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Spineless: Portraits of Marine Invertebrates by Susan Middleton (Abrams)
A stunning collection of close-up photos of marine invertebrates, from octopi to jellies, from sea nymphs to nudibranchs. You will marvel (as did I) at the beauty of these creatures, and wonder how it is possible that so many of the delicate little creatures have been caught on film with such clarity.
75 Years of Marvel Comics, edited by Roy Thomas and Josh Baker (Taschen)
From their first issue in 1939, the creators of Marvel's Golden Age flipped the traditional fantasy script by placing the inhuman and the invincible into the real world. From the Human Torch and Sub-Mariner to Spider-Man and the Fantastic Four, from Stan Lee and Jack Kirby to Steve Ditko and Marie Severin, this is the one- (very large) volume history of Marvel that no true comics nerd can spend another day not owning. In celebration of Marvel's 75th anniversary, Taschen presents a magnum opus of arguably the most influential comic book publisher ever, with an inside look at its celebrated characters and their creators. Contains more than 700 pages, almost 2,000 images, and a four-foot accordion-fold timeline. ($199.99)
The Secret History of Wonder Woman by Jill Lepore (Knopf)
Speaking of comics, there's way more to the Wonder Woman story than her "lasso of truth" and jewelry used as armor. It's a story of feminism, power and one that Jill Lepore reveals with depth. A riveting work of historical detection revealing that the origin of one of the world's most iconic superheroes hides within it a fascinating family story--and a crucial history of twentieth-century feminism.
The Haight: Love, Rock, and Revolution by Jim Marshall and Joel Selvin (Insight)
The legendary photographer Jim Marshall visually chronicled the Summer of Love as it sprouted up in the Haight in the late '60's. Renowned for his portraits of some of the greatest musicians of the era, Marshall covered Haight-Ashbury with the same unique eye that allowed him to amass a staggering archive of music photography and Grammy recognition for his work. In this one-of-a-kind book, the full extent of Marshall's Haight-Ashbury photography is stunningly displayed. Written by Joel Selvin, the story behind each of these incomparable images is disclosed through a revealing narrative, lending the images a fascinating context and prospective.
Carleton Watkins: the Stanford Albums (Stanford University Press) 
We featured this one in a newsletter back in May, but we're feeling pretty good about this being one of our most popular gift books of this holiday season. At a mere $40, this large-format monograph of Carleton Watkins' early and iconic photos of California--including images from Yosemite and the Bay Area--is a marvel. And did we mention that it is priced at only $40? And the print run has been exhausted, so many other stores are already out of it. We laid in deep because we love you.
Blue Note: Uncompromising Expression by Richard Havers (Chronicle)
By far the most comprehensive book ever about one of the great music labels of all time. This masterpiece deserves to be under the tree (or festivus pole) of every jazz buff in the land!
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