The Art of Graphic Design
by Bradbury Thompson

Thompson was a real innovator, and his experiments with printing technology and unicase typography are still fresh today. This book is pretty pricey, but well worth it. That is, unless you like bad design, in which case this is way overpriced.

Perverse Optimist
by Tibor Kalman

The late Mr. Kalman was one of the few consistently interesting voices in graphic design. This book is a beautiful monograph of his work and ideas, and should be required reading for any design student. That means you, slacker!

Uncanny: The Art & Design of Shawn Wolfe

One of a handful of young designers whose work really impresses us. (And depresses us, it's so good.)

Film Posters of the 60s: The Essential Movies of the Decade
Film Posters of the 70s: The Essential Movies of the Decade
by Tony Nourmand (Editor), Graham Marsh (Editor)

Hardcover books featuring full-color reproductions of the best movie poster art of the '60s and '70s. Suave and bold indeed!

Grindhouse: The Forbidden World of 'Adults Only' Cinema
by Eddie Muller, Daniel Faris

A history of exploitation cinema from the burlesque '30s to the porno '70s. Here's to the porno '00s! (Pronounced "porn-oh oh-ohs.")