By Ron Berthel/The Associated Press

Photographic beauty

Black-and-white photos of industrial machinery and structures of the Depression era might sound pretty dreary - until you view their graceful beauty as seen and captured by Margaret Bourke-White.

Margaret Bourke-White: The Photography of Design 1927-1936 by Stephen Bennett Phillips includes 250 photographs, many previously unpublished. Bourke-White, who later became famous for her photos in Life and other magazines, was the first staff photographer for Fortune magazine and the first female war correspondent.

Some images play with shapes and repetition: coils of wire in an endless stack, limestone blocks at an Indiana quarry, and cylinders of shiny, unlabeled tin cans in a factory. Light and shadows texturize a photo of a stack of narrow pipes of slightly varying lengths as seen from their open ends. The Terminal Tower in Cleveland looms in the distance when viewed through black iron grillwork. And rows of perfectly spaced spoons move along a factory's conveyor belts like silver soldiers on parade. It's steel and stone, and stunning.

Fan fan club

Fans of fans will be fans of The Fan: Fashion and Femininity Unfolded. In text and 120 color illustrations, author Valerie Steele follows the evolution of the fan throughout its 5,000-year history, during which it has served as a status symbol, authority symbol, signaling device, fashion accessory and collectible.

Illustrations depict a variety of examples, from simple fans with ink or watercolor designs to opulent examples decorated with precious metals, jewels, silk or ivory. Motifs include flowers, portraits, landscapes, seascapes, battle scenes and advertising.

Among the more fantastic examples are a series of four advertising fans from the 1920s, one each shaped like a heart, club, spade or diamond; an 1810 fan that unfurls 360 degrees on its center rivet, which contains a spy glass; and a dress made of fans, designed by Jean-Paul Gaultier in 1999.

'Life in Hollywood'

Philippe Halsman's elegant color portrait of a young and glamorous Elizabeth Taylor invites readers to explore Life in Hollywood. Commemorating the recent 75th anniversary of the Oscars, the book traces the development of Hollywood from a "sun-drenched nowhere" into a film capital. It explains the origin of the Academy Awards, tells how the Oscar statuette was designed and sneaks readers backstage at the awards.

An all-star cast of Hollywood favorites appears in 300 photos, many in color, from Life magazine. Separate sections display the work of photojournalists Gordon Parks and Alfred Eisenstaedt.

The "Larger Than Life" section features big stars, from Marilyn Monroe to Mickey Mouse. Famous families of film include those named Barrymore, Fonda, Fairbanks and Chaplin. "Golden Couples" celebrates Tinseltown twosomes - Tracy and Hepburn, Taylor and Burton, Bogie and Bacall and even Laurel and Hardy.

Not as boring as it sounds

Think your town is dull and boring? What if you lived in Dull, Ohio, or Boring, Ore.?

Those are two of the 60-plus places visited in Passing Gas: And Other Towns Along the American Highway, Gary Gladstone's photo journal of his road trip across America visiting places with odd names. There's a color photo taken at each stop, a thumbnail map, and a chat with a notable local. And, of course, the answer to the big question: How did this place get its name? Dull, we learn, was named more than 100 years ago for James Dull, a local merchant. Readers will find Nothing in Arizona, a town that "sits in the middle of nowhere" with a population of four; and Zero in Montana, which is mainly an abandoned gas station that's home to rusted 1950s cars. There's food for thought in Yum Yum, Tenn., named for a local brand of cookies; and Toast, N.C., which, some say, was named for a fire that left the center of town looking like - well, you know.