• By GREG LANGLEY
• Books editor
• Published: Jun 14, 2009

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On the back jacket of this book is a color photograph by Henry Georgi of a man tossing a young boy high into the air. The child is a toddler, maybe 3 years old, and the man is obviously his father. The boy is seemingly high above his father’s head, suspended in free-fall against an impossibly blue sky. He might be frightened to be tossed so high, but the look that suffuses the boy’s face is one of pure joy.

It’s the perfect metaphor for life: a father showing his son that sometimes it’s fun to take a risk. The son is unconditionally trusting in his father’s judgment and ability to catch him.

Not everyone has a father like the one the boy in the photo has, but everyone in the 80 or so photos in this book does, at least for that split second when the camera lens captures them.

Sure, it’s a sweet confection culled from years of LIFE Magazine issues. We all know that there are some bad dads out there. Most aren’t great, but all of them can rise to an occasion and exhibit greatness. Some of those moments are here: A father dancing with his tiny daughter, another father dancing with his daughter on her wedding day, a father in New Mexico taking his son trail riding, a boy hugging his Iraq-bound Army Major father goodbye, a father sledding with his two daughters in a wintry London.

Some of the photos are in color, some are black and white. All are examples of technical perfection coupled with that ephemeral something that lifts an image from photo to art.

The photos feature celebrities — Bob Landry’s image of Fred Astaire dancing with his son, Fred Jr., is wonderful — and people from all walks of life. Quotes from the Bible, philosophers, writers, fathers, sons, daughters and many others appear on most pages, keeping the theme going. Each photo has a caption telling where and what it is. Not all the fathers and children are identified, but that’s no problem. They are us.

This book would make a terrific Father’s Day gift, and it’s release is timed to take advantage of that holiday. But it’s really a nice book for any time of the year. It’s a little smaller that traditional coffee-table books at 6ø  by 8 inches, but the images don’t suffer from the smaller format. It makes this book more portable too. You might carry it with you when you go out to meditate or sit in a deer stand or wait in a doc