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Photographs by Craig 'Markowitz.
BY CARLA JEAN SCHWARTZ
I
f you are looking for a holiday
present that is exciting, new and
colorful, try an illustrated book.
You know the ones, those big,
thick volumes you see on your neigh-
bor's coffee table that seem too beau-
tiful to touch. Pick one up; browse
through it and enter the world of illus-
trated texts on all subjects
imaginable.
"This is an opportunity to be super-
ficial," says Christopher Leh-
mann-Haupt, New York Times book
critic. "It's insulting to give people a
book by Proust. They have either read
it, or they are not planning on reading
it
For readers and non-readers alike,
a beautifully photographed book
makes a great gift — appropriate for
a spouse, an employer, or a friend.
"It's a toy-like present, and you can
do more than read," says Mr. Leh-
mann-Haupt, who describes these
books as "obscenely lavish without
words."
Some gift books transcend many
age groups. "You can't go wrong with
books on Americana and the Civil
War, especially in your part of the
country," he says. Other safe books
he suggests are the Encyclopedia Random
House and the latest edition of the
Baseball Encyclopedia: The Complete and Of-
ficial Record of Major League Baseball,
published by Macmillan.
This season, the selection of gift
books is vast. There seems to be a
concentration on America and Ameri-
cana. The celebrated opening of Ellis
Island coincides with a book on this
nostalgic gateway. Hollywood is glori-
fied in other books; photos of stars,
fashions in films, and entire books on
James Dean and Katharine Hepburn
are in the bookstores. Home decor-
ating will be easy after you've finish-
ed browsing through books on
private New York residences and
Italian villas. You can travel the world
in books, from Ethiopia to the Horn
GIFT GUIDE '90 29