This is a great little book. Reading it won't give you a master's degree in Shakespearean studies, but it will give you a quick and interesting overview of many different subjects. The chapters are brief and topical: a discussion of Shakespeare's origins in Stratford, life and politics in Elizabethan England and London's theatres offer a fascinating glimpse into Shakespeare's world and works. The second section of the book, "Documents", looks at some of the primary sources for our understanding of Shakespeare, both documents from Shakespeare's life (a contract, his will, the First Folio), but also writings by those who saw the original plays, discussions of theatrical productions through the ages, and criticism by centuries of academics from John Dryden's 17th century analysis to modern feminist approaches.

The Age of Shakespeare is the perfect weekend read for those who want a bit of context about the plays and their origins. It is informative without being heavy. The dozens of color plates and illustrations are gorgeous, and the writing is intelligent and clear. A wonderful sampler

The book, The Age of Shakespeare, takes my breath away! The many color prints and illustrations add beauty to a informative book. This is a well thought out book about Shakespeare and his times. I really enjoy reading it.

Even those who are not interested in art know TOULOUSE-LAUTREC, he has become universal.Yes he is the guy who used to hang around bordellos and the MOULIN-ROUGE will always be associated to him.ARISTIDE BRUANT and YVETTE GUILBERT two popular FRENCH singers were immortalize by him.TOULOUSE-LAUTREC was never interested in doing landscapes, he was mostly a portraitist who had fun as a caricaturist of his society LA BELLE EPOQUE.The book summarize his life the way it should be and has some useful documents that makes it interesting.

I prefer the smaller size of this book (compared to "coffee table" editions). Even though it is a practical size, the reprinted art is vivid and does not suffer from the smaller pages. Also this book is really informative (not alot of meaningless art jargon and expert opinions) like so many of those coffee table books suffer from.

many decorating ideas and styles within the framework of
Country. Although, I turn to this book when i am about to paint a room and need to study the effects of a color.Another person
might find it useful to learn the skills of simplifying a type of decor.
It starts with the stark simplicity and ulitarian work of
the American Shaker and brings in English Country and
proceeds to modern Cubism.
The pastel colors in this book are a feast to the eyes, in
their subtle combinations.
This book shows how details of life are important, but in
natural way without clutter prevailing in a room.
Except for the Bazaar Style and the Ethnic section, most of it would be welcome in your home. It even spruces up a trailer
for those who prefer to live on wheels.I highly recommend
this refresing look at Country "Chic.

I got this book when I started working at home and faced the problem of turning a typical family house into an office/working/living area without being able to magic up a couple of new rooms. It turned out to be a perfect choice becaue it is absolutely practical, yet doesn't compromise on style. Its helped me turn my three-up two-down conventional family house into a much more flexible and beutiful place for living. If you are not totally happy with the way your home works, but don't want to do anything as drastic as move - I recommend you take a look at what this book has to say.

This book is quite interesting. It shows how the designs of the East can blend harmoniously with the designs of the west. It does not only show the famous Zen design of the Japanese but shows much of the deep colors of Indian and Chinese design. For someone who has no formal background in designing, this book suggests the balance of colors that is simply shown in nature--which the author herself has been inspired with. The designers English design influence though has been displayed much in her style- a little bit too elitist. But indeed, a great book to keep for reference!

I have always felt a strong pull toward eastern/Asian style of decorating and have found Ms. Hoppen's book inspiring.

I discovered Ms. Hoppen's work when I came across a show about her decorating/design methods on the Style Channel. During the hour long show, she took the viewers on a tour of her London home, which she renovated using her style elements (East Meets West). I fell in love with her simple and subtle use of color, texture and lighting. I went out and purchased her book immediately.

Her photos are wonderful, they follow the text fabulously. Her style is simple and uncluttered, which creates a very comfortable and serene atmosphere that I had been trying to achieve in my own home.

I highly recommend this book.

Everything about this book is inspiring. The text is excellent and the photographs explain and illustrate Ms. Hoppen's methods beautifully. Her use of color is new to me and incredibly helpful. The pictures, which show her use of Eastern influences in Western rooms, are stimulating, yet whether simple or complex they illustrate a system of decoration that creates the background for a blissful, peaceful way of life. This book has altogether changed my philosophy about household design.

This slim book covers many elements of western underwater archaeology in a semi-chronological format, but it doesn't pull it all together cleanly. The text feels disjoint - jumping from subject to subject - with a few recurring elements to lend continuity. There are many pictures and illustrations to help explain key concepts, and the picture-to-text ratio is nice for an introductory book. Perhaps because of the breadth and depth (no pun intended) of material to be covered, the book only occasionally captures the inherent excitement of the subject.

The binding of the copy I have came apart before I finished reading it, and I don't think it would survive rough handling.

Overall, an OK value as an introductory book on underwater archaeology.

This is an excellent little book for beginners and others. It has plenty of pictures and texts covering many aspects of UW archaeology.