Fresh Cut Xmas: A Well-Trimmed Survey of Holiday Plants celebrates the flora that has played a role in winter holidays for centuries. In contrast with the excess of contemporary seasonal traditions, the style of this book is minimal; the palette is spare, the baubles are few, and the text on each page is composed using the haiku’s 17 stark syllables. Here’s a sample from the frankincense spread: The frankincense tree bleeds the fragrance of kings; but  commoners choose AX. As with the first two books in this botanical series (A Pop-Up Field Guide to North American Wildflowers and A Pop-Up Culinary Herbal), Fresh Cut Xmas looks at ancient plant folklore through a contemporary lens with dual purpose: understanding and appreciating each plant more fully, and highlighting oddities of 21st century cultural practice. Shawn Sheehy concepted, engineered, designed and assembled this book. Eileen Madden at ChiPress printed the text from polymer plates. The type was set digitally in Italian Electric. All stock is commercial cover from various manufacturers.