Coffee table books

What do you get people who have everything? A very stylish coffee table book, of course! A bevy of beautiful tomes have been published in 2009 on everything from fashion designers' favorite recipes to those who've been accused of Russian espionage. Here are a few that caught our eye.

American Fashion Cookbook: 100 Designer's Best Recipes (Assouline, $45). The Council of Fashion Designers of America book of cooking recipes with a forward by Martha Stewart and text by Lisa Marsh. Check out Isaac Mizrahi's Mushroom Truffle spaghetti, Mark Ecko's "Adults Only" Chocolate Chip Cookies and John Varvatos' Calaloo Soup.

Resort Fashion: Style in Sun-Drenched Climates by Caroline Rennolds Milbank (Rizzoli, New York, $65) with a forward by Amy Fine Collins. From Chanel's beach pajamas to sailor stripes, this is a visual history of color, ease and playfulness that resort fashion is all about.

Russian Style by Evelina Khromtchenko (Assouline, $60). From Erte and Faberge to Lolita and Anna Karenina, leaf through photographs and witty stories about the elements of Russian style and culture that have influenced the world.

Valentina: American Couture and the Cult of Celebrity by Kohle Yohannan (Rizzoli, New York, $75) with a forward by Harold Koda and preface by Phyllis Magidson. Some 250 photographs and research tell the rags-to-riches story of the Ukrainian-born beauty by the same name who shot to the top of American fashion design (pictured above). Valentina is a forgotten part of American fashion history but her stories are incredible. Some said she was a Russian spy. Others claimed she arrived in the U.S. as a dancer in Diaghilev's Ballets Russes. She herself maintained she was a duchess in exile. She apparently lied about everything but was devastatingly chic and brilliant at capturing the public's attention.

100 Contemporary Fashion Designers by Terry Jones (Taschen, $59.99). Perfect for the Project Runway addict in your life, this is a two-volume compilation of today's fashion superstars, up-and-coming talents and the stars of the future.

20th Century Fashion: 100 Years of Apparel Ads by Alison A. Nieder (Taschen, $39.99) Full disclosure: I used to share an office with Nieder when we both wrote for fashion news trade California Apparel News in Los Angeles. Nieder now heads up the paper and has come out with a very fun, nostalgic look at the ads of modern fashion-from high-end to mass market.

Norman Parkinson: A Very British Glamour by Louise Baring with contributions from Grace Coddington and Jerry Hall (Rizzoli, New York, $65). Not exactly a household name, but Norman Parkinson was one of fashion's most influential taste-makers from the '30s to the '80s having served under Alexander Lieberman and Diana Vreeland at American Vogue among other publications. This is a must for photography and fashion legacy enthusiasts.

There are plenty of coffee table books on wine but the one planned by luxury publisher Kraken Opus will require a very sturdy table. The Wine Opus will list the top 100 wineries but will weigh over 60 pounds. The book will cost and estimated £600,000 but that includes a six-bottle case of wine from every one of the 100 wineries listed, as well an invitation to visit some of them. Decanter says that only 100 copies will be made and 25 have already been pre-ordered. The list of wineries will be determined by sommeliers and wine experts and chef Marco Pierre White will also be involved in the launch. The book will be released next year.

Photo courtesy of teNeues; cover image courtesy Tugu Hotels & Exotic Spas

We've written before about German publisher teNeues's amazing Luxury series; you should know that their Cool series is equally impressive. The latest title in the line, Cool Restaurants: Top of the World, features over 100 incredible eateries scattered around the globe. teNeues selects only the best of the best for their "Top of the World" titles, such as Bale Sutra, the restaurant located in a majestic 300-year-old Kang Xi period temple at the exotic Hotel Tugu in Bali, pictured here on the cover. While New York City has the highest concentration of cool restaurants in any urban locale, and the U.S.A. the most for a single country, Europe has many more continent-wise. Dubai is putting itself on the culinary design map as well, with an admirable showing of four restaurants included in the book - as many as the UK. See the gallery for a tour of some standouts.

The great thing about having a bibliophile on your holiday list is that we are easy to shop for and that the holidays are the season for gorgeous, limited edition books. Check out the new version of the Grimani Breviary from Levenger Press. The name comes from Cardinal Grimani of Venice, who purchased this beautiful illuminated manuscript in the 16th century. The original can never leave Venice and is housed in the Library of Saint Mark. The Levenger version is linen-and-gold-bound and comes in a matching slipcase. It has 110 color plates from the original Breviary with extensive scholarly commentary. The Breviary contains a foreword by Ross King, a noted author and art historian. There are 2,000 copies available and it sells for $150.

Wow, and I thought the Gucci book was expensive! The new set of Chanel books by luxury publisher Assouline (who has also done collaborations with Coach and Goyard) has it handily beat. The three-book set has a quilted slipcase that holds books on fashion, perfume and jewelry. The books are 80 pages each and the entire set sells for $550.

Assouline's special edition of In the Spirit of Venice by Alexis Gregory is a two-book set printed on thick cotton paper with golden edges, wrapped with soft fabric and contained in a luxurious velvet box. Gregory's book is a reminiscence of the famed city as seen through the eyes of a bon vivant with the love of telling tales of the history and characters of the city. Like all of Assouline's collections, the presentation is as important as the words.  You can pick up the ordinary version for under $30 but this deluxe version will run you $300.