Preziosi challenges the prevailing attitude that the study of art historical methodology should be left for graduate/specialized work. Not so - this book opens a space for undergrad inquiry, though it doesn't exactly fill it either. It manages to contextualize themes/concepts (some better than others) into a larger intellectual history, without settling into arid hagiography. But it's more than intellectual history: in its own specific ways, the selections thoughtfully probe the limitations of historiography, and the inherent irony involved in history writing (though the reader is left to make many of these types of conclusions). Preziosi nonetheless provides different levels of accessibility in his introductions, as do the essays themselves, which are pitched at various theoretical levels - some are obviously beyond the undergrad level. The weakest section is that which deals with the Postcolonial: the selected essays, though important, really fail to grasp the complexities of Native North American art and Postcolonial discourse.

As an art historian, I have found this to be the best anthology of writing about art history, but it is not a picture book or entry-level history of art. The other reviewers were correct in identifying this book as a specialized volume for academics, not an introduction for the general reader. This is not a drawback unless you expect something else. Professor Preziosi is a leading expert in art history's history and is respected widely for his erudition and comprehensive knowledge of the field. I assign it to my graduate students because the selection of important writings is excellent and Preziosi's introductions are so succinct and precise.

I find myself in agreement with Patrick Deegan and the reader from L.A. as to this volume's quality, but less so as to its accessibility. In fact, I believe any intelligent reader should be able to approach this volume and, using Donald Preziosi's succinct commentary as a guide to context, derive valuable knowledge and material for critical thought from it. Readers seeking a simple monolithic approach to the subject of Art History will, needless to say, be disillusioned by the breadth and depth of this volume; readers with an active mind (regardless of whether they describe themselves as academics or not) will be delighted by it. As an example of the careful selection process that has gone into this anthology, I would point out the sequence of texts anthologized in Chapter 8, where the changes over time in critical readings of Heidegger's _The Origin of the Work of Art_ are well reflected in the subsequent essays by Schapiro, Derrida, and Melville. Having any one of these essays present in the volume would be valuable; having the full set allows the reader a far greater degree of insight into the matter of Heidegger's original essay. In short, a book I would strongly recommend to anyone who wants to think independently about art, and not just be told what to think about it.