Presents For The Literary Mind

Impressive in scale, lavish in presentation, and great in girth, coffee table books are favorite choices for holiday giving:

It celebrates, commemorates and occasionally mourns old trees. “Meetings with Remarkable Trees” (Random House, $40 hardcover), written and photographed by Thomas Pakenham, is a personal look at some of the most interesting individual trees around the world. His selections include trees that took part in history, or served novel purposes (one near Shrewsbury, England, supports a half-timbered treehouse where Princess Victoria once took tea), or just stubbornly survived. Many are still-living links to ancient times.

“Requiem” (Random House, $65 hardcover), edited by Horst Faas and Tim Page, commemorates the men and women of many nationalities who died photographing the war in Vietnam and Cambodia, showcasing some of their most memorable images. This war claimed the lives of more reporters and photographers than any other conflict in history. Their adventures and sacrifices are considered in text contributed by noted journalists of the war - David Halberstam, Peter Arnett, Tad Bartimus, Nguyen Khuyen, John Laurence, Richard Pyle, Pierre Schoendoerffer, Neil Sheehan, Jon Swain and William Tuohy.

“The British Century” (Random House, $65 hardcover) collects photographs that trace the 20th century history of Great Britain from its height as the ruler of a far-flung empire to its current efforts to reinvent itself as a smaller, modern nation. Text by Brian Moynahan touches on the wars, royalty, politics, the social fabric and celebrity.

Once dismissed by serious critics as a mere popular illustrator, Norman Rockwell now commands respect that eluded him during his lifetime. In “Norman Rockwell” (Abrams, $45 hardcover), Karal Ann Marling assesses his achievements in the context of the American life he chronicled, most famously through his Saturday Evening Post covers.

A treat for theater lovers, “The New Amsterdam: The Biography of a Broadway Theatre” (Hyperion, $75 hardcover), by Mary Henderson, celebrates the restoration of this 1903 art nouveau showplace. The New York City theater served as launching pad for careers of show business greats such as Fred Astaire, Fanny Brice, Ethel Merman, Will Rogers, Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart and George Gershwin. The book’s cover opens unconventionally, mimicking curtains opening to the stage.

Few states have gone through as many changes as has Texas, and this rich history is the focus of “Texas Past: Enduring Legacy” (Texas Parks and Wildlife Press/Parks and Wildlife Foundation of Texas, $39.95 hardcover), by Andrew Sansom, with photographs by Wyman Meinzer. The book revisits sites associated with the state’s prehistoric era, early exploration and colonization, Mexican Texas and the Revolution, the Texas Republic, statehood, and the Confederate, Reconstruction and Victorian eras. The book can be ordered from the University of Texas Press, (800) 252-3206.