Eyes, Right!

SPORTS ILLUSTRATED 50 YEARS: THE ANNIVERSARY BOOK SPORTS ILLUSTRATED (another EW sibling in the Time Inc. family) has come a long way. Early on, the venerable sports magazine featured covers on cowgirl fashions and elephant seals. After 50 years, it seems to have settled into a more recognizable groove. One can trace that development in this book, which contains such photographic gems as a shot of 12-year-old Cassius Clay, excerpts from the magazine's best stories, and thumbnails of 2,585 cover images. Perfect for the obsessive sports fan.

OSCAR NIGHT: 75 YEARS OF HOLLYWOOD PARTIES While it was only a decade ago that Vanity Fair began hosting one of Tinseltown's hottest post-Academy Award parties, this volume draws on 75 years of superbly fun pictures that date back to Oscar's inception in 1929. It duly captures the evolution of Hollywood's fashion tastes, its tumultuous relationships, and the corrective to any star's ego: age. Regard the cocky young mugs of Kirk Douglas or James Cagney morphing into stately old faces.

MAGNUM STORIES Founded in 1947 by photography giants David Seymour, Robert Capa, and Henri Cartier-Bresson, the Magnum agency provided its members the independence to chronicle a world that is often harsh and depressing but never uninteresting. Here, personal essays by 61 shutterbugs accompany examples of their best work. For instance, Eve Arnold recalls her experience as a white journalist — and a Jew — covering Malcolm X at a 1961 Muslim convention in Washington, D.C., attended by members of the American Nazi party.

TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX: INSIDE THE PHOTO ARCHIVE You might feel the urge to hum Twentieth Century Fox's recognizable horn anthem when you crack open this collection of behind-the-scenes photos from classic Fox films, such as one of an improbably-young-looking John Wayne on the set of 1930's The Big Trail or a wide-eyed Don Knotts sitting in Doris Day's chair from 1963's Move Over, Darling.

A PASSION FOR TRAINS: THE RAILROAD PHOTOGRAPHY OF RICHARD STEINHEIMER ''I don't see symbolism or really care. I see the people or situation or reality — that's it,'' writes Steinheimer. Regardless of that claim, much of his work captures the passing of rail transportation into American myth. Working largely in the West, these nostalgia-tinged shots from the mid-20th century manage to simultaneously glorify trains and minimize them in the face of this nation's vast landscapes.

THE COMPLETE CARTOONS OF THE NEW YORKER When they say complete, they mean it. This 600-plus-page book features 2,004 of the mag's cartoons; the other 66,643 appear on two CDs inside. One favorite: A llama says to another, ''I llove you.'' Just looking at the cover will make you feel witty and cosmopolitan.