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The Best Design and Architecture Books of 2009

01 /14 Still in need of the perfect gift for the intuitive thinker in your life? From creative geniuses to crafty entrepreneurs to cycling urbanists, this year's design books have got you covered. Head down to your local bookstore and pick up one of 2009's best design and architecture tomes, many of them written by our own esteemed Expert Design Bloggers.
02 /14 | The BLDG BLOG Book, by Geoff Manaugh No one writes about architecture like Manaugh, whose own BLDG BLOG has cultivated a new language for discussing the future of our built environment. With cultural references that range from Hitchcock to climate change, these essays entertain as they provoke.

Buy it for: The geeked out sci-fi fan who majored in architecture but became a web developer.
03 /14 | Design Your Life: The Pleasures and Perils of Everyday Things, by Ellen and Julia Lupton Co-authored by our guest blogger Ellen Lupton, this book successfully bridges the connection between high design--New Urbanism, Bauhaus, sustainability--and the more pressing issues that confront us every day--bras, clutter, baby carrots--in a visual language infused with personality thanks to Ellen's delightful little paintings.

Buy it for: Those who find Martha Stewart too pretentious and Rachael Ray too annoying.
04 /14 | The Design of Business: Why Design Thinking is the Next Competitive Advantage, by Roger L. Martin Forget the scientific analysis, fire the consultants, and let designers use their intuition, says the dean of the Rotman School of Management. In his signature conversational voice, Martin uses great anecdotes and inspiring stories to build a case for design thinking as the only true competitive edge.

Buy it for: Your boss.
05 /14 | Living West: New Residential Architecture in Southern California, by Sam Lubell Cantilevered over Los Angeles, tucked into a San Diego cliff, or sprawled across the Joshua Tree desert, the houses of Southern California are some of the most exciting on the planet. Here, brand-new projects by 30 young designers showcase what it really means to design--and live--in the west.

Buy it for: Your neighbors who talk incessantly about making the move to California.
06 /14 | Building Up and Tearing Down: Reflections on the Age of Architecture, by Paul Goldberger The Pulitzer Prize-winning architecture critic collects 57 essays from his time at The New Yorker, which also happened to be a frighteningly fruitful time for architects. Goldberger's seemingly-effortless prose takes us through the frenzy of the building boom to the burst of the housing bubble, from Dubai to Chicago, and every starchitect-crossed destination in between.

Buy it for: Your real estate broker friend who wants to relive her glory days.
07 /14 | Architecture in Times of Need: Make It Right--Rebuilding the New Orleans' Lower Ninth Ward, by Kristin Feireiss and Brad Pitt In the years after Hurricane Katrina, no effort did more to bring attention to the devastation of the Lower Ninth Ward than Brad Pitt's foundation Make It Right. Two years later, this book chronicles the recovery effort as well as the groundbreaking residential designs of architects like Thom Mayne, Shigeru Ban and David Adjaye.

Buy it for: The architecture junkie who really loved The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.
08 /14 | Handmade Nation: The Rise of DIY, Art, Craft and Design, by Faythe Levine and Cortney Heimerl Like a behind-the-scenes tour of DIY community Etsy.com, this book follows 25 makers into their studios to find out how the handmade movement is surviving and thriving in the U.S. These designers prove you can not only make something beautiful by hand, you can craft a career out of it, too.

Buy it for: Your friend who wants to quit his day job and knit sock monkeys.
09 /14 | The Language of Things: Understanding the World of Desirable Objects, by Deyan Sudjic Why, oh why, must we keep buying iPhones? The director of the London Design Museum has a few ideas about the way design influences our buying behavior and why innovation causes us to believe that what we have is never, ever good enough. And it's written every bit as seductively as the products Sudjic covers.

Buy it for: Your Steve Jobs-obsessed brother who can't seem to kick his three-Apple-products-a-month habit.
10 /14 | Look Both Ways: Illustrated Essays on the Intersection of Life and Design, by Debbie Millman Our guest blogger Debbie Millman has a day job as president of Sterling Brands. But her nights have obviously been extremely busy as well, writing these essays on branding and consumerism, and creating custom pieces of artwork to tell each story, from a beautiful cross-stitch to a continuously-erased chalkboard.

Buy it for: Anyone who ever professed love for Levis or obsession with Keebler cookies.
11 /14 | Dark Nostalgia, by Eva Hagberg It's an unavoidable aesthetic that's creeping into every corner of our bars and boutique hotels. Hagberg not only names the movement, she investigates the contemporary need for Victorian accoutrements like leather couches, high-gloss mahogany, cabinets of curiosities, and glass-eyed taxidermied creatures.

Buy it for: Your Steampunk friends.
12 /14 | Wired to Care: How Companies Prosper When They Create Widespread Empathy, by Dev Patnaik Written our guest blogger Dev Patnaik, this book urges companies to stop worrying about their brand and start building authentic connections to their consumers, by listening to them, talking to them, and in some cases, hiring them.

Buy it for: The CEO who's tried everything else.
13 /14 | Design Revolution: 100 Products That Empower People, by Emily Pilloton From high-tech water purification systems to soccer balls made with rolls of patterned tape, Pilloton compiles a greatest hits of social innovation from the last decade into this inspiring, colorful book. Filled with simple ideas and smart analysis about what it means to design for good.

Buy it for: A recent design grad who wants to make a difference.
14 /14 | Bicycle Diaries, David Byrne Musician, author and PowerPoint artist, Byrne is also an avid cyclist, who takes a folding bike with him as he travels the world. These essays compiled from years of observing cities, architecture and urbanism are all told from a unique perspective: The seat of Byrne's bike.

Buy it for: Anyone who may ask themselves: "Where does that highway go to?"

Alissa Walker 12.20.09 2:05 PM

Still in need of the perfect gift for the intuitive thinker in your life? From creative geniuses to crafty entrepreneurs to cycling urbanists, this year's design books have got you covered. Head down to your local bookstore and pick up one of 2009's best design and architecture tomes, many of them written by our own esteemed Expert Design Bloggers.

Slideshow Credits: 02 / Chronicle Books, $29.95; 03 / St Martin's Press, $23.95; 04 / Harvard Business School Press, $26.95; 05 / The Monacelli Press, $50.00; 06 / The Monacelli Press, $35.00; 07 / Prestel USA, $39.95; 08 / Princeton Architectural Press, $24.95; 09 / W. W. Norton & Company, $24.95; 10 / HOW, $25.00; 11 / The Monacelli Press, $45.00; 12 / FT Press, $24.99; 13 / Metropolis Books, $34.95; 14 / Viking Adult, $25.95;