The Observer Decameron—Second Day

The First World War: Unseen Glass Plate Photographs of the Western Front
Carl de Keyzer, DavidVan Reybrouck, and Geoff Dyer, editors.
A stunning and haunting reminder of the Great War and its horrors, as viewed from the front lines,and elsewhere. An extraordinary book.

The Epilogue
Laia Abril
A circumspect examination of one family’s unspeakable loss in the wake of a young daughter’s untimely death, from complications of bulimia. Abril is a slow looker—a photographer who bears witness with candor and compassion.

Prisoners of Geography
Tim Marshall
For designers who thrill to the idea of the infographic, maps are like crack. This is the mothership of essential data, and it’s well researched and written, too.

Changing the Subject
Sven Birkerts
Looking closely at the questionable technological practices by which we are often unwittingly united, Birkerts takes his cues from art, philosophy, and literature. He’s a (self-described) crank, but a deeply thoughtful and highly articulate one.

Reclaiming Conversation
Sherry Turkle
Meditations on communication in the digital age. Turkle is a magnificent writer who writes with honesty and scrutiny about the impact of technology on all that is human.

The Light of The World
Elizabeth Alexander
Heartbreakingly written and brave, a poet and professor examines her own profound loss when her husband dies unexpectedly.

Inventions that Didn’t Change the World
Julie Halls
A mesmerizing visual collection of the dashed optimism of a forgotten age. Exquisite.

Airline Visual Identity 1945–1975
C. Huhne
The behemoth of the year—weighing in at approximately fourteen pounds—with large-scale reproductions of iconic images from the golden age of airline travel.

Drawing Redefined
Jennifer Gross, editor
Thoughtfully compiled and richly illustrated, and a reminder that drawing lies at the core of so much of what we see and remember.

Beloved Dog
Maira Kalman
From our beloved Maira—what is there to say? The book, its author, its subject: perfection.

See all the Top Ten Books from our contributors here

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By Jessica Helfand

Jessica Helfand, a founding editor of Design Observer, is an award-winning graphic designer and writer and a former contributing editor and columnist for Print, Communications Arts and Eye magazines. A member of the Alliance Graphique Internationale and a recent laureate of the Art Director’s Hall of Fame, Helfand received her B.A. and her M.F.A. from Yale University where she has taught since 1994.