But it is also perfect for any armchair historian, artist, or propaganda enthusiast too. More than just the beautiful paintings, renderings and sketches of the U.S. President, Art for Obama also illustrates the sheer talent of young American art communities. Soon this book will be a chronicle of nostalgia, for now it’s still quite inspiring of Hope and Change.

AMAZON

—Katharine Wray

London is a sumptuous limited edition book of revealing and engaging photography of one of the world’s great cities. Taking in the high spots as well as capturing the pulse of life in the metropolis, this is what the coffee table was designed for. Bryant’s photography captures the full range of life and expression in this iconic city: from the quiet lanes, private gardens and architectural detail of beautiful old buildings to industrial zones, marketplaces, pubs, galleries, parks and the tube. It’s an illuminating and stunning look at the grand old city. As an extra bonus, this book is a limited to an edition of 5,000 and comes with a numbered photographic print of Tower Bridge signed by the photographer.

AMAZON

—Sarah Zupko

Humor is relative. I just wish he were related to somebody else. I just made that up. I think. But I probably heard it somewhere else in the past, oh, 80 years of American humor that is captured in pop culture and ray-gunned at my susceptible brain from the boob tube, from radio waves, from subliminal messages flashing on the silver screen, from my own sick, twisted genetically programmed need to find some things in life to be just so damned funny while my mate sits beside me, arms crossed, eyes rolling. Indeed, most all of the humor captured in this anthology of “The Funny Business of America” is relatively funny. OK, that’s corny. But one can’t help but be inspired to give it a shot when flipping through these pages of funny quotes, funny pictures, and funny bits of historical trivia that, well, really make you laugh, or guffaw, or at least giggle a bit. (Any less than that and if you’re not already dead then you should be, dammit.) You may prefer Phyllis Diller (from the “Nerds, Jerks, Oddballs, and Slackers” section) to Richard Pryor (in “The Groundbreakers” section), but no matter the shade of your quirk (slapstick? dark? sophisticated? crude?), this book has you covered.  Based on the documentary film of the same title by Michael Kantor (aired on PBS), give this coffee-table-sized book to someone whom you want to make, at the very least, smile.

AMAZON

—Karen Zarker

Treating the movie poster as the legitimate and pioneering art form that it is, this massive collection of more than 1,500 examples of international poster art will delight the art gallery crowd as much as the hard core film buff. Covering postwar movie history and spanning the globe, the book offers a comprehensive look at 2D representations of film. The focus here is firmly on the art side of the equation with works that would feel right at home in any fine art gallery or museum. Indeed, these posters do all reside at New York’s Posteritati Gallery. There are many milestones in graphic design represented on these fine glossy pages as well as a lifetime of moviegoing memories. Deluxe, gorgeous and thought-provoking all at once.

Art of the Modern Movie Poster: International Postwar Style and Design

—Sarah Zupko