Award-winning nature photographer Art Wolfe spent three years capturing the images in The Living Wild, a splendid volume of pictures that pays tribute to the natural world and the creatures who inhabit it. More than 140 species are offered here, including rarities like the never-before-photographed Bornean bay cat. Wolfe has a compassionate eye and, with the use of a wide-angle lens, has taken care to include each species' natural environment in his photographs. The results are miracles of composition and light. These pictures deliver not only benign pandas, furtive wolves and lanky camels, but the places where they live, from the green forests of China's Qinling Mountains to the golden dunes of the Gobi Desert.

A wealth of information on each species is included in The Living Wild. Also provided are the stories behind the shots. Authored by Wolfe himself, capsule summaries reveal how the photographer managed to capture each stunning image. Those interested in the seemingly serendipitous process that is nature photography will find the artist's anecdotes intriguing.

In addition to vibrant visuals, The Living Wild offers essays by some of the world's leading conservationists, Jane Goodall among them, who emphasize the book's underlying message of what's at stake in the new millennium: nothing less than the extinction of many of the animals depicted due to disease, overhunting and habitat destruction. While a few of Wolfe's subjects are what he calls the success stories of conservation animals like the gray whale and the bald eagle whose numbers have been nursed back to higher levels most of the creatures shown are living on an environmental edge. In the end, these timeless photographs serve as a reminder to the viewer that nature is not inexhaustible.

Art Wolfe is joined by other celebrated photographers in Wild Asia, a rich visual journey through the world's largest, most environmentally diverse continent. Asia's extent resists definition, writes naturalist Mark Brazil in the book's introduction, and the pictures that comprise this vivid volume prove him right. Focusing on a different geographical area in each chapter, Wild Asia tours the Indian Himalayas, the forests of Japan and the Russian tundra, as well as other locales. In cataloguing the creatures these landscapes support, Wolfe and company have taken pictures that distill the innocence and savagery, playfulness and brutality that make the wild what it is wild. Special features include the famously elusive Himalayan snow leopard and the world's largest lizard, southern Asia's Komodo Dragon.

Contributed by a group of renowned naturalists, Wild Asia's text is both accessible and informative, a fine complement to these first-class photographs. Without being heavy-handed, the book examines conservation issues, gently reminding readers that the natural diversity Asia offers is at the mercy of man. The companion volume to a 10-part documentary that appeared on the Discovery Channel in the fall of 2000, Wild Asia is nothing if not reverent, a breathtaking testament to a complex continent and the delicate alliance that exists there between species and environment.

Backstage and on the page with the King of television talk. For political junkies and devotees of behind-the-scenes drama, a new book by CNN's Larry King is a dream come true. Viewers of Larry King Live know that all kinds of drama and melodrama take place backstage and out of sight during commercial breaks. If only we could get a peek! With Anything Goes! What I've Learned from Pundits, Politicians, and Presidents, King pulls back the curtains on those hidden anything goes moments.

There is often a wide gap between what the public sees and what takes place beyond earshot, especially when it comes to politics. That's part of the game, King said in an interview, pointing to a recent incident in which George W. Bush used an obscenity in referring to a New York Times reporter. It's a classic example of what goes on behind the scenes. They look out and they are smiling and waving, and at the same time they are calling someone a [derogatory name]. With that, King laughs: Of course that is not exclusive to the Republicans or to Bush. King's book details behind-the-scenes encounters with a wide range of politicians and celebrities, including Marlon Brando, Ross Perot, Bob Dole and others, but some of the most riveting moments involve President Clinton. On one occasion, they were 20 minutes into a live interview, when King asked if the president could stay an additional 30 minutes. Clinton said that would be fine, but during the next commercial break, his aides approached him and told him not to do the extra 30 minutes.

I'm not doing well? Clinton asked, looking annoyed. Do you think I'm handling myself poorly? With the program again going live, the aides stepped out of camera range without answering the president.

He was very annoyed and stayed annoyed, says King. When we ended that show, he looked at me and said goodnight, then he said,

Mother's birthday? Nephew's graduation? Second cousin twice removed's wedding? If you need help selecting a gift for any occasion, you've come to the right place. What gift is always the right color, the right size, and the right price? Why, books, of course! If you are not aware that the hottest new television series is found on PBS, you are not in the know. Don't despair, my friend; Workman Publishing has just the book for you. Carol Prisant's Antiques Roadshow Primer ($28.95, 076111775X, paperback, $19.95, 0761116249) will bring you up to speed on all that's essential in the world of antiques and collectibles. Included are sections that mention many of the show's more curious finds, quick tips for spotting a fabulous piece, common items mistakenly thought to be valuable, and a glossary. And should the Roadshow make a stop in your hometown, Antiques Roadshow Primer is the perfect gift to prepare packrats for their treasure hunts. Don't clean out the attic until you've read this book.

While antiques and collectibles go in and out of style, the concept of good manners is not beholden to seasons of change. With progress on both the social and technological fronts, however, there is always room for updates and improvement. Former White House staff coordinator Nancy Tuckerman and businesswoman Nancy Dunnan have updated and revised The Amy Vanderbilt Complete Book of Etiquette (Doubleday, $32, 0385413424) to accommodate today's lifestyles, including correct protocol for cosmetic surgery and prenuptial agreements. Both authors have painstakingly rewritten this book considered by many to be the final answer to all etiquette questions in the spirit of its original author. While most consider etiquette books as engagement gifts, The Amy Vander- bilt Complete Book of Etiquette addresses an exhaustive number of issues and circumstances, making it an appropriate gift for any occasion or (even better) when there's no occasion at all.

Very often, the difference between a moment lost and a moment captured hinges on whether a camera hastily catches it. When a photograph evokes more senses than merely sight and more memories than the image itself represents, indeed, the photograph has extended its intent. Pulitzer Prize-winning photographs fit this definition and for the first time ever, all are bound into one volume in Moments: The Pulitzer Prize-Winning Photographs. The Pulitzer Prize for photography was first awarded in 1942, so this collection is a wonderful visual record of the postwar era, with subjects ranging from Babe Ruth's formal good-bye to famine in Rwanda. Highs, lows, sports, science Moments includes timelines and commentary to supplement larger features. Not all of the images are happy, not all of the images are sad; rather, the images are used to tell the story of the latter half of the 20th century. It's a messy job, but then again, so is history.

However, if your giftee is more the tailored, designed type, perhaps you should consider purchasing Designing with Plants (Timber Press, $34.95, 0881924377). A collaborative effort of designers Piet Oudolf and Noel Kingsbury, the approach begins with basic elements to consider when designing your patch of earth: form, texture, and color are explained in detail, and photographic examples are included. From there, Oudolf and Kingsbury fill in the spaces, much like a child who has outlined a picture and is now ready to color it in. The authors explain how to combine the elements and customize with grasses, rhythm, and plant architecture. Don't despair, all you who dare to color outside the lines: there's even a section on breaking the rules. Also included are segments on mood reflection, year-round planting, and a directory. This book, while gorgeous enough to display, is very user-friendly for anyone interested in all that's green and flowery. If, as a rule, April showers bring May flowers, why not try and orchestrate the blooms?