Do you have a hard-to-please nephew on your holiday shopping list? A temperamental co-worker? A great-grandmother who wasn't delighted with last year's fruit basket? If the thought of shopping for these choosy types puts you into a Scrooge-like seasonal spin, consider the gift that's easy to find, easy to wrap and hard to beat. Books, of course! Culled from the millions (OK, dozens) of gift books that have poured into our offices in recent weeks, straining every shelf, we offer a wide-ranging compendium of the season's best.

Chances are, you've noticed that a lot of women have a special fondness for horses. GaWaNi Pony Boy, a popular training clinician and noted authority on Native American horsemanship, has also been struck by this realization. In the hope of better understanding this phenomenon, he went straight to the ones who are slipping all those carrots into their horses' mouths and asked 22 veteran horsewomen to write essays on the objects of their affection. The result is Of Women and Horses, a beautiful and illuminating book that will delight any horse lover on your list. While each contributor has her particular slant on the subject, the deep bond and life-shaping love that each feels for the horse is the common thread which runs through all the stories. Interspersed between the chapters are short commentaries by Pony Boy which provide a grounding yang to the exuberant yin of the essays. As sincere and insightful as he is, Pony Boy cannot but appear a little oafish next to all these beautiful, sensitive and articulate feminine voices. The commentary and essays are accompanied by the gorgeous photography of Gabrielle Boiselle.

A printer friend of ours took a look at Frans Lanting's new book, Jungles and cooed over the thing like it was a baby. Being a printer, he raved about the colors, the use of papers, the binding - everything but the photographs themselves. It's only natural, but he's really missing out. Jungles is a vivid, achingly beautiful representation of our vanishing natural world; what's outside your door will seem like black and white compared to the Technicolor dreamland Lanting depicts. Apes look downcast and philosophical; a rhinoceros virtually leaps off the page, hairy and dirty and wild; a flock of crimson birds darts through your line of vision like flower petals falling. Lanting is a sensitive and smart photographer, who knows not only what to shoot, but when. Ranging from the Amazon to Borneo, panoramic shots giving way to close-ups of the animal world, Jungles is such a gorgeous book, it won't have to be wrapped. And come to think of it, the printing is rather nice!

Just think of every stupid thing you've ever seen people do, then multiply that by 300 or so, and you'll have a book that will make you proud to be swimming in such a stellar gene pool. Author Wendy Northcutt has collected hilarious gems that have long circulated as e-mail chain letters in The Darwin Awards. Named after Charles Darwin, the father of evolution, these awards focus on individuals "who ensure the long-term survival of our species by removing themselves from the gene pool in a sublimely idiotic fashion." In the ongoing saga of the survival of the fittest, these tales of trial and awe-inspiring error show us just how uncommon common sense can be.

Every year, more people incorporate some form of alternative medicine into their personal health care program. For today's consumer, the name of the game is choice. Author Bill Gottlieb certainly provides this in Alternative Cures: The Most Effective Natural Home Remedies for 160 Health Problems. Gottlieb calls upon the insight and clinically tested advice of 350 of America's natural healers to solve common health problems. The book is impressive at 670 pages and skillfully organized by areas of the body, such as bone and joint problems, digestive problems and skin problems. A chapter entitled "Natural Healing At-A-Glance" introduces readers to the most common alternative practices to date and explains their rationale. Readers will also appreciate the helpful resources chapter, which provides diagrams, referral resources and a product resources guide. Gottlieb believes "the body has a natural, built-in healing power. The same power that spontaneously heals a cut can also clear up a sinus infection." A growing number of consumers would agree with him, and would welcome the addition of this helpful reference to their home library.

National Geographic has a reputation for quality photography, trustworthy journalism and far-ranging interests. All of those attributes are visible in a beautiful new coffee-table book, Women Photographers at National Geographic, by longtime Geographic editor Cathy Newman. Female photographers from pioneer Margaret Bourke-White to the intrepid Jodi Cobb fill this splendid book with unforgettable images from around the world. In the Northern Territory of Australia, the Gagudju Aborigines perform a ceremonial dance; in an adult day care center in Japan, an elderly woman sleeps in a crib beside a large doll; in Russia, a couple get married on the icy surface of Lake Baikal. The photos reveal that women were contributing to National Geographic from the earliest days. The text not only relates these women's stories, and those of the writers who accompanied them, but also illuminates the women behind the scenes. These include, for example, influential editors who nudged the male bosses to experiment with color printing. Like the rest of the world, this magazine was created by women and men working together and in this book the women finally get their due.

The Magic Flute is the ultimate Mozart, in every sense. The composer finished the opera's score just weeks before his death, and in it he gives us the most direct access to the undying mystery of his art: music so simple, it defies our understanding. In the first of a series of forthcoming opera publications, Abbeville Press has combined a book and CD to capture the mythic quality of Mozart's accomplishment in a package that will delight any opera fan. The Magic Flute includes the legendary 1937 recording of the opera by Arturo Toscanini and a new translation of the libretto by J.D. McClatchy. Davide Pizzigoni contributes illustrations that combine the charm of a children's book with a sophisticated nod to the libretto's Masonic iconography. As we listen and read, the strange magic of the music becomes a magic in reverse: the fabulous and the supernatural come home to the realm of human feeling; the comedy that unfolds becomes one we all can recognize as the essential, hopeful story of our own lives.

Every episode, every season, every character - they're all reunited for the 40th anniversary of the much loved The Andy Griffith Show in Mayberry Memories: The Andy Griffith Show Photo Album. In chronological format, this photo-packed tribute takes you through eight seasons of great moments, beginning with the first episode in 1960. Authors Ken Beck and Jim Clark, who gave us Aunt Bee's Mayberry Cookbook and Goober in a Nutshell, have rounded up an impressive number of quotes and comments from writers, cast members and production crew that tell the behind-the-scenes stories of what life was really like in Mayberry. You'll find out how the show got its famous whistling theme song and read each actor's take on his or her favorite episodes. The ultimate viewing guide for a show that, thanks to reruns, lives on.

Reviews contributed by Sharon Kozy, Jim Webb, Stephanie Swilley, Pat Regel, Michael Sims and Michael Rose. Copyright 2000 BookPage Reviews