The Lone Ranger—75th Anniversary

Collector’s Edition

DVD box set (retail $119.43)Amazon



Hi-yo, Silver! The most famous masked cowboy of all time gets the royal treatment with this lavish re-packaging of 78 classic TV episodes from 1949 and 1950 starring Clayton Moore as the Lone Ranger and Jay Silverheels as his loyal sidekick, Tonto. Bonus materials include an 88-page commemorative booklet, foldout poster, comic book reprints, three cartoon episodes from the 1960s, an original radio broadcast and (worlds collide!) an episode of Lassie in which guest-star Moore shows off his impressive gun-twirling abilities.

—Neil Pond, American Profile





Roads to Quoz

By William Least Heat-Moon

Hardcover, 566 pages

(retail $27.99)Amazon



From the author of the ’80s travelogue Blue Highways comes this new diary of adventures, encounters with colorful characters and stopovers at pleasingly offbeat places along the less-traveled back roads of small-town America. Incorporating into its title a long-forgotten word denoting anything strange or peculiar, Roads to Quoz is an absorbing literary trek full of delightful surprises.

—Neil Pond, American Profile





The Best of Bond…James Bond

CD/DVD (retail $24.98)Amazon



Clean the tux, gas up the Aston Martin and order that martini shaken, not stirred. Then put on this CD of 23 musical themes from James Bond movies and you’re ready for whatever sexy villainesses, evil geniuses and other life-of-danger entanglements that might come your way. Paul McCartney and Wings’ “Live and Let Die,” Carly Simon’s “Nobody Does It Better” and Tom Jones’ “Thunderball” share the swingin’ space with other signature soundtrack tunes performed by Duran Duran, Madonna, Sheryl Crow and others, plus a DVD of music videos and an in-concert live performance of Shirley Bassey’s “Goldfinger.”

—Neil Pond, American Profile





Visions of Paradise

Hardcover, 304 pages (retail $35)Amazon



Where is heaven on Earth? National Geographic asked 82 different photographers to seek it—and bring back photos. From spectacular scenes of nature to sublime places of the heart impossible to find on any map, these 155 images will transport you to realms of tranquility, beauty and wonder that invite your eyes to linger on every page.

—Neil Pond, American Profile