Holiday hits: political book lovers divulge their favorite reads.

Barbara Meade, co-owner of Politics & Prose bookstore in D.C., has some perfect gift suggestions for the political junkies on your holiday shopping list.

Her No. 1 pick is "The Bigger Picture" by Diana Walker, an insider's photographic record of every presidential administration since Jimmy Carter.

"Walker has been the White House photographer for Time magazine through five administrations," Meade says. "This is a beautiful coffee table book, with many impromptu photos featuring presidents and administration figures during various crises over the past 30 years."

For the history buff, Meade offers several suggestions, including "American Creation," by Joseph Ellis. The Pulitzer Prize--winning author breaks down mythologized assumptions about our nation's founders and portrays them as fallible mortals.

"Another book I've given in the past is 'At Canaan's Edge' by Taylor Branch, the third part in his study of Martin Luther King Jr.," Meade says. "It's a tremendous history of the civil rights movement. Plus, it's a page-turning narrative."

She also recommends "What Hath God Wrought" by Daniel Walker Howe, the newest volume in Oxford's "History of America" series. "Andrew Jackson arrived in Washington by horse-drawn carriage and left eight years later by train. The speed of technological change rivaled what we have now," she says.

Finally, if you've had enough politics for the year, Meade says she'll be giving "The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable" by Nassim Nicholas Taleb.

"I like this book because it changed many of the ways that I think about the world," Meade says. "Most of us assume that all swans are white. Actually, everybody in the world thought all swans were white until the discovery of Australia, the only place in the world where there are black swans. It is emblematic of the fallacies in our thinking. We make generalizations on the basis of our own experiences. I think readers will enjoy it."

RELATED ARTICLE: Pro Picks: Some more gift ideas from political consultants and junkies

"You can't beat Stephen Colbert's 'I Am America (And So Can You).' What we think is important, as political consultants, is actually important to five or 10 percent of America. Colbert is a reality check on what we do every day."

--John Anzalone, Anzalone Liszt Research

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"I'm giving Republican candidates 'Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap ... and Others Don't' by Jim Collins, so when the GOP wins back the House they will know how to restore some business sense to Congress."--Jeff Roe, Axiom Strategies

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"I usually give 'How to Win a Local Election' by Lawrence Grey to anyone who's thinking about running for office."

--Brian Hanf, Trailblazer Campaign Services

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"I give 'You Are the Message' by Roger Ailes. It provides a lot of information on how to present yourself, how others perceive you and how to get a point across very clearly."

--Maurice Bonamigo, Maurice Bonamigo & Associates

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"This year I'm giving 'The Death of Common Sense' by Philip K. Howard. It's very relevant today, when we're looking at major social issues we can't seem to solve."

--Melanie Brenner, freelance communications strategist

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"All my political friends this year will get Anthony Bourdain's 'No Reservations.' Bourdain has become a great voice for many diverse cultures, socially and politically. Those of us who live inside the Beltway Bubble could learn a lot from such a worldly person."

--Joe Mathieu, program director, XM Radio's POTUS'08

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