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Footnote: I've just received from University of California Press a book called The Secret History of al Qaeda, by Abdel Bari Atwan. I'll report on this, along with some other recent books related to the conflict, within the next few weeks.
And to avoid seeing Islam in one context only, take a look at Ink and Gold: Islamic Calligraphy, by Marcus Fraser and Will Kwiatkowski (distributed in the U.S. by the Univ. of Washington Press). This slim, beautifully produced volume gives a sense of the long sweep (both in time and place) of Islam's history.
Of course, for lovers of art books (and gift-givers with an eye on the calendar), there is always a dizzying array of choices. Another superb volume from the University of Washington Press is Adam Elsheimer 1578-1610, an exhibition catalogue devoted to the work of a German artist whose life was tragically short. If you are not instantly drawn in by the haunting reproduction on the cover, this won't be your cup of tea.
Last week I mentioned books on prayer. From the National Gallery of Art, Harvard University Art Museums, and Yale University Press comes a magnificent exhibition catalogue, Prayers and Portraits: Unfolding the Netherlandish Diptych, by John Oliver Hand, Catherine A. Metzger, and Ron Spronk, done with Yale's characteristic excellence. (The exhibition will be at the National Gallery through February 4 before moving to Antwerp.) And for those who want to plunge into the subject more deeply, there's a companion volume from HUMA and Yale University Press, Essays in Context: Unfolding the Netherlandish Diptych, edited by Hand and Stronk.
Departing from the realm of art books, if you have an insatiable Lincoln buff on your gift list—or are one yourself—and you are wondering which title among the many recent ones you might pick up, a good choice is Douglas Wilson's Lincoln's Sword: The Presidency and the Power of Words (Knopf). Wilson, who won the Lincoln Prize in 1999 for Honor's Voice: The Transformation of Abraham Lincoln, will appeal to readers who have enjoyed recent studies of Lincoln's rhetoric by Garry Wills and Ronald White, among others. And back at the beginning of 2006, Knopf also published Richard Carwardine's excellent book Lincoln: A Life of Purpose and Power, earlier available from Longman in more limited distribution; if you haven't added it your collection, you should. (My copy has vanished, alas.)
Aiiiee! We've barely gotten started—the unmentioned books reproach me—but it is time to stop for now. Next week: my favorite books of the year (favorite, not necessarily the best). We're doing that just a bit earlier than in previous years. And then later in the month: the year in books.
John Wilson is the editor of Books & Culture.
Copyright © 2006 Books & Culture. Click for reprint information.
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