The Best Coffee Table Books to Give This Holiday

“I'm ready to declare the gift book of the year,” trumpeted John Warner in The Chicago Tribune of this journey into the minds of creators like Tony Kushner, Sofia Coppola, and Stephen Sondheim from New York magazine’s former editor. This “gorgeous book” features interviews with some of today’s most celebrated artists—from playwrights to painters—and shares their sketches, notes, and reflections in “a volume that should have broad appeal and deliver many hours of pleasure to the recipient.”

This stunning book celebrates the majesty of trees with over 300 diverse and artistic images, from Roman stone mosaics and ancient frescos to contemporary photography and painting. It’s a visual ode to the beauty and diversity of trees featuring work from distinguished names like Ansel Adams, Paul Cézanne, Andy Goldsworthy, Grandma Moses, Frida Kahlo and more. 'Totally immersive and with hours of interest, this book's a keeper,' remarked The Royal Horticultural Society.

The Washington Post was smitten with this hefty ode to Hollywood’s golden age featuring hundreds of celebrity photographs - many unpublished - from the legendary LIFE magazine archives. “Marlon Brando, Bette Davis, Elizabeth Taylor, Clark Gable, Sophia Loren, Sidney Poitier, Paul Newman - they're all here smoldering away in this spectacular boxed set. But the insights on what was happening off camera are sometimes even more fascinating."

Step into the exclusive Los Angeles enclave of the celeb-fave lifestyle brand that blends nature, wellness, design, activism and radical pleasure. Filled with lush imagery, inspiring rituals, and wisdom from luminaries like Alice Waters, Jane Fonda and Martha Stewart, this book is a luxurious guide to living a more joyful, nature-filled life.

This illustrated edition of The 1619 Project combines evocative original artwork from Black artists like Carrie Mae Weems, Calida Rawles, Vitus Shell, Xaviera Simmons and archival images with powerful essays, offering a fresh, visual exploration of America’s complicated history. It’s a gift that invites deep reflection and sparks conversation about race, resistance, and identity.

The celebrated documentary maker Ken Burns has assembled a unique collection by both celebrated and obscure photographers that explore the country’s mythology. “Sometimes they are famous people - like Jackie Kennedy, pictured here at her husband's burial at Arlington, her widow's veil not quite hiding her weary eyes. Sometimes their details are lost to us -- like Gordon, the escaped slave who later joined and fought with the Union Army before disappearing into history. They all struggled. But they all persisted. They were all Americans. And this book gives them their moment, remembering them forever," raved the New York Daily News.

This collection of 100 iconic recipes from Bobby Flay’s storied career serves up culinary artistry alongside personal stories from one of America’s most celebrated chefs and TV personalities. Perfect for the home cook ready to recreate some of Flay’s best dishes, from King Crab Gumbo to Black Rice Paella.

An intimate photographic glimpse of the iconic musician and Just Kids author during her early rise to fame, captured by her friend and celebrity shutterbug Lynn Goldsmith. Originally published as a $1,000 limited edition, this poignant visual narrative also features Smith’s original poems and lyrics interspersed throughout the book.

Curated by the writer and theater critic Hilton Als, this illustrated hardcover presents a “cross dialogue between Didion's ephemera and the artworks to create a syncopated cacophony of voices that attempt to get at the complex web of culture and politics that the author sought to distill throughout her work,” observed the Brooklyn Rail. Also included are three previously uncollected texts by Didion: "In Praise of Unhung Wreaths and Love" (1969); a much-excerpted 1975 commencement address at UC Riverside; and "The Year of Hoping for Stage Magic" (2007).

This beautifully photographed book features 200 of the world’s most unique and picturesque courts, from legendary grounds like Wimbledon and Nadal’s temple in Mallorca, Spain to hidden gems in the wilds of Scotland, Kenya and beyond. It’s a visual feast for those who love traveling and tennis that “takes us on court in every corner of the world with a sharp eye for what makes our game and the people who champion it so special," according to tennis icon Billie Jean King.