Gift Ideas

For Dads

Pops, Gramps, Daddy, Father. No matter what you call him, we've got the perfect gift!
1
jacket image for A Twist of Lemmon
about this
Jack Lemmon was one of our most beloved movie stars. A two-time Academy Award winner, he appeared in dozens of memorable films, including such classics as Some Like It Hot, Mister Roberts, The Odd Couple, Grumpy Old Men, Missing, The Apartment, and The China Syndrome. On-screen, he came across as a kind of "everyman"—audiences loved him because they felt they knew him, because he was on of them.

In A Twist of Lemmon, Chris Lemmon shares family tales, intimate father-son conversations, and anecdotes from and about his dad. The result is a vivid and enchanting portrait of a less-than-perfect father who in some ways assumed a greater reality for his fans than he did for his son. Chris writes about the difficulty of growing up in a broken home, the treasured time spent with his father, and the friendship that evolved as they came to share their passions for both music and golf. This very personal portrait provides new insight into a man who charmed millions with his rascal's smile and his very human vulnerability.

When Jack Lemmon died in 2001, the world lost one of its favorite actors, but Chris Lemmon lost the man he had admired above all others. A Twist of Lemmon is his warm and moving and often very funny celebration of his larger-than-life father.

Joining Chris in his tribute are a number of the people who worked with Jack Lemmon over thy years, including actor Kevin Spacey. In his foreword, Spacey writes, "He was a credit to his profession because he was a man whose humanity was bigger than his talent. And when you think for a moment about the size and depth of that talent, then you begin to understand how seriously he took his role as a human being."

In this first book of its kind written about Jack Lemmon, that "human being" comes fully alive—as an actor, a father, and a best friend. It is a heartwarming and discerning look at a true American legend.
By Chris Lemmon; Foreword by Kevin Spacey
$22.95(USD)
2
jacket image for Dad's Own Cookbook
about this
It's time to become the new hero of the kitchen. Or at least put aside your fear of frying (not to mention sautéing, roasting, or tossing a salad). Dad's Own Cookbook shows how to do everything from handling a knife properly to juggling three dishes so that dinner comes together on schedule. Its lively charts, tips, and directions replace intimidation with pleasure and camaraderie, and its 150 great recipes will turn the most culinarily challenged dad into the family chef.
By Bob Sloan
$13.95(USD)
3
jacket image for Where Golf is Great
about this
Every golfer who’s worth his favorite putter knows where golf is great: Scotland, birthplace of the game and still its most important shrine, from the splendor of St. Andrews to the regal resort at Gleneagles; and Ireland, where the links like Ballybunion and Royal County Down are of unsurpassed beauty and challenge. Whether golfers actually make the pilgrimage or arm-chair it, Where Golf Is Great is indispensable: the most luxurious, entertaining, informative, and exhaustive book on these most important destinations. Written by the bard of Scottish and Irish golf, it combines the most authoritative information with the most beautiful prose and the most stunning color photographs—an unsurpassed celebration of the places where golf is, indeed, great.

Not only is the golf great, but so are the sights, the dining, the lodging—and it’s all here: the pub lunches and three-star dinners; the country-house hotels and full-service resorts. Jim Finegan’s singularly insightful advice includes the very best play-and-stay combinations for once-in-a-lifetime perfect golf days, in this once-in-a-lifetime perfect golf book.
By James W. Finegan
$60.00(USD)
4
jacket image for Mind Game
about this
Think You Know Baseball?
Think Again.


The Red Sox finally won a World Series, in a triumph of unconventional wisdom. They rethought the batting order and committed to Johnny Damon as lead-off. Saw the talent in David Ortiz that other teams overlooked. Had the courage to trade one of the game’s top shortstops for the good of the team. They knocked over the sacred cows of RBIs, sacrifice bunts, the hit-and-run, and hewed to the new thinking about pitch count—allowing Pedro Martinez, arguably baseball’s best pitcher ever, to excel.• Weaving statistics, narrative, personalities, and anecdote, MIND GAME reveals exactly how this group of“ idiots,” led by Theo Epstein and Terry Francona, was in fact the smartest team in the league, and revolutionizes the thinking fan’s understanding of how baseball games are really won and lost.
By Steve Goldman and Baseball Prospectus Team of Experts
$13.95(USD)
5
jacket image for 1,000 Places to See Before You Die
about this
Around the World, continent by continent, here is the best the world has to offer: 1,000 places guaranteed to give travelers the shivers. Sacred ruins, grand hotels, wildlife preserves, hilltop villages, snack shacks, castles, festivals, reefs, restaurants, cathedrals, hidden islands, opera houses, museums, and more. Each entry tells exactly why it's essential to visit. Then come the nuts and bolts: addresses, websites, phone and fax numbers, best times to visit. Stop dreaming and get going.
By Patricia Schultz
$19.95(USD)
6
jacket image for Guns, Germs and Steel
about this
Winner of the Pulitzer Prize

In this groundbreaking work, evolutionary biologist Jared Diamond stunningly dismantles racially based theories of human history by revealing the environmental factors actually responsible for history’s broadest patterns. It is a story that spans 13,000 years of human history, beginning when Stone Age hunter-gatherers constituted the entire human population. Guns, Germs, and Steel is a world history that really is a history of all the world’s peoples, a unified narrative of human life.
By Jared Diamond; Read by Grover Gardner
$29.95(USD)
7
jacket image for Scotch Calendar 2008
about this
Scotch presents a dozen standout malt whiskies for the aficionado. Each spread features a photograph of a special bottle, plus an abundance of fascinating information: notes on aroma, appearance, and flavor; a tasting chart; background on the water source and casking, plus a color map of the region; and a detailed history of the distillery. From Lagavulin's 16-Year Single Malt, known for its peaty dryness and warming finish, to the mature vintage Highland Park 30-Year-Old, it's an enticing tribute. Includes a stiffener with six punch-out custom coasters printed with exuberant scotch-themed quotes.
Photographs by Thomas Jackson
$12.99(USD)
8
jacket image for NPR Driveway Moments for Dads
about this
Humorous, touching stories from the National Public Radio archives that capture the essence of fatherhood.

First, what's a "driveway moment"? It's when you're so captivated by a feature story you're hearing on NPR that you stay in your car to hear it to the end—even if you're sitting in your driveway with the motor running, groceries to unpack, and kids to feed. For years, listeners have written to NPR to describe such moments.

The stories in this collection kept dads glued to their bucket seats. Now dad can listen again, at his own pace, to tales for and about fathers. Drawn from All Things Considered, Morning Edition, and other award-winning NPR programs, they include a humorous account of a father's habitual snoring, a dad's reflection on leading his son's boy scout troop, an insightful look at the challenges of being a teenage father, and a touching reminiscence about lessons that NPR host Scott Simon learned from his comedian father. Hosted by Simon, these stories are comforting, bittersweet, and everything in between.
Performed by Scott Simon
$22.95(USD)
9
jacket image for The NPR Listener's Encyclopedia of Classical Music
about this
A complete education in classical music, written with verve and wit. No music lover can pick up this one-volume compendium without becoming a more knowledgeable, discerning listener. • The sonata form revealed, and why it's been deeply satisfying for three centuries. • What to listen for in Brahms, a self-described Classicist who was one of music's great innovators. • Pizzicato, fioritura, parlando, glissando. • The transformative power of Toscanini–who earned more conducting the New York Philharmonic than his contemporary Babe Ruth made with the Yankees. • And throughout, more than 2,000 recommended recordings.

Log on and listen. Created with Naxos, the world's largest classical music label, the book includes a unique Web site featuring more than 500 examples cited in the text. Look up barcarolle. First read about its swaying 6/8 meter and Venetian origins; then log on to the music Web site and hear it performed in Act IV of Offenbach's Les contes d'Hoffmann. If that whets your curiosity about Offenbach, click to hear the cancan in his La vie parisienne. All online samples are marked by an icon in the text.
By Ted Libbey
$29.95(USD)
10
jacket image for The Secret Life of Beer!
about this
Beer has inspired, influenced, and excited human beings for thousands of years and Alan D. Eames, the certified “king of beer,” has traveled the world uncovering The Secret Life of Beer. In this book, he reveals untold stories, lore, and references to beer in poetry, song, literature, and history. Readers will be astonished to learn the esoteric facts Eames has discovered, such as that in most ancient cultures only women were allowed to brew, and for much of history beer was considered a nourishing alternative to drinking water!

From its origins among early civilizations to a hallowed place in the history of mankind, the art, the history, the culture, and the mystery of fermented beverages is the subject of historical fact, mythological speculation, and philosophical enquiry. The Secret Life of Beer! shares bits and pieces of this intriguing cultural history, along with quotes from such diverse beer drinkers as Nietzsche and Charles Darwin, in an inviting, highly browseable format.
By Alan D. Eames
$8.95(USD)
11
jacket image for Dream Golf
about this
This is the story of a man with a dream—as well as the vision and passion to make it come true. The dream was to build a great American links course, one that would contain all the excitement of the famous golfing destinations in Scotland and Ireland, storied places like St. Andrews and Ballybunion. The man was Mike Keiser, an entrepreneur and amateur golf enthusiast, founder of the successful company Recycled Paper Greetings, and Dream Golf is the story of how, with the help of some of the most colorful—and occasionally controversial—men in golf, he transformed a remote area on Oregon's Pacific coast into not one, but three of the most stunning, challenging, and highly ranked courses in the world.
It began modestly, when Mike Keiser decided to build a nine-hole "dunes" course and golf club on the shore of Lake Michigan, near his home in Chicago. The experience prompted him to look further, with the goal of realizing a dream that he had harbored for some time: to bring to American golfers the same kind of experience he had enjoyed while playing some of the legendary courses of the British Isles, "links" courses that had evolved naturally to fit the rugged, heaving coastal terrain. These ancient courses were the antithesis of most modern American courses, where the features were shaped by bulldozers and all too often look sleek, manicured, and artificial.
No, Bandon Dunes would be a "pure" golf experience, pitting the golfer against the elements, allowing the land to dictate the course, banning the use of carts, making the golfer feel at one with both nature and the game. To achieve that goal would take a great amount of planning and hard work, the struggle of man against nature in shaping the land into three courses that would become the Bandon Dunes complex. Conventional wisdom said it was impossible. And even if he built it, would anyone come to this remote Oregon outpost?
Dream Golf is the first complete account of how drive and determination, coupled with the best minds in the game, created a utopian golf experience in a place of breathtaking natural beauty. It is the gripping and compelling account of how one man followed his dream to its greatest conclusion.
By Stephen Goodwin
$24.95(USD)
12
jacket image for Younger Next Year
about this
"I have lost 50 pounds over the last nine months by eating less, moving more, and changing the way I think. I am 62 and look better and feel better and have more energy than in the last 15 years."—Ron T.

" I read the wisdom put forth by Chris and Harry . . . [and] my next physical blew my doctor away. I am 74 and in better shape than when I was 50."—Jack S.

"Not a week goes by that I do not utter a silent prayer of thanks that Younger Next Year came into my life. You guys are saving the world one body at a time."—T. G.

Announcing the paperback edition of Younger Next Year, the New York Times, USA Today, Wall Street Journal, and Publishers Weekly bestseller, co-written by one of the country’s most prominent internists, Dr. Henry "Harry" Lodge, and his star patient, the 73-year-old Chris Crowley. These are the books that show us how to turn back our biological clocks—how to put off 70% of the normal problems of aging (weakness, sore joints, bad balance) and eliminate 50% of serious illness and injury. The key to the program is found in Harry's Rules: Exercise six days a week. Don't eat crap. Connect and commit to others. There are seven rules all together, based on the latest findings in cell physiology, evolutionary biology, anthropology, and experimental psychology. Dr. Lodge explains how and why they work—and Chris Crowley, who is living proof of their effectiveness (skiing better today, for example, than he did twenty years ago), gives the just-as-essential motivation.

Both men and women can become functionally younger every year for the next five to ten years, then continue to live with newfound vitality and pleasure deep into our 80s and beyond.

By Chris Crowley and Henry S. Lodge, M.D.
$12.95(USD)
13
jacket image for The Complete Cartoons of the New Yorker
about this
The book that Janet Maslin of The New York Times has called "indispensable" and "a transfixing study of American mores and manners that happens to incorporate boundless laughs, too" is finally available in paperback—fully updated and featuring a brand new introduction by Adam Gopnik.

Organized by decade, with commentary by some of the magazine's finest writers, this landmark collection showcases the work of the hundreds of talented artists who have contributed cartoons over the course ofThe New Yorker's eight-two-year history. From the early cartoons of Peter Arno, George Price and Charles Addams to the cutting-edge work of Alex Gregory, Matthew Diffee and Bruce Eric Kaplan (with stops along the way for the genius of Charles Barsotti, Roz Chast, Jack Ziegler, George Booth, and many others), the art collected here forms, as David Remnick puts it in his Foreword, "the longest-running popular comic genre in American life."

Throughout the book, brief overviews of each era's predominant themes—from the Depression and nudity to technology and the Internet, highlight various genres of cartoons and shed light on our pastimes and preoccupations. Brief profiles and mini-portfolios spotlight the work of key cartoonists, including Arno, Chast, Ziegler, and others.

The DVD-ROM included with the book is what really makes the "Complete Cartoons" complete. Compatible with most home computers and easily browsable, the disk contains a mind-boggling 70,363 cartoons, indexed in a variety of ways. Perhaps you'd like to find all the cartoons by your favorite artist. Or maybe you'd like to look up the cartoons that ran the week you were born, or all of the cartoons on a particular subject. Of course, you can always begin at the beginning, February 21, 1925, and experience the unprecedented pleasure of reading through every single cartoon ever published in The New Yorker.

Enjoy this one-of-a-kind protrait of American life over the past eight decades, as captured by the talented pens and singular outlooks of the masters of the cartoonist's art.
Edited by Robert Mankoff; Foreword by David Remnick; Introduction by Adam Gopnik
$35.00(USD)
14
jacket image for How to Grill
about this
Without a doubt the most interesting, comprehensive, and well-thought-out book on grilling ever and it's destined to be in the kitchens and backyards of both professionals and home cooks. Every detail is made clear and easy in a concise and inspirational way. Spark it up! (Mario Batali, Molto Mario (The Food Network), Mario Batali's Simple Italian Food)

The definitive how-to guide for anyone passionate about grilling, from the newest beginner to the most sophisticated chef. (Tom Colicchio, Think like a Chef)

Master the techniques that make barbecue great with this indispensable show-and-tell by Steven Raichlen. Using more than 1,000 full-color, step-by-step photographs, How to Grill covers it all, from how to build an ingenious three-zone fire to the secrets of grilling a porterhouse, prime rib, fish steak, kebab, or chicken breast. Plus the perfect burger. Includes 100 recipes - one to illustrate each technique - with memorably delicious results!

By Steven Raichlen
$20.95(USD)
15
jacket image for Soul of the Game
about this
Soul of the Game is the soul of basketball, a celebration in images and voices that captures the players, the games, the shots, and the moves of the urban playground. From John Huet, the premier sports photographer who brought his look to the Nike "Trash Talk" ads, here are 100 powerful black-and-white, large-format portraits of Arkansas Red, Jackie Jackson, Nate Archibald, and Earl "The Goat" Manigault, playing on the most famous courts from Rucker Park in New York to Crenshaw High in L.A. Soul of the Game is a passionate tribute to streetball, as it's better known-a game played with hustle, flair, attitude, and athleticism. Poetry and hip-hop writing from the players themselves fill in this street hoops history with personal insights.
By John Huet, Jimmy Smith and John C. Jay
$30(USD)
16
jacket image for The Annotated Godfather: The Complete Screenplay
about this
This fully authorized, annotated, and illustrated edition of the complete screenplay of The Godfather presents all the little-known details and behind-the-scenes intrigue surrounding the landmark film.

The Godfather is considered by many to be the greatest movie ever made, from its brilliant cinematic innovations and its memorable, oft-quoted script to it magnificent cast, including Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, Robert Duvall, James Caan, and others who are now among the most celebrated actors of our time. And yet, the history of its making is so colorful, so chaotic, that one cannot help but marvel at the seemingly insurmountable odds it overcame to become a true cinematic masterpiece, a film that continues to captivate us decades after its release.

Now, thirty-five years after The Godfather's highly anticipated debut, comes this fully authorized, annotated, and illustrated edition of the complete screenplay. Virtually every scene is examined including:
  • Fascinating commentary on technical details about the filming and shooting locations
  • Tales from the set, including the arguments, the accidents, and the practical jokes
  • Profiles of the actors and stories of how they were cast
  • Deleted scenes that never made the final cut
  • Goofs and gaffes that did
  • And much more


Interviews with former Paramount executives, cast and crew members—from the producer to the makeup artist—and director Francis Ford Coppola round out the commentary and shed new light on everything you thought you knew about this most influential film. The more than 200 photographs from the film, from behind-the-scenes, and from the cutting room floor make this a visual feast for every Godfather fan.
By Jenny M. Jones
$29.95(USD)
17
jacket image for Boone
about this
This commanding biography from New York Times bestselling author Robert Morgan transforms a mythic American hero—a legend in his own time—into a flesh-and-blood man.Morgan's sweeping biography of Daniel Boone is the story of America—its ideals, its promise, its romance, and its destiny. It is the most comprehensive book ever written about the man who was the largest spirit of his time. Hunter, explorer, settler, he was a trailblazer and a revolutionary—an American icon for more than two hundred years.

Born in 1734, Boone participated in the colonization of North America, the settling of the Middle Plain, the French and Indian War and the Revolutionary War, the election of his friend as the first president of the United States, the Louisiana Purchase, and the Westward Expansion. Unlike others of his time, he had a reverence for the Indians, who taught him how to hunt, navigate, and survive in the impenetrable wilderness. He accomplished feat after impossible feat yet was also accused of treason, fraud, hypocrisy; was court-martialed; and was sued for debt again and again. By the end of his life, most of his land claims had been lost to lawyers, politicians, and better businessmen than he.

Extensive endnotes, fascinating cultural and historical background material, maps, illustrations, and an index underscore the scope of this distinguished and immensely entertaining work by a writer who, like novelist-turned- historian Shelby Foote, has the talent and the knowledge to make this legendary American come vividly to life.
By Robert Morgan
$29.95(USD)
18
jacket image for Trout of North America Calendar 2008
about this
Perfect for the avid angler, it's a year of gorgeous, breathtakingly realistic portraits of North American trout by acclaimed nature artist Joseph Tomelleri. His distinctive style is noted for the lifelike colors and exquisite detail he achieves, from the silvery Arctic grayling to a vividly hued Goose Lake redband trout to a beautiful spawning Dolly Varden. Accompanying each month's illustration is detailed information about the featured fish, including a natural history, color range map, and hatch charts of mayflies and caddis flies.
Illustrated by Joseph R. Tomelleri
$12.99(USD)