hmmmm.... no price restrictions? I'd go with Pages From Presses for sure! Okay, maybe it's not so instructive, but a good starter (but maybe less exciting) is always the triumvirate.

Price of Pages From Presses is $ 1,300.00 ...he he he

1. Paul Renner by Chris Burke -- history
2. Style Guide by Robert Bringhurst -- practice
3. The new FontBook -- typeface reference

A very interesting book is Stop Stealing Sheep from Adobe

Stop Stealing Sheep from Adobe

Dang mutton rustlers.

Type and Typography, Highlights from the Matrix; Batty

ChrisL

What about Jan Middendorp's 'Dutch Type'?

And the newest Rockledge? I've got an old one (with the foreword by AF), but there should be a newer one....

Typically students, such as myself, are poor. But even I can afford Bringhurst, Spiekerman, etc. You need to think BIGGER! BADDER! ¡Muy, muy costoso!

You've got a sugar daddy, don't let the opportunity pass!

How about Typographie, by Emil Ruder? I saw an English translation the other day at Wessel & Lieberman in Seattle that I coveted, but alas! I spent all my money on fonts instead :(

http://www.thinkingwithtype.com/

A Tally of Types – Stanley Morison, An essey on typography – Eric Gill, The Stroke theory of writning – Gerrit Noordzij.

// ktkm

Bringhurst - The Elements of Typographic Style.
Tschichold - The Form of the Book.
Zapf - Manuale Typographicum [Z-Presse, 1968]

"How about Typographie, by Emil Ruder?"

Dan, I have the first edition of Ruder's book. It came out when I was a design student. I stil;l value it highly.

ChrisL

If price is no concern, I would buy Morison's two-volume Selected Essays before I bought his Tally of Types...

/but probably not if that counted as two...

okay, i fleshed out the wiki entry faq_books, so i don't want to see any more book queries! kidding, kidding, kidding! >^P

Another good history book is Texts on Type, by Heller & Meggs.
It comprises short articles by various luminaries, written throughout the 20th century, so it gets the reader close to original critical material, without having to do the research.
But it's only a paperback, and you can probably get it for $5 on the Net -- old books are so cheap now, the drag is paying for delivery, and waiting for it.

Kon, I second that. The Form of the Book is a great read.

Seeing as you're from India, and heeding Dan's sage bit of advice to think bigger and badder, I would suggest an expensive book that is not about typography but about scripts. I believe every typographer should be familiar with the evolution of various different scripts, and this book is invaluable, as well as costly:

The World's Writing Systems, by Peter Daniels & William Bright
ISBN 0-19-507993-0

There is a newer Rookledge, published by Laurence King in the UK, but mostly with the same content. Although the reference methodology is still great, it doesn't necessarily help identify digital typefaces, or any font produced after about 1983.

I would recommend Baines and Haslam's Type and Typography as a general primer.

Neil Macmillan's An A-Z of Type Designers is also pretty interesting.

Then, of course, there is also The Logo Font and Lettering Bible by Leslie Carbarga which you should at least check out...

I'd say pick up Ezra Pound's Cantos, James Joyce's Finnegans Wake, and Georges Perec's A Void.

:-)

Don't pick up Sandberg's Lincoln though, it (they) weigh too much :-)

ChrisL

So much for helping Satya choose three books...

Manual Typographique

:-)

-
MLVR

It's not strictly typography, but it's not cheap, so it probably qualifies in the "spend a lot of money" category.

"Universal Principles of Design: 100 ways to enhance usability, influence perception, increase appeal, make better design decisions, and teach through design" by William Lidwell, Kritina Holden and Jill Butler. ISBN 1-59253-007-9

Linda

Soooooooooo much too choose...and that's the confusion:)
I've made a list of all the books recommonded here...and told my teacher to get them into my school's library(the only way to get them all).
...
If am successfull getting them all in.....I'll buy HarryPotter;)

>>btw, still thinking for myself.

I second Daniels & Bright. I also recommend "The Typographic Book" by Morison and Day, about $100 in a decent used edition. And, to round out the "bigger and badder" theme, I'd go with the 1912 or 1923 ATF specimen book, about $250 but sometimes you can get lucky.

I'd recomend The complete manual of typography. Also an Adobe book, so be aware that there is a definite bias, as is with Stop stealing sheep.

The Mac is not a typewriter is a classic. Simple, and great for the layperson.

A great specimine book is American metal typefaces of the 20th century.

Fontshop makes nice catalogues, and aparently LinoType has one coming out, for something liks $20usd, but from what I know it does not show complete character sets. That makes it more of an ad than a resource.

If you don't have it, definately get the Bringhurst book, but be sure to get the hard cover. The 2nd edition in perfect bound is a little too thick, though last time I checked only the 1st edition was available in hardcover. It has a nice red ribon for marking your page though. The major difference between 1st and 2nd ed is that in 2nd theres a larger glosary, more specimines, and mebe a small section on something digital. I have 1st in hard, have seen the 2nd, and feel no need to buy it again.

Better still, I get to go hear Bringhurst speak tonight (at NSCAD University) and if its appropiate, I might be able to get him to sign it for me.

My copy's a Bringhurst 3.1, softcover. I also have his 1st and 2nd edition softcovers from when I was a student... aside from adding a chapter or two, he does expand on some of his previous explanations...

Has anyone noticed Bringhurst adopts Wittgenstein's decimal system for his chapters?

here are a few more for you to chew on...

1. Designing Type - Karen Cheng
2. The Elements of Typographic Style - Bringhurst
3. My Way to Typography - Wolfgang Weingart

enjoy!

How come no one ever mentions Doyald Young?
I think logotypes and letterforms is a really good book.

Layout in Advertising by W. A. Dwiggins.
In many ways an entirely archaic and impractical text, but a wonderful reminder that the well made thing only results from involved, hands-on artistry. I still find the book's expressions of quality to be a great source of inspiration.