Mandahla: Gift Books

Early Japanese Railways, 1853-1914 by Dan Free (Tuttle Publishing, $65, 9784805310069/4805310065, November 2008)

Perhaps not the most esoteric gift book published this fall, but this comes close; for train and history buffs or for the person who likes unusual topics (they look so impressive on the shelf), Early Japanese Railways is a fascinating selection. Its subtitle is Engineering Triumphs That Transformed Meiji-Era Japan; the Meiji Era was a period of rapid modernization, and the development of railways was pivotal. Author Free first sets the historical stage, placing isolated Japan in political context; within 10 years of Perry's "opening" of Japan in 1854, the first commercial railway was in operation. There is enough information here to satisfy the historian, but the old maps, postcards, drawings and dining car menus are a definite bonus for the more visually-oriented. Tinted and black-and-white photographs are abundant, and some, like a Tokaido Line mixed train crossing a bridge over moonlit water or the block print of a Yokohama-bound night train by Inoue Yasuji are worthy of an art book.

The Dancer Within: Intimate Conversations with Great Dancers by Rose Eichenbaum (Wesleyan University Press, $29.95, 9780819568809/0819568805, July 2008)

Rose Eichenbaum wanted to be a dancer, but marriage and motherhood interrupted her plans. Her dream never completely died, and in her 40s she decided to use her camera as a way to reenter the dance world. The result is 40 interviews, accompanied by photographs of dancers dancing and in repose. The interviews are, for the most part, homey and intimate--Rose always seems to be asked in for coffee or offering coffee herself. This apparent ease with her subjects somewhat belies her determination to get an interview but attests to her empathy with the dancers, like Leslie Caron ("The morning of our scheduled meeting, Paris was dark and chilly."); Barrie Chase ("What does it feel like to dance with Fred Astaire?" "It spoils you."); Robert La Fosse, mourning the end of his dancing ("You're like a stranger in a strange land. You have to earn to cohabit with non-dancers."). He didn't miss the glory, he missed the routine, the striving for perfection. Leonard Crofoot, who created a one-person show, Nijinsky Speaks, was asked why the life and art of Nijinsky is relevant today; he said, "Nijinsky went insane. Find a way not to." Dudley Williams, who spent 41 years with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, talked about those who try to imitate him: "My movement originates in my heart. I can't teach others what's in my heart." That echoes the common theme--the love of dancing and the need to dance.

In Defense of Our Neighbors: The Walt and Milly Woodward Story by Mary Woodward (Fenwick Publishing Group, $24.95, 9780974951072/0974951072, September 2008)

This elegantly-produced book filled with photos and memorabilia is a testament to courage and principles and a cautionary tale about civil liberties--and the ease with which those liberties can disappear. The author's parents, Walt and Milly Woodward, were newspaper publishers on Bainbridge Island, just west of Seattle, at the start of World War II. The island was 10% Japanese-American, and the Woodwards protested vehemently but unsuccessfully against the internment of their Japanese-American neighbors. The Woodwards helped the community's struggle with the results and after the war, did much to smooth the way home for the returning islanders. If some of this story sounds familiar, it's because David Guterson used it as a backdrop for Snow Falling on Cedars. He says in his foreword to this book, the Woodwards were "two people who believed in themselves without any narcissism," who believed in the Constitution, democracy and the dignity of people. In Defense of Our Neighbors is not only the story of the Woodwards, it's a history of a time and actions that we must never forget, especially in this age of fear.

Transylvania by Bronwen Riley, photographs by Dan Dinescu (Frances Lincoln, $60, 9780711227811/0711227810, April 2008)

Bronwen Riley begins with this: "When I was young, I dreamed of stepping back in time. I longed to find the magic wardrobe or secret passage that would spirit me to a distant age." Riley found her wish granted years later when she traveled to Transylvania, a place that seems not just old-fashioned but of another world. "Romania is the last place in Europe that despite, or perhaps because of, its recent past still retains some of that magic." There is only a hint of it now; Riley says that capitalism and European Union membership will wipe out in a few years what Communism failed to do in 50. What is left? Churches and villages and the countryside with flora and fauna lost in Western Europe years ago--that is the country that Riley and Dan Dinescu present so well. A wooden farm in the frost-covered Carpathians, sorbet-colored houses in the fortified town of Sighişoara, a plum brandy still (under threat from E.U. law), fragments of a 15th century church wall painting, red-roofed Bran castle--the photographs are captivating. One first comes to this book with an interest in the pictures, but the text is just as enchanting.--Marilyn Dahl