Books That Make Great Gifts for Men

My family has had this book lying around for years; it's a very large (perfectly legible) reproduction of the 300 most important front pages of the New York Times since 1851.

But wait, there's more! Included are 3 DVDs that have ALL 54,266 front pages printed by The Times over the past 157 years. (And it gets even better. Click on any headline on a front page and you'll go straight to that article on the Times' website.)

If the man in your life enjoys history in any way, this is a pretty fail-safe choice.

With this book we leap back 60+ years to a fascinating collection of the "Willie & Joe" cartoons from World War II. These cartoons are an incredible way to immerse yourself in the day-to-day trials of the war.

Bill Mauldin captured the war perfectly because he was in it. He had created his characters, Willie and Joe, at age 18, before Pearl Harbor, while training with the 45th Infantry Division and cartooning part-time for the camp newspaper. His brilliant send-ups of officers were pure infantry, and the men loved it. He continued his cartoons throughout the war — right through his unit's 4 beach invasions.

Before this volume Gladwell had 3 books. The first was amazing. The second was pretty good. The third? Truth be told, not so great.

With What the Dog Saw Gladwell retreats to a safe place — his excellent long-form essays for the New Yorker. Engaging from beginning to end, this book is a nice return to sturdy ground.

This book doesn't have the most sophisticated prose, but it's an excellent recounting of the missions of the U.S.S. Intrepid — an aircraft carrier during World War II.

If the person you're buying for enjoys W.W. II books or was a fan of Stephen Ambrose then this will go over well.

Finally, what makes this book so interesting is that after reading the book, you can take a field trip. The Intrepid is still afloat — it's a naval and aircraft museum floating in the Hudson river on the west side of Manhattan.

What I find so interesting about this book is that Newman could have directed his energy towards a memoir about his acting. Instead — recognizing that the world would benefit more from a recounting of his charitable work — this book is where he focused during his last year or so.

Ted Turner. He's about 70% amazing and 30% annoying. But he's also 100% interesting. And guess what? This memoir of his is also 100% interesting. As you might expect, he just dumps it all out there — good and bad.

This would make a great gift for anyone interested in wine or history or business — the book is about all three. It's not a perfect book but the flaws are made up for by covering such an interesting topic.

This isn't a book of theory of digital photography — full of confusing jargon and detailed concepts. This is a book on which button to push, which setting to use, and when to use it. Each page covers a single concept on how to make your photography better.

I'd buy it for any man with a newborn child and one of those massive digital cameras that he uses endlessly.

Want to take it to the gift to the next level along with the digital photography? Then take a look at this boxed set. It includes the book above along with a 2nd volume of additional advice. There's also a signed print by the author.

As far as I'm concerned, any book that mixes the topics of jews and pirates must be flat-out great.