A feast of books A feast of books (December 07, 2005)

This year's gift books include a trio about San Francisco

by Don Kazak

This is the season when publishers bring out their most lavish and dazzling books, including art, photography, architecture and gardening, among others.

This year comic-strip lovers have the chance to get "The Complete Calvin & Hobbes," hardbound in three volumes. Music fans can take a look at Jerry Garcia's visual art pieces in "Jerry Garcia: The Collected Artwork" or some rare photographs of Bob Dylan before he became famous, in "Forever Young."

Three intriguing but offbeat books are Michael Wood's "In Search of Myths and Heroes" (looking for Shangra-La and King Arthur), "Yosemite In Time," which explores different perspectives over time, and "Chip Kidd: Book One, Work 1986-2006" by the graphic artist who has revolutionized the world of book jackets.

Other books worthy of note include three about San Francisco.

"The San Francisco Century: A City Rises From the 1906 Earthquake and Fire" by Carl Nolte and the San Francisco Chronicle staff; The San Francisco Chronicle Press; 256 pp.; $29.95

The photographs of the aftermath of the 1906 earthquake and fire are riveting, along with text describing the city that had been nearly destroyed and would be reborn.

"Century" is broken into theme-oriented chapters on such topics as the city's relation to the ocean and bay, and the evolution of the city's cultures in the 100 years since the earthquake and fire. Each features both historical and current images

The chapter on important news events covers much of the city's rich history.

For the casual or frequent visitor, "Century" is a comprehensive look at the city's last 100 years, bright with captivating images.

"Mystical San Francisco," photographs by Frederic Larson, text by Herb Caen; San Francisco Chronicle Press; 128 pp.; $29.95

This is a companion book of sorts to "San Francisco Century," both by San Francisco Chronicle staff -- Larson is a photojournalist for the newspaper. While "Century" is detailed and heavy with facts and images, "Mystical" is a collection of often-striking photographs that are spare and elegant in their grace and power.

The photos are accompanied by quotes selected from the many columns of the late Herb Caen, marrying words to images.

One example: A crescent moon seen through one of the towers of the Golden Gate Bridge is paired with this Caen quote: "There is time for one more dance, and then let's get serious."

"Golden Gate" by Richard Misrach; Aperture Foundation; 164 pp.; $50

This is a reissue of a beautiful book.

Misrach took hundreds of photographs of the Golden Gate Bridge, seen in the distance, from the porch of his home in the Berkeley hills, all identically composed. The lighting, weather and time of day make for the resulting rich diversity of the same view.

"The Complete New Yorker," introduction by David Remnick; Random House; $100

By complete, they mean complete. This is a publishing event of some note.

Every page of every issue of the New Yorker over 80 years, all 4,109 issues, is on 8 DVD-Rom disks, with an accompanying 124-page book of the highlights, including the magazine's history.

No other magazine has had more distinguished writers, been regarded as seriously, or has been more important to magazine journalism than the New Yorker.

"Cities of the World: A History in Maps" by Peter Whitfield; University of California Press; 208 pp.; $39.95

More than 60 of the world's great cities are featured in this display of historical maps, which show the cities as they once were. The map of Chicago, for instance, is from 1857.

But the book is more than old maps -- it has old illustrations, too, plus paintings and other renderings of what life was like in each city long ago, along with a synopsis of each city's founding, development and history.

"The Collins Big Book of Art," General Editor David G. Wilkins; Collins Design; 528 pp.; $39.95

"The Big Book of Art" has more than 1,000 reproductions of art and is really two books in one.

The first half, "The Chronology of Art," is a timeline of the development of art techniques and technology through the centuries, beginning more than 5,000 years ago. The second half, "Themes in Art," shows how various subjects have been expressed in art, including people, religion, still life, landscape, and more.

Short essays throughout the book explain the images that follow in what is an extraordinary one-volume collection of art.

"The Smaller Majority" by Piotr Naskrecki; The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press; 278 pp; $35

The author is a conservation biologist who takes photographs of "the 99 percent of animal life that are smaller than a human finger." More than 400 photographs are included.

The critters may be tiny, but they are colorful and depicted in great detail in these enlarged photographs. Senior Staff Writer Don Kazak can be e-mailed at dkazak@paweekly.com.

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