Frederic W. Goudy (1865–1947)

last section has a single page for each letter with 15 different forms of writing style (and the book explains the history of the styles)

For all the discussion of making typefaces which the reader doesn't notice, the typeface (University of California Roman) stands out, and distracts from the content.

Goudy is a pretty influential figure in typography, and this collection of his work shows why. It is of course beautifully typeset, a most elegant little hardback volume. Given that there are 116 typefaces shown, including some from very early in his career, it's not surprising that not everything is spectacular. Still the complete record is interesting historically, if nothing else -- and your ideas of which samples we could do without might not match mine.