One More Book: At Work

I think I started this book in 2008 and finished it in 2009, so it will probably kick off next year’s list of favorites, as At Work is a great read. It’s sort of hard not to pay attention to Annie Leibovitz’s career—it’s everywhere you look. Some of the most popular magazine covers and spreads of all time were shot by Leibovitz and she’s an obvious icon of modern photography. But honestly, I never really paid much attention to her story. As to be expected, it’s a pretty great story. The book is not really a photography showcase, nor is it a how-to book with regards to equipment and lighting setups. It’s more about how she thinks and the internal dialogs going on in her head as she leads you through a handful of famous and not so famous photo shoots.

A couple of my favorite chapters include a recounting of a year spent on the road with the Rolling Stones, and then a more recent shoot of the Queen of England. The latter was a shoot that felt like it was hanging on by a thread, and yet she produced some really amazing photographs of Queen Elizabeth. I did some more research on the shoot itself and found this great video on YouTube called Monarchy. If you like the behind the scenes stuff to get a feel for how she does it check out these too: Sean Connery for Louis Vuitton, Keith Richards for Louis Vuitton, Marie Antoinette.

Ten Favorite Books of 2008

The Varieties of Scientific Experience

A Personal View of the Search for God

by Carl Sagan (and Ann Druyan)

This is hands down my favorite book of the year and it’s also secured Carl Sagan as one of my new heroes. I’ve read a couple of his books previously and have always enjoyed his hallmark approachability, but I’ve honestly never really been that interested in The Universe as it relates to humanity—until now. Carl manages to dismiss religion on one hand while also inspiring an almost visceral reverence for everything with his naturalistic view of the cosmos.

The book is actually a series of lectures edited by the late astronomer’s wife, Ann Druyan, and she sums up a philosophy shared by both Sagan and Bertrand Russel in this quote: “…what is wanted is not the will to believe, but the desire to find out, which is the exact opposite.”

Carl Sagan was a brilliant thinker and this book is a brilliant read. Buy it.

Irreligion

A Mathematician Explains Why the Arguments for God Just Don’t Add Up

by John Allen Paulos

Lots of reason, logic and comedy spell out many mathematical proofs that God can’t exist in this latest from the “New Atheist” movement. This book is intentionally witty, brief and to the point. Once he puts forth the proofs, there’s really not that much more to say.

The Moment It Clicks

Photography Secrets from one of the World’s Top Shooters

by Joe McNally

I read a lot of photography, design, and technical manuals throughout the year and they don’t usually make it to this list for obvious reasons—but this book is different. It reads like a collection of short stories with each chapter being a particular photo shoot and its challenges and how Joe rises to each occasion. This book also made me realize that my misconception about flash photography as being an undesirable photographic method is/was completely off base. It’s not flash photography that’s bad, it’s bad flash photography that’s bad. I have seen the light.

Suckers

How Alternative Medicine Makes Fools of Us All

by Rose Shapiro

This is a great book! Highly recommended. I’m always fascinated by just how credulous one can become when it comes to medicine and health. (Full disclosure: I’ve been there myself.) The idea that there is something called “ancient wisdom” that is somehow untestable by science goes against all reason—and yet it is commonly accepted by a lot of people. (As if somehow the human race has been getting dumber over time, not smarter.) This book touches on pseudoscience in every form, from the relatively harmless (and pointless) practices of acupuncture and “chi-balancing” to the sometimes dangerous (and deadly) arena of alternative cancer cures, chiropractic, and the anti-vaccine movement. My favorite chapter is the one on homeopathy, which itself is so utterly ridiculous I can’t even begin to imagine how health food stores sell this crap with a straight face.

Under the Banner of Heaven

A Story of Violent Faith

by Jon Krakauer

This book is half crime thriller and half history lesson with both halves being equally bizarre and horrific. I find modern religions like Mormonism and Scientology beyond absurd in this day and age, and yet even more curious is just how much people don’t really know about them. Krakauer offers a pretty compelling history of a resilient con-man and what he was able to accomplish with the Mormon church.

Things I Have Learned in my Life So Far

by Stefan Sagmeister

This book was as much fun to look at as it was to read. Stefan is one of the more famous graphic designers working today and I’ve followed his work for years. A few years back he decided to take a year off from client work and produce work only for himself. (Man, that would be awesome.) This book is the result of a year’s worth of freedom. The things he has learned aren’t overly profound, but they are solid little life lessons and worth a look if your professional life resides anywhere near the design/art field.

The Portable Atheist

Essential Readings for the Nonbeliever

by Christopher Hitchens

I haven’t actually read this book cover to cover but it sits on my nightstand and offers the perfect bedtime story for the modern heathen. Depending on my mood I can enjoy some Lucretius, Spinoza, Dawkins, Sagan, Harris, Twain, Russel and a hundred more. All the great nonbelievers are in there and Hitchens opens the anthology with his usual vigor. Recommended!

No Problem Girl

by David Young

Full disclosure: I did the cover for this book, and the author is a good friend. That said, you should still consider reading this fine tale of deception and despair set in Thailand and Chicago.

The Selfish Gene

by Richard Dawkins

I’ve been making an effort lately to truly understand just how evolution works and I thought I should go back to the beginning of one of my favorite author’s careers and get myself up to speed on genes and their selfish nature. This book is amazing. I’m not going to lie and say I comprehend it in its entirety, but I do have a much greater understanding of how evolution came about and why we are how we are.