The New Books

You'll Want on Your Coffee Table

The New Books
You'll Want on Your Coffee Table

From fashion and home design to cars and travel,
here are seven of the best new coffee table books to thumb through.

Best new coffee table books for spring 2018

A provocative advertisement from United Colors of Benetton featured in All-American Ads of the 90s.

April 19, 2018

The great thing about coffee table books is that they're meant to be savored. Oversized and plenty thick, they tend to take a while to get through. You pick one up, indulge yourself for a while and then set it back down. These new and coming releases deserve a spot on your coffee table, on your desk and eventually in your bookcase. But trust us, you're going to want to keep these out for a while. You'll be thumbing through them every chance you get. And you'll want your guests to check them out when they visit too. After all, a good book says a lot about the man who owns it.

Our Picks

All-American Ads of the 90s

By Steven Heller

Six smart chapters cover the range of advertising during the rage of consumerism in the 1990s. Super Soakers and Game Boys were the in-demand toys, showy luxury brands were in fashion and sex was being used to sell almost everything. It was a decade that seemed safely benign, but was jammed with outsized events and consumption that'd set the stage for the 21st century.

$40, (out May 20) at Amazon

Men and Manners:

Essays, Advice and Considerations

By David Coggins

David Coggins is a well-suited, worldly man about town and a good friend of Valet., so we take his advice seriously. And in his new book, he compiles short essays, shorter interviews and lists of simple-to-follow guidelines for men of all ages. Coggins tackles everything from texting to tipping and provides insider insight into grooming and home design. In short, it's your cheat sheet to looking like you've got your shit together.

$24.15, (out May 15) at Amazon

This is Not Fashion:

Streetwear Past, Present and Future

By King Adz and Wilma Stone

With more than 500 photographs and illustrations, insightful interviews and profiles of industry pioneers, this 300+ page book meticulously recounts the rise of streetwear. From the dresser/casual movement born out of British soccer culture to the skater scene of California, the authors show how the style has permeated a vast range of seemingly disparate tribes across the globe.

~~$39.95~~ / $28.20 at Amazon

Stantec:

Airports

By Trevor Boddy

Stantec has established itself as a world leader in the design of airports. Every single day, one out of every three passengers traveling in North America passes through an airport where Stantec has completed a significant project. This earnest yet quirky book explores their innovative design theory and the quiet photos of cavernous terminals are oddly soothing.

~~$50~~ / $43.38 at Amazon

Nomadic Homes:

Architecture on the Move

By Philip Jodidio

From revamped Airstreams and clever luxury houseboats to modern modular homes and even refugee housing, this beautifully laid-out book is chockfull of photos and illustrations. What we discover throughout is that the nomadic spirit of our hunter-gatherer ancestors is very much alive in today's interconnected modern world.

~~$70~~ / $40.28 at Amazon

Get It Together!:

An Interior Designer's Guide to Creating Your Best Life

By Orlando Soria

This is not your average interior design tome. Are there plenty of well-decorated rooms and lush, inviting photos? Of course. But Orlando Soria's distinctive voice—funny, confessional and brutally honest—is what sets this apart. He helps readers problem solve, avoid rookie mistakes and choose a wall color that "won't make them puke."

$35.88 at Amazon

Drive:

The Definitive History
of Driving

By Giles Chapman

Packed with trivia and fascinating facts, Drive tracks the trends in automotive manufacturing as well as our changing tastes in cars. From the golden era of Alfa Romeo and Jaguar to American muscle cars and hot rods to the eventual hybrids and electric sedans of today, it's a handsome reference for any car lover.

$28.02 at Amazon

FYI

The Library of Congress is the largest library in the world, with more than 167 million items on approximately 838 miles of bookshelves.