One of the clearest and verviest volumes of art history I've ever read. Eye-opening in the best sense: If you think of neoclassicism as a chilly, authoritarian, kaput style and subject, you're in for some surprises. You may even start to find neoclassicism entrancing and exciting. And what a writer. Hugh Honour has an easy, unstressed verbal grace, and an educated and incisive mind.

From Aalto to Ziggurat, the bounty of information provided in this well illustrated and value priced volume will keep you informed for a very long time. A great general reference of architecture and landscaping for both the student and the home owner alike.

This book is a marvelously wide-ranging foray into art as practiced from prehistoric to modern times. What sets it apart from other surveys is the care the authors have taken to place art and artists in their cultural, political, and religious context. (For instance, the economics and theology of medieval Christendom are discussed as a background that focuses more sharply the true significance and accomplishment of the Gothic cathedral.) The book also provides time charts for each chapter, and sidebars quoting primary sources and contemporary responses to art. Over 1,300 illustrations, maps, and diagrams are included. In elegant and readable prose, the authors explore the creation of art not only through time but also across continents. Art from the Americas, Africa, and the East (Near and Far) are discussed in addition to the more familiar Western European masterpieces. I consider The Visual Arts: A History to be a lucid, thorough, and wonderfully written account of the impulse toward and creation of art as it has developed throughout history and within different cultures.

As an architectural book editor, I find this book an excellent reference for biographical data, architectural terms, and historical context. It's concise enough to give me just the bit of information I need when doing a fact-check or making sure a term is used properly.