Holiday Book Shopping

Its not even Halloween Thanksgiving, and all these articles about Wal-Mart Stores (they said they cut prices on 15,000 items this week, 20% more than a year earlier) has me already thinking about getting an early jump on Christmas shopping.

I’ve only just begun thinking about some gifts, when i came across these few books that look intriguing;

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To Infinity and Beyond!: The Story of Pixar Animation Studios:

Wired had a killer review of this, which would be perfect for my movie loving friends with children: 

"To Infinity and Beyond! The Story of Pixar Animation Studios
is not that book. Instead, Karen Paik and Leslie Iwerk’s coffee-table
retrospective — packed with concept art, storyboards, and other fanboy
fodder — tells a gleaming rags-to-riches story with the happiest of
endings: How, in 1984, computer whiz Ed Catmull, whose underappreciated
computer division at Lucasfilm cracked the problem of computerized
motion-blur — then the holy grail of animation — hires John Lasseter,
sensing that the Disney washout’s storytelling chops could take the
fast-developing medium to a new level. How, two years later, Apple
exile Jobs hands Lucas $10 million for Catmull’s embattled group, then
lets it stumble along as a failing computer company until it scores an
Oscar in 1988 for Lasseter’s short, Tin Toy. Five of the
top-grossing films of all time follow, and Pixar grows into The Toy
That Ate Disney."

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Ralph Lauren:

Too expensive to buy for yourself, yet not so outrageous as to be inappropriately exhorbitant.

The perfect choice for that certain teacher of Fashion Illustration and Design . . . especially if its your wife, who I am betting won’t read this far down to know I am talking about her!   ; )

Amazon Description: "Unlike many designers, he is not known for a single signature look, but rather for his sweeping dreams of American living. Over the course of his career, the images of luxury, adventure, and beauty that he created have come to define American style. In this visually stunning book, Lauren speaks candidly for the first time ever about himself and his art. In part one, we get to know the designer through never-before-seen pictures of him in private life and with his family, living the lives he designs for. In his own words, we hear about his life, work, and inspiration. . ."

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Speed, Style, And Beauty

A random clicked defined — from the above book, I somehow managed to click and click again and found this gorgeous looking photo book of Lauren’s impeccable auto collection.

This book has my car pal Jan’s name written all over it (he’s done appraisals for Lauren, and raves about the collection).

Publisher’s Description: "Bugatti and Bentley, Alfa and Aston, Mercedes and McLaren–these are
not merely cars, they are some of the most exquisite automobiles ever
assembled, selected by Ralph Lauren, one of the most foremost designers
of our time. This breathtaking volume, which accompanies a major
exhibition at the MFA, Boston, features 29 of these wonders–from such
unparalleled masterpieces as the 1930 Mercedes Benz "Count Trossi," the
1938 Alfa Romeo Mille Miglia, and the 1938 Bugatti Atlantic Coupe to
marvels from Jaguar, Aston Martin, Ferrari, Porsche, and eve a Ford
"Woody"–each of these vehicles is beautifully and lovingly photographed
and presented with authoritative elegance."

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Write it When I’m Gone

I am not that much of a presidential history buff, but this one looks interesting: What is described as "an extraordinary series of private interviews" this book was composed over the course of sixteen years. The twist was this stipulation: they were not to be released until
after President Ford’s death:

"In 1974, award-winning journalist and author Thomas DeFrank, then a young correspondent for Newsweek,
was interviewing Vice President Gerald R. Ford when Ford blurted out
something astonishingly indiscreet related to the White House, came
around his desk, grabbed DeFrank’s tie, and told the reporter he could
not leave the room until he promised not to publish it. "Write it when
I’m dead," he said-and that agreement formed the basis for their
relationship for the next thirty-two years."

Sounds intriguing to me . . .

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Clapton: The Autobiography

I’m a big Clapton fan, and I’d be lying if i didn’t say I wasn’t the tiniest bit interested in his life of debauchery: It is, after all, a tale of Sex, Drugs, & Rock N Roll.

This has a winter vacation beach read written all over it.

The  last Rock-n-Roll book I read was So You Wanna Be a Rock & Roll Star: How I Machine-Gunned a Roomful Of Record Executives and Other True Tales from a Drummer’s Life — it was a very fun read — probably a lot lighter than Clapton’s . . .