20 Coffee Table Books To Impress Your Adventure-Loving Friends
The books adorning your coffee table provide your guests with a window into your soul. Coffee table books say a lot about a person. So what do you want your soul to look like?
If your soul speaks adventure, travel, and natural wonder you’ve found yourself in the right place.
National Geographic and Lonely Planet have a series of gorgeous coffee table books that reveal the world’s most amazing sites and natural wonders. Plus many famous photographers have released collections of their most beloved subjects like surfing, skiing, volcanoes, and boating. Coffee table books also make great gifts for travelers.
The perfect coffee table book can awe and inspire so here are 20 of the best coffee table books for adventurer lovers:
1. Journeys of a Lifetime: 500 of the World’s Greatest Trips by National Geographic
In Journeys of a Lifetime, National Geographic uncovers the world’s most amazing journeys, along with stunning photos and helpful information for visiting yourself.
2. Lasting Light: 125 Years of Grand Canyon Photography by Stephen Trimble
One of the most photographed places on Earth, Lasting Light celebrates 125 years of Grand Canyon photography and will awe all who pick up this book.
3. Lonely Planet Nepal by Richard I’Anson
Spectacular coffee table book with over 400 photos of Kathmandu, Chitwan, Annapurna, Upper Mustang, and Mount Everest.
4. Stone Offerings: Machu Picchu’s Terraces of Enlightenment by Mike Torrey
Your friends will be impressed of your Machu Picchu trek when they view these 100 plus beautiful photos of Peru’s amazing treasure.
5. Planet Earth: As You’ve Never Seen It Before by Alastair Fothergill
Inspired by the popular Discovery Channel series, Planet Earth:As You’ve Never Seen It Before takes the reader on a journey of Earth’s incredibly varied flora, fauna, and terrain.
6. Glen Canyon: Images of a Lost World by Ted Nichols and Gary Ladd
When the Colorado River was damned in the 1960’s, one of the West’s most stunning natural landscapes was flooded. In Glen Canyon: Images of a Lost World, you can see images of what Glen Canyon was like before it was lost.
7. Drives of a Lifetime: 500 of the World’s Most Spectacular Trips by National Geographic
Sure to inspire many future road trips, National Geographic’s Drives of a Lifetime is filled with gorgeous shots from the some of the world’s most spectacular roads.
8. World Climbing: Images from the Edge by Simon Carter
Climbing photograph extraordinaire Simon Carter takes us on a journey of the world’s best technical rock climbing.
9. Alpine Americas: An Odyssey Along the Crest of Two Continents by Olaf Soot and Don Mellor
This stunning coffee table book features the 10,000 miles of peaks from the Arctic to Patagonia.
10. The Red Volcanoes: Face to Face with the Mountains of Fire by G. Brad Lewis
Phenomenal shots of volcanoes, lava flows, and the destruction caused by volcanoes.
11. LeRoy Grannis: Surf Photography Of The 1960s & 1970s by Steve Bariletti
Fabulous coffee table book chronicling California and Hawaii surf history.
12. One Planet: Inspirational Travel Photographs by Lonely Planet
Plenty of inspiring photos to motivate anyone to travel.
13. Ski & Snow Country: The Golden Years of Skiing in the West, 1930s-1950s by Ray Atkeson and Warren Miller
If you’re into skiing, you will love these old school ski shots and great stories.
14. Canyon Wilderness of the Southwest by Joe Ortner
No coffee table book list is complete without a book featuring the magnificent beauty of my beloved Colorado Plateau.
15. National Geographic Simply Beautiful Photographs by National Geographic
Quite simply, a beautiful coffee table book.
16. Wind and Water: Boating Photographs From Around The World by Onne van der Wal
Wind and Water features over 100 photographs of boating, sailing, and the power of the ocean.
17. Serengeti: Natural Order on the African Plain by Mitsuaki Iwago
This amazing coffee table book represents one year in East Africa’s Serengeti National Park.
18. Beaches by Gideon Bosker
Especially nice in the depths of winter, Bosker’s Beaches takes you on a refreshing journey of the world’s most beautiful beaches.
19. Lost Balls: Great Holes, Tough Shots, and Bad Lies by Charles Lindsay
Anyone remotely interested in golfing will find this book hilarious. Lindsay photographs his way to the places where golf balls get lost.
20. 1,000 Places to See Before You Die by Patricia Schultz
1000 Places to See Before You Die isn’t exactly a gigantic coffee table photography book, but it will reliably awe and inspire your guests.
[Photo courtesy of rick]