Sunday, December 07, 2003

By Bob Hoover, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

It's believed that the first "Christmas gift roundup" in an American newspaper contained only two books: " 'Twas the Night Before Christmas" and "The Presidential Humor of John Tyler." (They were both stocking stuffers, but then, most presents were in those days.)

Nowadays, many books are designed for the sole purpose of being gifts.

In their dreams, publishers see roundups of these titles in print rather than sugarplums, and they direct their underpaid flacks to call editors with "roundup" suggestions.

In resisting their blandishments this year, I present my own roundup of idiosyncratic choices designed for the more discriminating or oddball taste.

It might be the last roundup I ever do, but I'm sure you'll find something on it for that certain someone.

"100 Suns"; edited by Michael Light (Knopf, $45)

Starting with the Trinity test blast on July 16, 1945, the United States exploded more than 200 nuclear bombs in the atmosphere through 1963, when the first test ban treaty with the Soviet Union was signed.

The government photographed and filmed these tests and then shoved the photos in an album marked "Top Secret" for years. Now we can see them in this handsome volume.

Photographer Michael Light selected them from files at Los Alamos, N.M., home of the nuclear weapons program, and the National Archives.

There's not much text -- notes by Light, brief captions and a historical chronology of these diabolical weapons with one egregious mistake: the wrong date for the JFK assassination.

Included are both Trinity, the first atomic bomb detonation, at a mere 21 kilotons, and Mike, the first hydrogen bomb, which scared its makers when it "ran away" and hit 10.4 megatons at a Pacific atoll in 1952.

At first blush, these images have a dated quality to them, Cold War relics, until you realize that as of last year, there were nearly 20,000 bombs in American and Russian hands and who knows how many more in Europe as well as India, Pakistan and North Korea.

"Diaspora"; photographs by Frederic Brenner (HarperCollins, two volume boxed set, $100)

French photographer Brenner started this worldwide project in 1978 and spent 25 years to produce this singular study of Jews.

His goal was a portrait of the people who were scattered to the four corners, taking their culture with them. In the process, he demonstrates that there are no stereotypes, only individuals.

From an Iraqi Jew whose family fled to Calcutta to dirt-poor residents of Birobidzhan living in industrial gloom, it's a massive achievement. The photos, nearly 300 in all, have a rough, documentary feel to them, but Brenner's fervor shines through.

The companion volume contains essays by such observers as Carlos Fuentes, Jacques Derrida and Julius Lester.

"America 24/7: A Nation Tells Its Story Through a Digital Lens"; edited by Rick Smolan and David Elliot Cohen (DK, $50)

This weighty tome requires an extra-strong coffee table to hold it. It's a variation on the "Day In the Life" photo books Smolan and Pittsburgher Cohen have been doing for years, with a populist twist.

The pair solicited digital photos taken May 12-May 18 with the theme: "What does it mean to be an American?"

From 25,000 entries, they culled 1,200 shots. (Post-Gazette photographers Annie O'Neill, Robin Rombach and John Beale are listed as contributors.)

Contributing essays come from Barbara Kingsolver, Naomi Shihab Nye and Robert Olen Butler.

It's a glossy, handsome package made impressive by the speed in which it was produced -- just in time for the holidays -- thanks to digital technology. Adding a particularly commercial quality to the project is the $5.99 option to have your own picture turned into a personalized cover for the book.

In theory, books like these could be produced every year, or month, for that matter. Then, what do you do with them?

"Through the Lens: National Geographic Greatest Photographs"; introduction by Paul Martin (National Geographic, $30)

Here's one way to reuse all those pictures taken for the magazine over the years -- package them in a 500-page edition at a relatively low price.

The price will be even lower on the remainder tables in a few months, but in the meantime, this heavyweight production is a visual travelogue through space and time.

Divided into chapters by geography, including outer space, the book is a blend of historic and contemporary photos by the magazine's team of crack shooters.

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