Maybe it's the booming prosperity of the photography market coupled with the medium's increasing prominence in the art world. Or pop culture—its appetite for pictures more voracious than ever—kicking visual literacy into the hot zone. Or some sort of millennial urge to survey the vast image bank photographers have filled over the past century and a half. Whatever the cause, 1999 has been a great year for photo books, both in quality and quantity, and they're all vying for attention this holiday season. With major monographs or quick studies on Bill Brandt, Andy Warhol, Daido Moriyama, David Bailey, Robert Mapplethorpe, Erwin Blumenfeld, Paul Himmel, Paul Outerbridge, Lady Clementina Hawarden, Brassaï, William Eggleston, Sylvia Plachy, Peter Beard, El Lissitzky, Gregory Crewdson, Ray K. Metzker, Carleton Watkins, and Garry Winogrand out right now, the range of choices is overwhelming even for the medium's most dedicated mavens. So let this maven take you firmly by the hand and lead you to a few books that stand out... More >>>