Charles Apple

Christmas has come and gone.

Sure, you gave a few gifts. You received a few gifts, too. Some of them might even be things you wanted.

So what’s a visual journalist to do, the day after Christmas, when you have store credit or, perhaps, a gift card or two burning a hole in your pocket?

Fear not. We’ll tell you how to treat yourself right. What better than to buy a book about journalism or some nice bling for your desk at work?

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Breaking News: How the Associated Press Has Covered War, Peace, and Everything Else
by The Associated Press

May 2007, Princeton Architectural Press
ISBN: 9781568986890
Amazon price: $23.10
Barnes & Noble member price: $28.00

At first, you’ll see this as a self-congratulatory puff piece — the AP basically patting itself on the back for virtually every cool thing it’s ever done. But as you read through it, you’ll see the AP exposes more warts than you would have thought. For example, there are a number of anecdotes here about AP reporters misidentifying themselves — or flat-out lying about who they were — in order to get a story. Or tales of AP beating other reporters to the one pay phone, calling in their scoop and then yanking the phone cord out of the booth. Behave like that today and you’ll find yourself written up by Romenesko. But that’s the way the game was played and the AP owns up to it. A good read and a worthy addition to your journalism bookshelf.

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The Making of McPaper: The Inside Story of How USA Today Made It (Updated 25th Anniversary Edition)
by Peter S. Prichard

September 2007, Sports Publishing LLC
ISBN: 9781596702868
Amazon price: $14.21
Barnes & Noble member price: $17.05

An update of a book published a couple decades ago, detailing the story behind the story of the creation of USA Today. Plenty of warts here, too — the author holds nothing back in writing of the backbiting and political warfare waged by Al Neuharth and Gannett bigwigs who didn’t share his vision. If you’ve not read this, buy it immediately. If you have, update your copy.

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25 Years of USA Today: The Stories That Shape Our Nation
by USA Today

September 2007, Sports Publishing LLC
ISBN: 9781596702875
Amazon price: $16.47
Barnes & Noble member price: $17.96

This one really is a puff piece — a simple walk through the story and photo archives of USA Today. I wish they had included more infographics. If you’re a fan of the paper and its work — or, just like to relive the last quarter-decade or so — give it a shot. The price is certainly right.

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Schulz and Peanuts: A Biography
by David Michaelis

October 2007, HarperCollins Publishers
ISBN: 9780066213934
Amazon price: $20.97
Barnes & Noble member price: $22.01

Schulz’s son and widow hate the book and call the author all sorts of names. But it looks like fascinating reading to me, detailing the tortured genius behind one of the most beloved comic strips of all time. In the spirit of Lucy Van Pelt, my loved ones were under strict orders to make sure I receive a copy of this one — or else. And I did.

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Cartographia: Mapping Civilizations
by Vincent Virga and the Library of Congress

May 2008, Little, Brown & Company
ISBN: 9780316997669
Amazon price: $60.00
Barnes & Noble member price: $37.80

Don’t let that reported publication date fool you — I was roaming the floor of my local Barnes & Noble and stumbled across this little gem. Boom! Next thing you know, it’s an hour later. You’ll find Cartographia stuffed with stunning examples of mapmaking. The New York Times book folks loved the visuals but didn’t feel so grand about the text.

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Our Dumb World: The Onion’s Atlas of the Planet Earth, 73rd Edition
by The Onion

October 2007, Little, Brown & Company
ISBN: 9780316018425
Amazon price: $16.79
Barnes & Noble member price: $17.63

We all read The Onion from time to time and many of us even have a few of the collected Onion books in our personal libraries. So why the need to add another? Because this one applies the famous Onion satirical point-of-view to history, geography and the process of mapmaking itself. This one’s for the map geek in all of us.

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The World on Sunday : Graphic Art in Joseph Pulitzer’s Newspaper (1898 - 1911)
by Nicholson Baker and Margaret Brentano

September 2005, Bulfinch
ISBN: 9780821261934
Amazon price: $26.08
Barnes & Noble member price: $40.00

Published a little more than two years ago, this is the only ‘older’ book we’re putting on this list. Why? Because if you have even a passing interest in newspapers, news design, illustration, infographics or the history of newspapers — and that should just about cover all of you — then this is a must-have. One wonders how newspapers went from these lush, colorful pages to the dry, boring grey text-heavy pages that burdened our products for much of the intervening century. Buy this now, before it’s out of print.

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Everyman News: The Changing American Front Page
by Michele Weldon

December 2007, University of Missouri Press
ISBN: 9780826217776
Amazon price: $39.95
Barnes & Noble member price: Not yet available.

Quick confession: I haven’t read this book. I stumbled across it as I was pulling together this post. From the product description, though, it sounds pretty interesting:

Comparing 160 front pages in twenty American newspapers for eight dates in 2001 and 2004, [Michele Weldon of Northwestern University] shows a shift toward features over hard news, along with an increase in anecdotal or humanistic approaches to all stories. Forces such as blogs, citizen journalism, newsroom diversity, and other factors have converged to remake the front page, and Weldon unveils the content of everyman news as commodity apart from the mode of delivery. She also incorporates more than fifty interviews with people connected to journalism about what these changes mean.

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If your pile of books to-be-read is threatening to fall over and crush your cat — or your spouse — then why not buy something to liven up your desk at work?

And you know what that means: Toys!

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Battlestar Galactica MiniMates

Who wouldn’t like a little Lee Adama and Kara Thrace to increase the sexual tension around your cube?

Amazon Price: $6.99

Or, if you prefer your naughtiness to have a dark side, go for Vice President Baltar and Caprica Six. Believe it or not, they’re a whole dollar cheaper.

If you’d like to re-enact the entire season on your desktop, go for one of the larger sets:

Amazon price: $24.99

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Star Trek ships and figures

If you have a square foot or so of space on your desk, you’ll find no greater trophy than this little gem. Press the button on the top of the bridge to set off the lights and a number of rotating sound clips.

Classic Enterprise NCC-1701
Amazon price: $30.39

If you prefer the movies to the classic 1960s TV show, there is a Wrath of Khan version just for you.

Speaking of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, one of the biggest items in Trek action figures is this three-pack featuring characters from that 1982 movie:

Amazon price: $39.99

Or, if you only want Captain Kirk, you can buy him alone for $14.95.

For you folks of a certain age, you might remember the classic Star Trek action figures we played with in the early 1970s. Believe it or not, those figures are being re-released.

Amazon price: $17.88

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McFarlane Toys NFL figures

The hottest name in the NFL right now is Tony Romo of the Dallas Cowboys. You’d be hard-pressed to find the new figure of him at Wal-Mart — we’re betting Jessica Simpson snapped them all up — but luckily, you can find him online. Just be prepared to pay a premium for that Romeo, Romo.

Amazon price: $39.90

Fans of the New England Patriots’ Tom Brady or the Green Bay Packers’ Brett Favre can get off considerably cheaper: $14.90.

Lots of players are available. I made my brother a happy camper for his birthday earlier this month by giving him a retro Bo Jackson figure. These guys are fabulously made and wonderfully painted, down to the dirt on their helmets and grass stains on their britches.

If you are a huge Cowboys fan, though, don’t stop with just Romo. Go ahead and spring for a three-pack containing Romo, Troy Aikman and Roger Staubach.

Sure, you’ll be forking out $74.90. But just think of what they’ll look like guarding your Mac.

And if one NFL hero just isn’t enough for your desk, try an entire offensive unit.

A Knight-Ridder dozen little guys, incredibly detailed down to the names on the backs of their jerseys. Very nice. This one is the Chicago Bears. Also available are the Dallas Cowboys, the Denver Broncos and the New York Giants.

Amazon price: $23.99

Oddly enough, Amazon priced the Broncos a buck cheaper than the others. Reckon they know something we don’t?

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Take a moment, if you will, and tell us about your favorite Christmas gift this year. Or, better yet that thing you wanted, didn’t get but plan to rush out and buy for yourself.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 25th, 2007 at 9:33 pm and is filed under Amusing stuff, Charles Apple, For your bookshelf, Getting a life, VizEds Blog. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.