Coffee Table Books

From the first known photograph taken in Los Angeles to its most recent sweeping vistas, this photographic tribute to the City of Angels provides a fascinating journey through the city’s cultural, political, industrial, and sociological history.

It traces the city’s development from the 1880s real estate boom, through the early days of Hollywood and the urban sprawl of the late 20th century, right up to the present day. With over 500 images, L.A. is shown emerging from a desert wasteland to become a vast palm-studded urban metropolis.

Events that made world news―including two Olympics, Bobby Kennedy’s assassination, and the Rodney King riots―reveal a city of many dimensions. The entertainment capital of the world, Hollywood, and its celebrities are showcased along with many other notable residents, personalities, architects, artists, and musicians.

The city’s pop cultural movements, its music, surfing, health food fads, gangs, and hot rods are included, as are its notorious crimes and criminals. This book depicts Los Angeles in all its glory and grit, via hundreds of freshly discovered images including those of Julius Shulman, Garry Winogrand, William Claxton and many other superb photographers, culled from major historical archives, museums, private collectors, and universities.

These are given context and resonance through essays by renowned California historian Kevin Starr and Los Angeles literature expert David L. Ulin.

An inspirational guide designed with the globe-trotting wine lover in mind--vineyards to visit, seasons to go, vintages and organics to drink, and how to get the most out of each wine region.

The adventures featured in this atmospherically illustrated book will fuel the wine lover's imagination with an almost endless array of vineyard visits, must-see sights, and must-do events--harvest festivals, vineyard picnics, wine-region weekends, tasting tours, wine-focused restaurants.

Designed to highlight the world's most rewarding wine destinations, this guide spans the spectrum from traditional (a wine luncheon in Bordeaux or touring Portugal's port lodges) to fun and quirky. Some ideas are active--a cycling tour of the Champagne region or grape stomping in the Italian countryside--while others are more urban, such as a tour of Vienna's summer wine gardens or Rome's iconic enotecas. Sidebar panels throughout detail what makes each region special and include lists of the top five local wines to seek out.

There is something here for all palates and all levels of expertise--from regular contributors to #WineWednesdays to the budding oenophile just starting out.

Rattan furnishings evoke the glamour and laid back elegance of exotic beach houses as well as the informal beauty of plant filled garden rooms and sun dappled verandas.

Long fascinated with rattan's versatility, designer Lulu Lytle examines the enduring appeal of this sustainable tropical palm in RATTAN: A WORLD OF ELEGANCE AND CHARM. The first book in decades to examine the history and craftsmanship of rattan furniture, this insightful tome showcases rattan's appeal through archival images of beautiful interiors including Madeleine Castaing's winter garden in Paris, Michael Taylor's own Californian beach house, the Titanic's Café Parisian and the Billy Baldwin designed Mr. Kennedy's beauty salon in New York City. Rattan's many personalities are explored through its inclusion in settings as diverse as Impressionist paintings, flamboyant nightclubs and pared down contemporary drawing rooms.

A reflection of its inherent beauty and longevity, antique rattan furniture from the nineteenth century is highly collectible, as are rattan pieces created by giants of modern design such as Josef Hoffmann for Thonet, Josef Frank for Svenskt Tenn, Jean-Michel Frank for Ecart, Renzo Mongiardino for Bonacina, Arne Jacobsen for Sika, Paul Frankl and Donald Deskey. Rattan pieces have become iconic and highly prized, including Hiroomi Tahara's Wrap Sofa, Franca Helg's Primavera Chair, and the many iterations of the beloved Peacock Chair. RATTAN also highlights some of the many tastemakers who have embraced rattan--from Marella Agnelli, Babe Paley, and Cecil Beaton to leading interior designers including Jeffrey Bilhuber, Veere Grenney, Axel Vervoordt, and Jacques Grange.

Where will the road take you?  Dream, discover, and uncover your next adventure: Moon Travel Guides takes you on a journey along the open road with Wanderlust Road Trips.
 
Get inspired with 40 of the world’s most incredible road trips, with bucket-list drives in the US, Canada, Latin America, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. This stunning, hardcover book is packed with full-color photos, charming illustrations, and fascinating overviews of each route, making it the perfect gift for dreamers and adventurers alike.

Cruise along the historic Blues Highway in the American South, drive the epic Ruta 40 to Patagonia, or stop for a hike as you road-trip along the Canadian Rockies. Drive to Namibia’s jaw-dropping Victoria Falls, follow the Alsace Wine Route, or hug the Amalfi Coast and soak up views of the Mediterranean. Drive past fjords in Norway, vast rice fields in Indonesia, or the misty, rugged landscapes of the Scottish Highlands.
 
Filled with natural wonders, bucket-list sites, epic outdoor adventures, and cultural treasures, Wanderlust Road Trips is the definitive book for the adventurous road tripper.
 

About Moon Travel Guides: Moon was founded in 1973 to empower independent, active, and conscious travel. We prioritize local businesses, outdoor recreation, and traveling strategically and sustainably. Moon Travel Guides are written by local, expert authors with great stories to tell—and they can't wait to share their favorite places with you.

Get away from it all and ignite your wanderlust with this unique collection of epic landscape photography from some of the most remote, spectacular locations around the globe. Curated by award-winning travel and lifestyle photographer Finn Beales, Let’s Get Lost offers pure visual escapism, with over 200 spectacular shots of remote and beautiful places. 

For adventure-lovers, Let's Get Lost dares you to get off the beaten track and go in search of the planet’s most remarkable natural environments. Chapters capturing off-grid coastal views, rugged mountain landscapes, majestic forests and expansive wildernesses are all featured. From the Pacific Northwest to Southeast Asia, New Zealand to Scandinavia, for the armchair traveller, this book represents a breathtaking visual compendium of how beautiful the world can be, with truly awe-inspiring full-page reproductions of some of Instagram’s most talented landscape photographers. 

Each of the photographers profiled reveal their unique stories and the little-known locations they have discovered that allow them to capture such breathtaking images, from Chris Burkard’s perilous tour of Russia’s extremities, and Emilie Ristevski’s journey through Namibia’s wild heart, to Timothy Allen’s airborne search for a long-lost Bulgarian monument. 

Record dreams in this beautifully bound journal and learn how to unharness their secrets in waking life.

The Little Dream Journal is the perfect gift for anyone wanting to learn more about their dreams, their meaning and how we interpret them, and how to dream better. The journal is filled with lined pages for recording dreams, as well as an informative introduction that covers topics such as why we dream, dream symbols and themes, dream health, and how to remember dreams. Dream mantras and quotes also appear throughout the book on breakout pages.

With scientific insight into the power of dreams from certified dream professional Tzivia Gover, The Dream Journal is as informative as it is beautiful.

Breathtaking photography is combined with inspirational profiles of female surfers from around the world in this uplifting celebration of self-love, sisterhood, and body positivity.

Beauty standards play a significant role in most aspects of society—especially in the world of surfing. This inspirational book pays tribute to women in the surfing community who are breaking down those barriers and living their best lives on and off the water.

Reaching across five continents—from Australia, Japan, and Bali to France, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, and the United States—this book features stunning photographs that capture the beauty and power of the ocean and the joyful essence of a diverse array of surfers. And it offers remarkable stories of life-changing experiences, struggles, and achievements of women navigating surf culture on their own terms.

A manifesto for a new era of fearless, empowered women who redefine beauty one wave at a time, this book is a must-read for female surfers, women interested in surfing, and anyone passionate about inclusivity and diversity in sports.