From fashion to sports, coffee table books are great holiday options

Stumped on a holiday gift? Reach for a coffee table book.

The sometimes pricey, often large-format books are abundant at holiday time. Take care to invest in just the right one to avoid sad or puzzled eyes when your gift is unwrapped.

Some suggestions among new releases:

This two-volume opus covers the film industry from 1936 to 1972. More than 700 pages of photos and stories plucked from the archives of Life magazine show icons and others behind the scenes and in front of the cameras. Take 6-year-old Natalie Wood hanging upside down on a swing. The nearly 17 pounds' worth of nostalgia is packed with both color and black-and-white images, along with photo essays for context. Taschen, with slipcase. $250.

A celebration of Black voices from Women's Wear Daily, dating to the publication's start in 1910. There are early efforts by Black garment workers to unionize. And Josephine Baker's 67th birthday bash. There's the rise of the late Virgil Abloh and working designers today, including LaQuan Smith and Sergio Hudson. Union Square & Co. Text by Tonya Blazio-Licorish and Tara Donaldson. $65.

This is Jules Feiffer's first graphic novel for young readers. The offbeat, Pulitzer-winning cartoonist takes a family on a wacky adventure to the Lost Dimension. Feiffer said in press notes that writing for young readers “connects me professionally to a part of myself that I didn't know how to let out until I was 60.” He's now 95. His artwork is colorful and out of this world. Good for ages 8-12. HarperCollins. $12.99.

Profiles of 50 groundbreaking female photographers through time and around the world, told in short essays. Many developed new techniques to capture images from war to fashion. The book offers tips on how to achieve the same outcomes. Cindy Sherman, Anna Atkins, Shirin Neshat and Lorna Simpson are included. By Gemma Padley. Laurence King Publishing. $24.99.

Lambda Legal has been fighting for LGBTQ+ rights for 50 years. This book takes readers through dozens of the nonprofit's milestone cases, from 1973 to 2023. It profiles leading players on both sides and tells the personal stories behind the legal briefs. By Jennifer C. Pizer and Ellen Ann Andersen. With a foreword by Roxane Gay. Monacelli. $59.95.

A 640-page tome offering movie art from more than 20 countries. “We're not rated X for nothin', baby!” declares a 1972 poster for “Fritz the Cat.” It was, in fact, the first animated film to be given an X rating. Also included: 1896 Parisian lithographs for the first public screening by the Lumière brothers, Auguste and Louis. They were among early pioneers of cinema. By Tony Nourmand, Graham Marsh, Christopher Frayling and Alison Elangasinghe. Reel Art Press. $95.

British Columbia birder and photographer Melissa Hafting explores the joy and comfort her beloved birds have provided her in hard times, including the deaths of both of her parents. Her images of birds in the U.S. and Canada are intertwined with her personal narrative. “Who knows how many tomorrows I have left in my life, but all my tomorrows will be for the birds,” she writes. Rocky Mountain Books. $45.

A tribute to Mexico's beloved holiday when families welcome back the souls of their dead relatives. This lively volume unfolds with contemporary and historical context through photos and explanatory text focused on how the November holiday plays out in specific states and cities in Mexico. By Déborah Holtz and Juan Carlos Mena. Rizzoli New York. $65.

In the summer of 2023, at age 102, style icon Iris Apfel began work on this book. She called it her “legacy” book. She died the following March but her voice lives on in the memories she put down here. “The book is about living. Creating. Coloring life,” she wrote in the introduction. What follows is just that: a technicolor journey in words and pictures through Apfel's childhood, marriage, work and home. What a treat to hear her voice again. Easily browsable with digestible text. Abrams. $50.

The work of Brooklyn artist Mickalene Thomas spans painting, collage, photography and video as she expresses her vision of womanhood in this monograph that accompanies a touring exhibition. She is known for elaborate portraits of Black women using rhinestones, acrylic and enamel. The book includes essays about Thomas and her impact. “Often when I think about my love for others I think about how I see myself in them,” Thomas said in an interview included in the book. D.A.P. $60.

The surreal, color-saturated work of the renowned photographer and video artist David LaChapelle is on display in this book originally published in 2016 as part of a limited-edition boxed set. The publisher, Taschen, is now launching the volume and another, “Good News,” as separate unlimited trade editions. Provocative set pieces and celebrity portraits are included. There's a nude Pamela Anderson, a Chris Rock in Black Panther garb, an angelic Pharrell Williams and a host of others: Julian Assange, Britney Spears, Ye, Hillary Clinton and Rihanna, to name a few. $50.

Most of the world's adults don't have a grasp of basic financial concepts, according to this easy-to-follow look at how money works. What, exactly, is microfinance? What influences the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank? That and more is covered in text and engaging visuals. By Dariusz Wójcik, a widely published, award-winning economic geographer. Maps and graphics by James Cheshire and Oliver Uberti. Yale University Press. $40.

A contemplative Kobe Bryant. A fierce Ben Wallace. A cigar chomping Steph Curry. NBA photographer Nathaniel S. Butler has shot them all as the ultimate insider. The work here spans championship celebrations to moody portraits. Butler's photos are accompanied by commentary from some of his most famous subjects. With a foreword by Patrick Ewing and an afterword by basketball super fan Spike Lee. Additional words by David McMenamin. Abrams. $55.

Photographer Malin plus dogs plus iconic locations around the world are what drive this fun and fluffy book. Malin replaced people with dogs to create his canine scenes. There are dogs picnicking near the Eiffel Tower. He's got dogs settled in on a luxury private jet over Palm Beach, Florida, and dogs poolside at the Beverly Hills Hotel. His pups are on ski slopes, in vintage cars and taking in Boston on a duck boat. Let the dopamine flow. Abrams. $45.

For more AP gift guides and holiday coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/gift-guide and https://apnews.com/hub/holidays.

This story has been corrected to show that Jules Feiffer is 95, not 90.

This photo shows the cover to “Mickalene: All About Love.” Coffee table books are good options for holiday gift guides. (D.A.P. via AP)

This photo shows the cover of “The Day of the Dead: A Celebration of Death and Life” by Déborah Holtz and Juan Carlos Mena. Coffee table books are good options for holiday gifts. (Rizzoli via AP)

This photo shows the cover of “The Women Who Changed Photography” by Gemma Padley. (Laurence King Publishing via AP)

This photo shows the cover of “Colorful,” by Iris Apfel. (Abrams via AP)

This photo shows the cover of “Dare to Bird” by Melissa Hafting. (Rocky Mountain Books via AP)

This cover image released by Reel Art Press shows "1001 Movie Posters: Designs of the Times." (Reel Art Press via AP)

This photo shows the cover of “Gray Malin: Dogs” by Gray Malin. (Abrams Books via AP)

This photo shows the cover of “Courtside: 40 Years of NBA Photography” by Nathaniel S. Butler. (Abrams Books via AP)

This photo shows the cover of “Atlas of Finance” by Dariusz Wójcik. Coffee table books are good options for holiday gifts. (Yale University Press via AP)

This cover image shows “Black in Fashion: 100 Years of Style, Influence & Culture.” Sometimes pricey, often large-format coffee table books make good holiday gift options. (Union Square & Co.)

This photo shows the cover of “Amazing Grapes” by Jules Feiffer. It’s the first graphic novel for young readers from the Pulitzer-winning, 90-year-old cartoonist. (HarperCollins via AP)

This combination of images shows cover art for, from left, "Black in Fashion: 100 Years of Style, Influence & Culture," "Colorful" by Iris Apfel, and “The Women Who Changed Photography” by Gemma Padley. (Union Square/Abrams/Laurence King Publishing via AP)

DENVER (AP) — A Frontier Airlines plane hit and killed a pedestrian on the runway of the Denver International Airport during takeoff, airport authorities said, sparking an engine fire and forcing passengers to evacuate.

The plane, on route from Denver to Los Angeles International Airport, “reported striking a pedestrian during takeoff at DEN at approximately 11:19 p.m. on Friday," the airport's official X account wrote.

A spokesperson for the airport said the pedestrian, who jumped a perimeter fence, has died. They said the unidentified person was hit two minutes after entering the airport. The person is not believed to be an airport employee.

“We're stopping on the runway,” the pilot tells the control tower according to the site ATC.com. “We just hit somebody. We have an engine fire.”

The pilot tells the air traffic controller they have “231 souls” on board and that an “individual was walking across the runway.”

The air traffic controller responds that they are “rolling the trucks now" before the pilot tells the tower they “have smoke in the aircraft. We are going to evacuate on the runway.”

Frontier Airlines said in a statement flight 4345 was the one involved in the collision and that “smoke was reported in the cabin and the pilots aborted takeoff.” It was not clear whether the smoke was linked to the crash with the pedestrian.

“The Airbus A321 was carrying 224 passengers and seven crew members,” the airline said. “We are investigating this incident and gathering more information in coordination with the airport and other safety authorities.”

Passengers were then evacuated via slides and the emergency crew bused them to the terminal. The airport spokesperson said 12 passengers suffered minor injuries and five were taken to local hospitals.

Denver Airport said the National Transportation Safety Board had been notified and that runway 17L, where the incident took place, will remain closed while an investigation is conducted. It is expected to open later today.

The pedestrian death came a day after a Delta Air Lines employee was killed while on the job at the Orlando International Airport. In a statement, the airline said the employee was killed Thursday night without providing details of the incident nor the name of the employee.

“We are focused on extending our full support to family and taking care of our Orlando team during this difficult time,” the airline said. "We are working with local authorities as a full investigation gets underway to determine what occurred.”

FILE - A Frontier Airlines jetliner taxis down a runway for take off from Denver International airport on Nov. 25, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File)