Gear Patrol

If you’re actively living your life, some kind of injury is inevitable. The trick is to find a happy medium between daily doctor appointments, and “toughing it out” until the injury gets nasty. That’s why we were happy to find The Athlete’s Guide to Home Remedies ($16) – a book by Jordan D. Metzl, M.D., a physician…

Just in time for your manhood, or better yet, Father’s Day, our good friends at The Art of Manliness have unveiled a limited edition boxed set of their two books: The Art of Manliness: Classic Skills and Manners for the Modern Man and Manvotionals: Timeless Wisdom and Advice on Living the 7 Manly Virtues. Double…

While we appreciate the growing craft beer movement and the art of a perfectly poured pint, we can’t ignore our do-it-yourself instincts. But before we turn the guest room into a rogue brewery, we’ll take some advice from avid home brewer, Matthew Schaefer. His new book, The Illustrated Guide to Brewing Beer ($15), is the…

Moleskines are great for jotting down personal flashes of inspiration. But what if you could purchase the Moleskines of other, equally brilliant minds — to peer into their brainstorming and creative process. That’s the idea behind the company’s new Architect and Design series ($40). The current collection dives into the brains of famed architects, Zaha…

American Cookery ($10) is the first cookbook written by an American. Strangely, the only details that are actually known about its author come from the words “American orphan” found on the cover. Other hints from the book’s text suggest she was a domestic laborer who lacked formal education. The book was published originally in 1796…

Patrick Lee wraps up his Travis Chase trilogy with another mind bending, stomach churning adventure. Deep Sky ($8) finds said protagonist and fellow covert Tangent agent Page Campbell on a journey that will take them across the country and through time and reality itself. They are hunting for a secret so sensitive it hasn’t been…

Having a firm grasp on history has always been a core pillar of a proper education. It provides context, insight and understanding on how things came to be, which is especially invaluable for those seeking to innovate. There are obviously innumerable texts on the subject, but for those looking for a casual refresher, it doesn’t…

The first in a series of upcoming editions, photo artist Bruce Percy has compiled 40 of his incredible photoworks into The Art of Adventure: 40 Photographic Examples (~$61). Spanning the waterfalls of Iceland, to the Bolivian Altiplano, to Nepalese buddhists, each photo — like Patagonia’s Pehoe Curve (pictured above) — are stunning examples of Percy’s…

What’s the phrase? It’s Christmas Day, it’s cold and there’s nothing to do. Well, get yourself a cup of hot cider and throw on the velour robe/smoking jacket and fake loafer slippers you just got from your crazy uncle and settle down to a long and luscious read of Car: The Definitive Visual History of…

Despite our concerted efforts to cover the best books over the course of the year, there are still plenty of worthy titles that we didn’t get around to talking about. Subsequently, these selections represent an end of the year GP reading list of sorts for bringing your home library up to speed on 2011. Pack…

Ahmet Ertegun isn’t a household name — let alone easy to say, but if you’re a music fan, you’ve probably benefitted from his life’s legacy. Despite being the son of the first Republic of Turkey ambassador to the US, Ahmet channeled his love of Blues and Jazz to found Atlantic records. Not up on your…

New York’s famed Please Don’t Tell nails the hidden speakeasy vibe like few other establishments in the city. For example, gaining access to the snug cocktail lounge requires patrons to find the hidden entrance located behind the vintage phone booth in the attached hot dog joint Crif Dogs. Jim Meehan’s inventiveness behind the bar, however,…

From the foodstuffs syndicate of Serious Eats comes their new book: Serious Eats: A Comprehensive Guide to Making and Eating Delicious Food Wherever You Are ($18). Ed Levine and the editors have brought the same refreshingly approachable, high-energy style that have Serious Eats a must-bookmark site, to the epic 368 page book celebrating the best…

The internet meme Awkward Family Photos has certainly faded from its former glory days as the golden child of internet humor, but that hasn’t stopped authors Mike Bender and Dough Chernack from developing their next great wrinkle on the same embarrassing theme — Awkward Family Pet Photos ($10). As you’d expect from the title, the…

When go-to resources like Travelzoo and Jetsetter are just a click away, it’s tough not to let wanderlust get the better of you and your real world budget. Thankfully, there’s plenty of gems right in our own 9,400,000 sq mi backyard — and the Grey Lady can prove it. Filled with photography and gorgeous illustrations,…

Manvotionals: Timeless Wisdom and Advice on Living the 7 Manly Virtues is the second book from Brett and Kate McKay, the husband and wife team behind the always awesome The Art of Manliness. The idea for the book spawned from one of their namesake web series, which shares inspiring words from famous men throughout history….

Crack pie isn’t a label most bakeries would readily slap on one of their confections, but then again most bakeries aren’t run by Christina Tosi. Inspired by her nostalgia for the teeth-depleting sugared cereals of Saturday morning fame and probably more than a few hits off of the peace pipe, her offbeat sweet tooth captured…

Since the Spring of 2007 the dedicated journalists at Overland Journal have shared their avid passion for adventure travel and overlanding in a magazine we just can’t get enough of (we’re four issues deep). Season after season they craft archival quality editions, issued five times a year — packed with feature-length stories chronicling their global…

Typography mishaps, philanthropy and Frankenstein. If it sounds like a genius mashup, then you’d be correct. The Frankenfont project takes Shelley’s classic and incorporates incomplete font sets that commonly plague half-baked PDFs to create a progressively devolving book. The layout begins with the most commonly used characters and worsens into obscure typography — making the…

William Faulkner once said, “Civilization begins with distillation.” Sounds about right. The more history you read, the more entwined it becomes with booze, and not just because you’re often drinking while reading. In his book And a Bottle of Rum ($11), travel writer Wayne Curtis tells the tale of rum-soaked America, from its innocent beginnings…

The first thing you should know about Maphead ($15) is that it’s written by Ken Jennings. Yes, it’s the same Ken Jennings who won Jeopardy 74 times in a row, taking home $3,172,700 in winnings and claiming the title of all-time leading money winner on American game shows. The second point worth mentioning is the…

Clearly, we’re fond of books that teach us more about the things we love. The subject matter alone of The Oxford Companion to Beer ($38) is enough to tempt most men to flip through its pages, but when you factor in that it’s been edited by Brooklyn Brewery brewmaster Garrett Oliver, it becomes a must…

Wine is a subject we prefer studying with a glass, friends, and a good meal. However, if you’re looking to read up on the subject, Matt Kramer on Wine: A Matchless Collection of Columns, Essays, and Observations by America’s Most Original and Lucid Wine Writer ($12) is a great resource. The title is a little…

The 20′s may have roared, but for Formula 1 racing, there’s arguably no era better than the 70′s. Packed with over 200 pages of captivating photographs by Rainer W. Schlegelmilch, Formula 1: The Roaring 70′s ($53) is an homage to the sport during a simpler, more visceral time. Jackie Stewart, Emerson Fittipaldi and Mario Andretti…

Bringing together over 250 blueprints created for the trilogy Star Wars: The Blueprints ($500), by J.W. Rinzler, is nothing short of epic. Everything from Jabba the Hutt’s palace to the Millennium Falcon as well as never before seen technical drawings are included in this master collection. In addition, 336 pages packed with 500 photographs and…

Does the name Kevin Mitnick mean anything to you? Unless you happen to work for the FBI or a prominent internet security firm, the answer is probably no. Still, long before groups like Anonymous were practicing their own brand of hacktivism Mr. Mitnick had earned the title as the most wanted computer criminal in the…

The artisanal world of tailoring can be daunting to any man uninitiated with its intricacies. Reading the Le Snob Guide to Tailoring ($12) will help even the most inexperienced buyer confidently select, wear, and maintain all kinds of bespoke clothing, or alter the store bought variety for a better fit. Part of an unfortunately-named series…

Henny Youngman once said, “when I read about the evils of drinking, I gave up reading.” We like to channel the comedian’s wise words by only reading about books that champion drinking, like The Punch Bowl ($10) by Dan Searing. This veritable tome of punchy goodness celebrates the modern renaissance of this social concoction while…

Neil Leifer is the world’s preeminent sports photographer. Don’t recognize the name? Well, just know that 160 of his images have graced the cover of Sports Illustrated, 40 have made the cover of Time, he’s published over 15 books, and he took this photo of Muhammad Ali’s 1965 knock out of Sonny Liston. Mull over…

Bleary-eyed and desperately tired, after countless bedtime stories, 1,765 sheep, seemingly gallons of warm milk, and teddy bears, trying to put the little one to sleep is an exercise in frustration and patience. When the former runs high and the latter runs thin, it’s time to pour yourself a double, grab the headphones and unwind…