30,000 Years of Art: The Story of Human Creativity Across Time and Space by Editors of Phaidon
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Book Reviews of 30,000 Years of Art: The Story of Human Creativity Across Time and Space
Book Review: Living with great art
Summary: 4 Stars
My wife and I are both enjoying this book daily. We've decided to open the book to a new pair of pages each day. Yes, it's a huge book - but it takes many pages to cover 30,000 years! Presently the book resides, open, on the end of our partners desk. But to read the entries requires bending; so I'm underway in the building of a lectern so we can read it while standing erect. As we both went to art school, we have some of our own work on the walls; but having masterworks in the home to speak to us daily is truly inspiring.
I refute the observation that the binding is less than adequate. (I've published two books myself.) This binding is sturdy, being sewn into signatures and properly glued, including headbands. Crackling sounds are characteristic of any large new book.
Book Review: Great coffee table book
Summary: 4 Stars
I bought this for my husband, who loves art and coffee table books. The pictures are gorgeous, and the sheer size of the book always catches the attention of guests. The only downside is the size of the book--this baby is gigantic! It's so heavy, I'm worried the binding will break since it's the same old glue-and-thread binding of all hardback books. So far, it's still in one piece, and nearly everyone who comes to our house cracks it open.
I don't recommend trying to "curl up" with this one though, you'll get some mighty mean dents in your legs! But per pound, it's definitely the coolest gift for any art admirer, and sparks a lot of conversation at gatherings.
Book Review: Great book, weak binding
Summary: 4 Stars
There is only one issue I found with the book: It would seem that even the binding cannot support the weight of it! This book is the required text for my Art History class, and within the first week, half of the students in the class had replaced the binding with duct tape. After countless times of pulling it out of your backpack, the book's cover decides it will not take it anymore, and rips clean off. Now, this only happens after frequent travel; if you're planning on using it as a "coffee table book", the binding will be just fine.Book Review: Only one quibble
Summary: 4 Stars
I wish there were a description of the criteria used for selecting the artworks in this book. In comparing artworks from different countries, for instance, I wondered why a geometrically decorated vase represents Thailand for the same period as a detailed figurative sculpture represents Greece. Was it simply availability? Didn't Thailand have figurative art during that same period? This kind of question came up for me several times through my first look-through of the book.Book Review: Wonderful pictures, but the book binding is not so good
Summary: 4 Stars
The pictures are great, and I like the way they are arranged chronologically, so you see an example of art in Europe and then the next page might be an example of art in Asia during the same time period.
The book is huge!
But I don't think the binding is very good -- it looks like glued cardboard and when you open the book, you can hear the binding crack...so I'm not sure how long it will stay together.