The Apple Macintosh arrived in 1984, when fewer than 3 percent of Americans owned personal computers. It's in "Phaidon Design Classics."

Other articles by Tracy Achor Hayes:

Exquisite china an eyeful Bag sales help feed hungry children Find classy yet casual items at Home, James! Waterford, designer unite for collection Go ahead, spring for these items 'Project Runway' guru and brand-name designer Kors basks in media glow 'Curious goods' online Forget girly; dark, grunge will rule in fall Brooch the subject Puttin' on the dog

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Anyone who has ever experienced a New York fashion show from the vantage point of backstage knows the mix of chaos and coordination, ennui and adrenaline that goes into producing 20 minutes of fashion perfection. In the new book "Look: Portraits Backstage at Olympus Fashion Week" (Powerhouse Books, $39.95), veteran photographer Timothy Greenfield-Sanders takes his camera behind the scenes and comes back with something unexpected: a series of composed, almost formal portraits of the designers, editors, models, celebs and various exotics who make up fashion's inner circle. With a roll of pale-gray seamless as the only backdrop, the nearly 200 portraits are devoid of setting (not a champagne bottle, cigarette or makeup-littered table in sight). But they make for an entertaining "Who's Who." In Greenfield-Sanders' words, "Where else would you find Beyoncé, Salman Rushdie and Jenna Jameson all under the same roof — or in this case, the same tent?" Indeed.

Andy Warhol tome is giant

The library on Andy Warhol just keeps growing. In this case, literally. "Andy Warhol: Giant Size" (Phaidon, $125) checks in at roughly 17 inches tall and 13 inches wide, making it an apt tribute to the visionary who once wrote, "Don't pay any attention to what they write about you, just measure it in inches." Warhol collectors will savor the chronological, scrapbook-style layout, packed with 2,000 images, documents and ephemera, some familiar, many totally fresh.

Breathtaking pictures of Tibet

When James Truman, then Conde Nast's editorial director, took off for Bhutan a few years back, you knew it wouldn't be long before tiny Himalayan nations hit it big. Enter "Tibet Style" (Editions Flammarion, $34.95), a lushly photographed visual essay of the Chinese-occupied country that's one part National Geographic, one part Vogue. The Dalai Lama might wonder at the notion of his beleaguered homeland being promoted as "an idea source for fashion and interior designers alike." But the images of scarlet-robed monks and ethnic nomads in fox-fur hats, silk brocade robes and leopard-trimmed coats are breathtaking all the same.

Learn about Ferragamo, shoemaker to the stars

Long before Manolo and Miuccia, there was Salvatore Ferragamo, a maestro of shoes whose Florence workrooms were filled with hand-carved wood lasts for such clients as Greta Garbo, Eva Peron, Katharine Hepburn and Audrey, too. "Walking Dream: Salvatore Ferragamo 1898-1960" (D.A.P., $50) is the companion to a retrospective exhibition at the Museo del Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico City. The shoe-lover's dream book features essays and history, but its heart is a catalog of 80 of Ferragamo's most radical designs, from delicately embroidered Louis-heeled pumps to the impossibly bold, metallic-strapped, rainbow-soled platforms made in 1938, possibly for Judy Garland, that adorn the cover.

Design is subject of 2 volumes

The art of design is not just celebrated, it's decoded, cataloged, compiled and ordered, in two authoritative and, yes, aesthetically pleasing, new books. The 3,300-page, three-volume "Phaidon Design Classics" (Phaidon, $175 for the 3-volume set) is by far the weightier (18 pounds). Defining "design classics" as "industrially manufactured objects of aesthetic value and timeless quality," the volumes present 999 examples, from Saarinen chairs and Airstream trailers to binder clips and Bolex movie cameras, in chronological order. The first entry, from 1663: household scissors. Many of the same icons get a different showcase — and organizing method — in "The A-Z of Modern Design" (Merrell Publishers Ltd., $34.95), a stylish paperback that limits its 350 entries to the 20th and 21st centuries. Apple, IKEA, Eames and Starck all make the cut, but not household scissors.

Get the inside story on Vogue

"In Vogue: An Illustrated History of the World's Most Famous Fashion Magazine" (Rizzoli New York, $75) delivers precisely what its title promises. Like Vogue itself, the book is packed with memorable images from some of the top photographers of the past 100 years — Cecil Beaton, Irving Penn, Richard Avedon, David Bailey, Helmut Newton. And thoughtful (if hardly objective) reflections on the magazine's history and influence are provided by, among others, Conde Nast owner and chairman S.I. Newhouse Jr., former Vogue editor in chief Grace Mirabella and her successor, Anna Wintour.

Peek inside designers' homes

Which Italian designer has built a sleeping cube in the center of his 16th-century living room? Who eats delivered macrobiotic meals while his showplace kitchen sits pristine? Learn the answers in "Italian Designers at Home" (ACC Distribution, $65). The apartments, palazzos and lofts of the 20 featured industrial-design maestros offer voyeuristic bliss for anyone interested in Italian contemporary design.