During this gift-giving season, if you find yourself navigating stores—virtually or in person—with a rising sense of panic and despair, Atlas Obscura is here to help.
There is one gift, in our humble opinion, that is beautiful, timeless, and perfect for the person who has everything: a photo book.For someone looking for inspiration for their next trip, consider Holidays in Soviet Sanatoriums, which offers a glimpse into the still-functional spas of the former Soviet Union. Or if it’s the journey that matters, consider the options in Mobitecture: Architecture on the Move—including a sauna on skis. The homebody in your life might find a different kind of inspiration in Hong Kong Shop Cats.
Photo books can also show you places you might never have imagined. Tour one of Japan’s abandoned “love motels,” float high above the Earth, or travel back in time to see history in blazing color. Below, you’ll find Atlas Obscura’s selection of photo book highlights from 2017, capable of satisfying a wide variety of your gifting needs.
If the end of the year invites some existential reflection, a book about our relationship with the universe may be the perfect companion. Universe: Exploring the Astronomical World brings together more than 300 images from throughout history, from paintings on cave walls in France to the Hubble telescope’s multicolored galaxies.
It also includes this awe-inspiring photograph of astronaut Bruce McCandless during the first untethered space walk in history.
Photographer Marcel Heijnen liked the feline inhabitants of his local Hong Kong stores so much that he began to take their portraits. In his photos, cats snooze in backrooms, hide in boxes, and welcome customers from countertop perches. In a boon for cat-lovers, Heijnen has since turned his attention to the metropolis’ market cats.
In the town of Santa María del Tule, in Oaxaca, Mexico, there is a Montezuma cypress known as El Árbol del Tule. It has a circumference of 137.8 feet and is between 1,200 and 3,000 years old. It’s included along with more than 50 other venerable trees in the book Wise Trees. Photographers Diane Cook and Len Jenshel scoured 59 sites across five continents to document these captivating…
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