Instruction Books

This is to clarify the actual status of Taylor's Vol. 1-4 volumes of terrific aviation art.

All volumes are still available through several aviation art dealers. ( NW Aviation Art/Leisure Galleries) I do not know why Amazon lists many of these as out of print. They are NOT!

The new Volume 4 is out as of Sept. 2000.

Wish Amazon stocked them all.

If you don't have the money to buy an original painting of Robert Taylor, but you want to see his works, this book is absolutly fantastic.
You can look to the prints for hours, using your fantasy how it was/is to be a combat pilot.
But, do not not expect it to be a book with a lot of prints.
This is just a selection of one of the most beautiful prints.
This is really a book you can look in from time to time and turn yourself into another fasinating world.

Those of you who know Robert Taylor's art work will know what to expect from this book. Those of you don't, then you will be treated to some superb sketches and paintings which mainly focus on World War 2 aviation scences. Taylor has an excellent eye for detail and realism and researchs his subject(s) to ensure that his paintings are more than just realistic, they are factual. In this book he talks about how some of his paintings were done, along with comments from some of his subjects such as Adolf Galland, Townsend, Johnnie Johnson etc. The book includes 24 of his paintings, including some of my favourites "Dambusters","JG-52", "Victory over Dunkirk" all of which are on good quality paper. This is a quality book which displays the master's work and the master at work and highly recommended, although some may find the price a little prohibitive.

I have always been interested in military aircraft since I can remember. I build a great deal of scale models and this book has proved to be a valuable source for both colours and detail.

This is the third installment of the series of aviation art done by Robert Taylor. Painters like Taylor, Truidgen and others continue to set the standard in historically correct military aviation art.

His attention to detail is superb and the paintings are centered around a certain pilot or group of pilots during W.W.II. Many of his paintings are signed by the pilot or pilots portraided in the paintings. Most are paintings of aircraft that are close to the ground, like returning flights of planes getting ready to land or takeoff in a historical setting.

The book gives blown up details of parts of the paintings and examines historical details not readily noticeable in the overall paintings. Taylor spends time telling the story, how he painted the scenes, and the research required for each painting.

The price is a little steep, but well worth the purchase if you are a aviation collector, especially if you don't have the money to collect the real thing.

I love this book and i'm in airbrushing schoo

I love this book and i'm in airbrushing schoo

I've read seven airbrush books in the 4 and 5 star range. This was book number seven and by far the best book on simple airbrushing techniques. The frisket cutting and blending exercises are precise and inexpensive to reproduce. Getting into airbrushing is expensive and it is difficult to find classes or good books. This book will get you started on airbrush painting technique in an hour or two of reading time. Sometimes the cheapest book is the best!

I love this book and i'm in airbrushing schoo

I studied technical illustration many years ago and wanted to try airbrushing as a hobby. I think that this book covers the basics well and provides useful exercises with emphasis on the shading of objects. Well worth the price.

I found this book really by luck and was thinking I had too many animation books already - until I opened it and took a look. I realized I didn't! This is the most comprehensive and detailed book on the art of 2D animation - and can directly be used by 3D animators as the principals are the same. It is deceptively simple looking, but that is because it is one of the most well-designed books I have ever seen. If you are learning animation, brushing up on your skills, or even already doing animation this is the best book I have seen so far. Get it! Your library will thank you!

This book is amazing...it's a resource that any student of animation should not be without. It not only outlines in detail the process of drawing out the animation, it also explains to some degree every aspect of producing the piece. It is an easy read and a great reference, and I wouldn't want to be missing it in my collection.

As an animation teacher, I went through a lot of books as support for my 2D class; this one is on my top list and I would recommend it to any animation student new to the field who want to learn about the process and the principles of animation.
The book is clear, with beautiful illustrations. Many animation books use styles that often turn me off as being too cartoony or dated but this one is very appealing. Each chapter is well documented with simple explanation and visuals. I was particularly impressed by the clarity of the layouts and X.sheet section, as those are usually a nightmare to explain to students.
It offers a wonderful overview of the fundamentals of animation and covers all the aspect of the profession, from storyboard to animating to editing. Even if this is about hand drawn traditional animation, those principles can be applied to 3D and computer animation.

An absolutly great book!! I highly recommend it to any animation student or fan. It's as good as the preston blair book. Check it out!!

As an animation artist, I am familiar with the author's work and eagerly awaited the arrival of this book. It did not disappoint!
It is good for beginners and seasoned veterans alike. The sequential animation drawings - along with their respective numberings and spacing charts - are worth more than the price of the book. They are an excellent way for the student of animation to see how the drawings are spaced to provide the true 'spark of life' so necessary in the success of the animated image 'coming alive'. The book ranks up there with the Preston Blair books, Thomas and Johnston's ILLUSION OF LIFE, and Richard William's THE
ANIMATOR'S SURVIVAL KIT. The chapters on Storyboarding, Layout and Background, along with many other animation gems, are there as well. A true tour de force!

Very typical of this series, plenty of fascinating glossy magazine ads that capture the period as well as anything can. A really impressive series; I've got just about all of them. This one is more foreign than the others since it's period is now bordering on history, rather than just nostalgia.

At that time photography was not used in commercials. Beautifully ilustrated and full in text this book a real back to American Life Style in the 20's, throught products that made that age.

Lots of hand drawn type. The pictures are happier and more whimsical than the 30's or 40's.

If you're into copying type, don't bother with the 60's -- the type is really boring. The 20's has one has everything from campy to elegant type... I'm looking forward to the release of the 00's-10's (turn of the century).

As an illustrator I have found this book to be a valuable resource for color combinations, patterning and clothing styles.

I finally caved in and bought this volume in the _All-American Ads_ series, and now I'm going to have to buy the others. I'm doomed.

I'm in love with this book, and there's a lot to love about it. The production values are outstanding--the colors are brilliant, the images as crisp as they can be, and the selection of ads is wonderfully varied. It's a visual treat--Taschen has done it again.

If I do have one complaint, it is that the emphasis is on full-page, full-color ads. While I am a painter and find this book a visual delight (the colors! Oh, joy!), I'm also a geeky cultural historian. I've looked at a lot of magazines from the period--enough to know that some of the most telling ads about the anxieties, attitudes and preoccupations of the time aren't the largest, most sophisticated, or visually striking ones. But since this book has been produced primarily as a showcase for graphic design of the period, and not by hopeless history nerds, I have no trouble giving it five stars.

Well, okay, maybe you would place in on the coffee table if your book shelves aren't high enough, but this is a practical book. "American Art Tile" covers the period from 1876-1941. Why does it stop in 1941? Because sadly, many tile making firms shut down for WWII and never reopened.

The book shows photographs of hundreds of tiles made by more than 100 American firms (probably every one Mr. Karlson could identify). Included are the Dedham Pottery in Dedham Massachusetts with it's famous blue and white scenes of rabbits running around the edge of the tile; the Moravian Pottery and Tile Works in Doylestown, Pennsylvania with it's fantastic Eastern European images; The Weller Pottery in Zanesville Ohio with it's "Sicardo" works; Rookwood Pottery in Cincinnati, Ohio which produced the matte glazed architectural tile used in the New York Subway system such as Fulton's Steamboat at the Fulton Street Station; and the wonderful Pewabic Pottery in Detroit Michigan from the Chippawa word for copper colored clay.

These tiles are not all individually labled, so if you're trying to identify a particular item, the book will provide only limited information. On the other hand, it will probably help you determine the origin of the manufacturing company, if not the name of the specific design. According to Karlson, many of the companies are out of business, so this may be as good as it gets since catalogues are impossible to obtain.

Mr. Karlson includes many photographs of individual tiles, but few are show 'in situ' so the pages can become overwhelming in their detail. However, the book is probably destined to be something antique tile dealers keep in their reference desk. If you're a serious tile collector or fancier, you will probably find the book worth the cost.

This is a must for anyone interested in the history of tiles and tile makers.

The book gives a history of every tile making outfit in America from 1876-1941, and shows as many color samples of the tiles they produced as the author seems to have gotten his hands on, many from his own collection. It was sobering to notice, when reading about all the tile companies, how many went under during the depression or just afterwards. This country lost a wonderful heritage, as many never came back after the depression lifted. Too bad, really. There are currently some companies making copies or remakes of some designs (what with the renewed interest in all things Arts and Crafts). Maybe this book and the Neo Arts and Crafts movement will spark some new American tile making shops? I hope so.

The book is beautifully laid out and would be a nice coffee table addition for those who are not tile collectors, but who just enjoy looking at tiles.

Superb photos and beautifully written and researched text make this a must for any serious collector of American Art Tiles! Karlson pushes the information envelope with regard to many American tile artisans. For example, he includes a photograph of perhaps the only known example of a glazed Matt Morgan art tile. If you are a serious Art Tile collector this book should be in your library!

This bountiful volume conatains gorgeous photos and detailed information on tile manufacturers from the turn of the century to WWII. Some famous ones, and a lot of obscure ones that I was thrilled to learn about. Besides being pleasing to the eye, it really did broaden my understanding of the different tile manufacturers and the influences that shaped the work and heritage. I rarely spend this much on a book, but I found it to be well worth the money.

For the pragmatic who truly needs to see "slide-show" type arrangements of tiles and short descriptions of tile makers and their beginnings...this is for you! Practical and absolutely beautiful.

The Mom's Choice Awards® honors excellence in family-friendly media, products and services. An esteemed panel of judges includes education, media and other experts as well as parents, children, librarians, performing artists, producers, medical and business professionals, authors, scientists and others. A sampling of the panel members includes: Dr. Twila C. Liggett, Ten-time Emmy-winner, professor and founder of Reading Rainbow; Julie Aigner-Clark, Creator of Baby Einstein and The Safe Side Project; Jodee Blanco, New York Times Best-Selling Author; LeAnn Thieman, Motivational speaker and coauthor of seven Chicken Soup For The Soul books; Florrie Binford-Kichler, Founder of Patria Press, Inc.- an award-winning independent publisher and Member of The Children's Book Council; Tara Paterson, Certified Parent Coach, and founder of The Just For Mom Foundation(tm) and the Mom's Choice Awards®. Parents and educators look for the Mom's Choice Awards® seal in selecting quality materials and products for children and families. This book has been honored by this distinguished award.

[[ASIN:0978906004 Angel Bear Yoga Main Lesson Book- A complete children's yoga program book featuring kid's yoga poses, breathing exercises, nature activities, character building and more! It's Angel Bear Yoga!]
My students look forward to doing our daily yoga lesson. I have used yoga in my classroom for several years, but these lessons tie together character traits and yoga movement. I notice that my students remember the character traits and remind each other of these during the day. The lessons are easy to follow and are well written. At the end of each lesson all those participating feel calm and ready to start our day!! I highly reccomend this book of lessons for anyone wanting to do yoga with children, it is a great book.

We started by using the Main Lesson Book ad found that the kids loved the poses and stories that went along with them. They were engaged and intrigued by it all, and this became an important way for us to connect. Great fun too!

Christi Eley, founder of Angel Bear Yoga, brings a multi-sensory and multi-modality approach to children's yoga. Her approach is fresh, creative and developmentally appropriate for young children. As Angel Bear and Sweet Pea gently lead the way through yoga poses, they encourage children to make connections with the natural world. Angel Bear Yoga encourages positive character traits through story, creative visualization, and poses. Angel Bear Yoga offers high quality products that are colorful and playful. Christi has succeeded in offering a parent and teacher friendly guide to children's yoga, that can make it possible to individualize instruction for every child. Angel Bear Yoga offers endless opportunities for spending quality time with your child.
Suzanne Banks, M.S. Educational Media

Both of my sons have benefited from Angel Bear Yoga, though they were 7 and 10. This is a program that I would recommend to others, both parents and educators based on my experiences as a parent, Special Educator and Parent Educator.

Children are excited and interested in the poses and story and during this experience, the stage is well set for future discussion of values and attitudes in a way that is appropriate for young children. In addition, the program improves physical fitness and coordination and successfully provides an outlet for physical energy and movement that children need. For parents, Angel Bear Yoga provides a wonderful opportunity to share time and love with their childeren.

Excellent reference book. 5 stars from the first to last page.

I got Goldfinger's human anatomy book, but in comparison, this is even better. Great multitude of drawings and diagrams of different species of animals, from bones to muscle to final skin with great angles. Highly recommend it.

And many of the reviews here were very helpful.

This is a very detailed book and a must have for those that need to know more about animal anatomy. This book does layout the skeletal and muscular design of the used animals very well. One thing that it does not give you is a detailed description of exactly how the joints move or muscles work. But overall a must have if you are doing an animal study for sculpture or 3-d modeling.

Artists who plan on focusing on animals had better pick up a copy of Animal Anatomy For Artists: The Elements Of Form: a virtual 'Bible' of animal anatomy, is features over five hundred original drawings and over seventy photos which painters, sculptors, and illustrators can use to understand the underlying anatomy of a range of common and wild animals. Forms created by muscles and bones provide artists with a three-dimensional figure of the final surface of the animal, while Goldfinger provides discussions of how each piece of animal anatomy interacts with another.

Artists who plan on focusing on animals had better pick up a copy of Animal Anatomy For Artists: The Elements Of Form: a virtual 'Bible' of animal anatomy, is features over five hundred original drawings and over seventy photos which painters, sculptors, and illustrators can use to understand the underlying anatomy of a range of common and wild animals. Forms created by muscles and bones provide artists with a three-dimensional figure of the final surface of the animal, while Goldfinger provides discussions of how each piece of animal anatomy interacts with another.

Really beautiful book, and just in the nick of time. As an Arab American studying the Arabic language as my second language, and as a graphic designer/marketer by trade, it is as though the book was written just for me. It is good to see something like this which cuts through all of the nonsense and delivers the beauty our culture has to offer that the news media fails to display, and does so in a concise and useful manner. The author was able to give the western reader a glimpse of our culture using a medium that nobody would expect...visual design. A medium that is straight to the point, easy to quickly understand, and beautiful to the eye!!! Every designer should own this book - whether or not you plan to work with the language...

A fabulous book. A great tool to help understand the Arab world through graphics and calligraphy...

It is today my favorite coffee table book, and I am planning to buy more as Xmas presents, to friends who may benefit from better understand the Arab world.

Arabic for Designers is a necessary, practical and very timely book. Mourad Boutros puts so much of the recent mis-communications between the West and the Middle East in a broader cultural (and graphic) context. I've already given copies to American relatives and to a young Scot who is studying Arabic, so that they can understand not only the language but also the wider culture. My next gift will be to our well intentioned Pope, who should have read this sensitive, tolerant and beautifully produced book before his recent scholarly lecture in Germany.

Arabic for Designers is a much needed insight into the changing face of communication in the 21st Century. The author skilfully and tactfully offers the reader an insightful introspective on the need to recognise that the written word is as powerful symbolically as it is directional or explanatory. The political landscape being as it is, the book addresses key issues not just for the Arab speaking world, but also to western designers and the need to recognise the cultural and sociological effects of the influences each culture has on the other.

When raising important questions about cultural expansion and the need for greater understanding, the author highlights the issues with over 200 pictorial examples and demonstrates an astounding depth of knowledge and sensitivity to the Arabic mindset, whilst pointing out the need for those in the West to seek greater understanding of the historical and social imapct of the coming together of cultures.

It is the evolution of cross cultural design where the author comes into his own, highlighting exceptional examples of the hybrid of cultural communication, the pitfalls and successes, whilst at the same time offering caveats for the future, and insights into how and where new designers can create for a changing and demanding new world.

A highly recommended book, offering any designer a distinct advantage where one is creating communication patterns, with a changing and complex language.

A report released on 6 June by the Thomas B. Fordham Institute finds that at a time of rapid globalization, most U.S. states don't even try to provide young Americans with a solid grounding in world history. That's why books like Arabic for Designers are more relevant than ever for designers to read and to absorb for today's globally competitive market. Arabic is now used in 23 countries and is spoken by over 300 million people. Although feelings about Arabic cultural integration may still be colored by events like 9/11, western businesses have sought to expand brand recognition to appeal to Arabic speaking people.

To that end, Arabic for Designers incorporates over 200 black and white and color examples of the best in Arabic calligraphy and graphic design. Beyond a current focus on design and advertising transitions, chapters also deal with historical backgrounds and cultural intricacies involved with the Arabic language and mindset. The focus is devoted to Arabic and Western Latin, or America and English-speaking Europe, but other global-reach advertising problems are included to expand on the difficult processes that are involved in cultural expansion and understanding.

The evolutions are universal, and the author notes this fact when he states that, "As the application of language change, so too does the identity of its speakers." This transition is visible in the examples of how the Arabic and Latin typography blend to create new cross-cultural designs, which are explained through text and illustrations that range from corporate products to fashion to fine art.

Mourad Boutros speaks from experience, as he has worked to combine traditional Arabic calligraphic techniques with the latest technology and materials for over forty years. Boutros has achieved more than just a beautiful book with this publication, however. He's reached across cultural boundaries with text that's missing in American history, social studies, and design books. After a designer reads this book, he or she will have an absolute advantage over anyone who attempts to understand the mysteries and beauty hidden within Arabic typography and culture.

I used my brother's standard art history textbook for the fall semester of my Art History survey course. I didn't like it anymore than he did. It's dry and scholarly, weighs a ton, and costs about $140--if you buy it new. For around $20 on Amazon, I purchased a new Art History for Dummies book for the spring semester, which has most of the same information (plus quite a few extra things, that in some cases, my prof didn't know). Art History for Dummies is great--easy, fun to read and very inspiring. I really enjoy reading it. There are not many textbooks I can say that about! Despite its title, Art History for Dummies puts me ahead of most of my classmates who are struggling to make sense of the required text by Stokstad. For less money, I'm learning a lot more than I would have with the textbook. The chapters on Neoclassicism and Romanticism, for example, had a lot of really useful information that my other book lacks, which helped me enormously on the essay section of the test. We had to interpret David's THE OATH OF THE HORATII and DEATH OF MARAT as Neoclassical works and Delacroix's THE TRAGEDY OF SARDANAPALUS and Caspar David Friedrich's THE WANDERER ABOVE THE MISTS as typical Romantic paintings. All these masterpieces are examined in depth in Art History for Dummies. I aced the two tests we've had this semester. Last semester, using the required text (Stokstad), I barely managed a C.

I even took the dummies book with me to the two art museums we were required to visit. It really opened up the paintings and sculpture for me. I understood art like I never have before and had the best art-museum experience I've ever had.

The color art reproductions in the book are fantastic. (Some of the b&w are very good, other's are too dark or too small.) At first I wished there were more pics. Then I discovered that the book has an appendix with Websites of all the art that's discussed but not shown. I just type in the Web address on my laptop, and voila, there's the painting. These are really super Web sites, and I can make the pics as big as I need to (much larger than you find in any book) and zoom in on details. Plus, with most of the Web sites, you don't just get one or two works by the artist like you do in a textbook; they give you a whole chronology of paintings or sculptures. You can see ten or twenty (and in some cases over a hundred) paintings by each artist! You gain a much better feel for the artist's style and how it progressed throughout his or her career. If you're writing an essay on a painter, that's the way to do it. It helped me anyway. Once I started using the appendix, I really came to like it. (Make sure your browser saves the addresses you type in; because you use a lot of them more than once.)

What i really liked about Art History For Dummies is the fact that you do not have to start at page one and read it in order. You can skip around and read it. It is a very informative book that is a real joy to read. The art work alone in the book is beautiful. You can look at beautiful art and have fun learning about it. HIGHLY RECOMMENED! Hats off to the author.

This books helps one learn about Art History in a compact, easy reading, fun way. I gave a copy to one of my friends who read the entire book to her children while they moved. The children loved it! As with other Dummies books all the information you need is at hand!

I'm not an art major but I recently signed up for an art history class ("Modernism"), which I thought would be an easy elective. Unfortunately, the professor expects us to memorize a lot of facts and I found that the overpriced textbook for the class (Gardner's Art Through the Ages) was not very helpful in sorting out all the different artists, works, and styles that I had to learn about. I didn't want to drop the class and mess up my GPA, so I decided to see if there was a "dummies" book on the topic. I've used other "dummies" books before, and I've always found them to be well organized, informative, and entertaining. I was pleased to discover that this is also the case with Art History for Dummies, by Jesse Bryant Wilder. Wilder brings the subject to life with descriptions that are both thorough and easy to understand. In addition, he explains the motives of the artists in creating their most famous works, which is something my professor thinks is really important. One thing that I found particularly helpful is Wilder's way of explaining the various "isms" that we are studying. For example, he compares Cubism to cracking an egg and then reassembling its fragments on a flat surface: "you can see all sides of the egg at once, and yet it's hard to recognize the egg" (p. 303). Expressionism is compared to bashing in a classical "gilded box" (like a Gainsborough portrait of a placid aristocrat) so we can see the emotional struggles going on inside the box (inside the person) (p. 296). These kinds of analogies make the different movements of the Modernist period more understandable and memorable than the descriptions in Gardner's. Of course, Art History for Dummies covers much more than just the Modernist period and I've already started reading through other sections of the book, not for class but because the topics are so interesting to read about. The book includes clearly labeled headings as well as lots of photos, illustrations, anecdotes, and definitions of technical terms. I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to learn about art history and have an enjoyable reading experience at the same time.

I learned more about Art History just reading the Introduction than I have ever known before! I have a big Art History book from my daughter's college class and it was way too complicated and thorough for someone trying to learn without a professor on hand. I would highly recommend this book.

Beautifully illustrated, delightful and extremely informative. This book is a marvelous supplement to the typical art history text books.

This is a challenging work.

He realizes 5 standpoints. He writes "What is historically called art in China, by whom and when?". Really, I feel it rather reflect unconscious attitude of 20th century collectors and scholars.

Art in the Tomb /Art at Court/Art in the Temple/Art in the life of the Elite /Art in the Market-Place

Following recent searching environment of artifacts; lifetime of painters, art-market, patrons, etc., as "Painter's Practice" by J.cahill, Mr. Clunas searched relations of arts-makers and the society. This approach is interesting and very suggestive. It may be the first try among such cheap and popular books about "Arts in China". For such character, I feel it should not be an elementary textbook.

Calligraphy was more focused than M. Sullivan's book"The Arts of China" in the chapter "Art in the life of the Elite". Short columns explain words and technical terms vividly. It is worth to buy it only for them. Bibliographical essays(231-237 p.) are very useful. Plates and figures are all fine. There is few inadequate item. Fig 83 and 87 shows as we appreciate in museums, i.e. shows its handscroll format. I think the author make effort to show surrounding textile of paintings and the format in some figs.

As an avocat d'diable, I notice some. The gong of Fig. 49 is not 8th century. Dragons and a beast should be genuine 8th century items. The gong is regarded 12-13th century Japanese artifact. The item of Fig. 82 may not be a representative work by Tang-Yin.

Both C. Clunas and Michael Sullivan edited catalogues of Sir Alain Barlow Collection(now in Sussex College). (ref. The Barlow Collection of Chinese Ceramics, Bronzes and Jades: an Introduction, The University of Sussex, 1997/Nov.) Sullivan did in 1963 and 1974. Clunas did in 1997. They might have share common intellectual environment according Oriental Ceramic Society, England.

While not the easiest to read, Clunas's book is currently the best short modest-sized introduction to art in China. The title "Art in China" (not "Chinese Art") is intentional, for Clunas is one of the rare Occidental authors on this subject who transcend the limitations of their background and succeed in communicating some of the subtlety and complexity of the subject, so remote from Western tastes, but no less beautiful and profound.

For example, he points out that while Western art has concentrated on painting, calligraphy is the most esteemed art form in China. Furthermore, from its earliest beginnings, Chinese aesthetics has placed little emphasis on illusionism and perspective, even regarding these as juvenile and distracting from artistic self-expression. (In this respect, the Chinese anticipated "modern art theory" by centuries.) The very term "Chinese Art", he maintains, is a Western invention, since the art work in China was, until recently, never divorced from its political, religious or decorative functions. (That is to say, it was not "museum art" isolated from its context and consciously regarded as art.) Because of these characteristics, art in China has been little appreciated in the West.

Clunas's probing book should be read slowly-- and re-read. The illuminating text gives a relatively sophisticated and sympathetic account of art in China, unlike many books, which are simply naive, provincial and as full of trivial dates and abstractions as they are lacking in insight. The representative works, drawn from all periods of Chinese history--including modern times--are superb and well chosen, and the pictures are excellent, considering the book's modest size. I especially enjoy the full-page color reproduction of Guo Xi's masterpiece "Early Spring" which equals, if not surpasses, the finest landscape paintings of the Dutch golden age (of course, not in illusionist technique, but in sheer expressive and evocative power as it unveils a mysterious fantastic landscape reflecting an interior, as much as an exterior, reality).

My only complaint is that there is only one book on "Art in China" in the Oxford History of Art series, while there are at least 30 on Western art in the same series. One book covers Western art for a 25-year span (1920-45), but 5,000 years of high art in China--in painting, jade, ceramics, lacquer, porcelain, calligraphy and sculpture--gets only a single volume! Talk about provincialism! Certainly, this is no fault of Dr. Clunas, whose work seems all the more commendable in the midst of the naive insularity and ethnocentrism with which it has unfortunately been grouped.

I like the author's approach to writing an introduction to the arts of China. Instead of trying to touch at least all of the major artists/works from all of the major periods (which in the case of China would mean touching very many things in a very cursory way), the author focuses on the context for which works were produced. Some of them were meant to be "art" from the start, some were not. This offers ample opportunities to examine how some works influenced other later in history. Overall, I think the ideas presented are some of the most gripping I have found in Chinese art history books. The book includes recent discoveries and scholarship and uses Pinyin romanization (two great features - not all recently-published books do).

In researching information regarding Sung Dynasty scrolls and artists, I found this book to be a most generous indeed. The author provides clear, precise information without the clutter of person guesses. He provides a wonderful assortment of pictures and resources. Clear, clean photographs of artifacts providing the reader with primary documentation .This is a MUST for anyone studying the Arts and Artists of early China. Thank you Craig Clunas!