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1.The $12 Million Stuffed Shark: The Curious Economics of Contemporary Art by: Don Thompson September 16, 2008
Average Rating: >>More Details		List Price: $24.95 Off The Bookshelf's Price: $16.47 You Save: $8.48 (34%) Prices subject to change. Used Price: $15.85
I can't rate this book as highly as the other reviewers. There are parts of the book that are very good and flesh out the startling numbers we hear from auctions and sales of contemporary art. The author is an economist and he sets out to understand both the both the economics and marketing of art today. He looks at art as a commodity which it is to the people he quotes and interviews. His statement,"The art trade is the least transparent and least regulated major commercial activity in the world." is dead on correct. By including some quotes from critic Jerry Saltz and occasionally Dave Hickey and Robert Hughes, he does touch on the aesthetics in a very glancing way. But he completely misses the boat when he makes blanket pronouncements; "Artists who do not find mainstream gallery ... Read More

2.The Forger's Spell: A True Story of Vermeer, Nazis, and the Greatest Art Hoax of the Twentieth Century by: Edward Dolnick June 24, 2008
Average Rating: >>More Details		List Price: $26.95 Off The Bookshelf's Price: $17.79 You Save: $9.16 (34%) Prices subject to change. Used Price: $14.95
"The Forger's Spell" offers up a cartoon version of history, leavened, to ill effect, by bombastic and cliche-ridden writing. Edward Dolnick seems to think of the Van Meegeren story as a light-hearted romp through World War II, where war criminals like Hermann Goering are shown to be "rubes" by the clever forger. That Van Meegeren himself was a Nazi-sympathizer seems unimportant in this storyline, as does the fact that there was nothing particularly humorous about the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands. Dolnick brings to light absolutely nothing new about the Van Meegeren case, relying almost exclusively on already published sources. To make up for this dearth of real research, he indulges in a great deal of pop-psychological musing on the nature of deception, about which he also has very ... Read More

3.The Annotated Mona Lisa: A Crash Course in Art History from Prehistoric to Post-Modern by: Carol Strickland October 01, 2007
Average Rating: >>More Details		List Price: $22.99 Off The Bookshelf's Price: $15.63 You Save: $7.36 (32%) Prices subject to change. Used Price: $13.84
I bought this for my daughter's summer reading for Art History class - a 200+ page brief summary of the history of art. I paged through it to see what she was getting into, and I was very impressed with the breadth and interesting facts contained within. It's a great outline of a huge topic, that gives the reader a framework into which subsequent knowledge can be organized.

4.The Rape of Europa: The Fate of Europe's Treasures in the Third Reich and the Second World War by: Lynn H. Nicholas April 25, 1995
Average Rating: >>More Details		List Price: $16.95 Off The Bookshelf's Price: $11.53 You Save: $5.42 (32%) Prices subject to change. Used Price: $8.25
The book is excellent as a resource after seeing the movie. For nonartistists such as myself, this is a great resource to further my understanding of the film. The film is 5 stars and really shows what happened.

5.Masters of Deception: Escher, Dali & the Artists of Optical Illusion by: Al Seckel August 01, 2007
Average Rating: >>More Details		List Price: $17.95 Off The Bookshelf's Price: $12.21 You Save: $5.74 (32%) Prices subject to change. Used Price: $10.42
This book has some fabulous paintings and drawings which as the book states can be really deceptive. My children are both fascinated with it and spend lots of time studying it. They enjoy showing it to their friends and it is very entertaining. A great coffee table book.

6.The Cartoon History of the Modern World Part 1: From Columbus to the U.S. Constitution (Cartoon History of the Modern World) by: Larry Gonick December 26, 2006
Average Rating: >>More Details		List Price: $17.95 Off The Bookshelf's Price: $12.21 You Save: $5.74 (32%) Prices subject to change. Used Price: $6.88
I hate history. I bought this book for a friend and hope he has enough 'basic' information already to get through this. The cast of characters is unwieldy and how the people connect with others is confusing. Way more information than I wanted. I don't even understand the jokes - if there CAN be jokes about boring history. The only way I'd look into this book again, is if my giftee sits by my side and explains the details in this tome - but I'll only devote another 5 minutes to any such capsulization. This book just reinforces my resistance to history.

7.Vitamin P by: Barry Schwabsky September 23, 2002
Average Rating: >>More Details		Used Price: $52.95
This book is full of images...unfortunately they are so unoriginal and overworked that it is bound to disappoint a reader looking for richness of paint and depth of content. Most of the art lies on the surface of the ground and seems very influenced by design. To my eye, a lot of photos were used as reference for the portrayal of the human figure which "deadens" the content for me. Unless you are a fan of several of these artists, I would avoid the investment.

8.Magic Eye: A New Way of Looking at the World by: Magic Eye Inc. October 01, 1993
Average Rating: >>More Details		List Price: $14.99 Off The Bookshelf's Price: $10.19 You Save: $4.80 (32%) Prices subject to change. Used Price: $0.01
My grandchildren have just discovered this wonderful way of "looking at the world." They keep looking at my collection of magic eye books over and over again without tiring of them. I understand that it is a good exercise too. I will be keeping my collection to pass on to the next generation :-)

9.Keith Haring (Art & Design) by: Barry Blinderman, Germano Celant 1993-01
Average Rating: >>More Details		List Price: $29.95 Off The Bookshelf's Price: $26.95 You Save: $3.00 (10%) Prices subject to change. Used Price: $6.49
I know a bargain when I see one. Sussman's book juxtaposes Keith's drawings and paintings alongside interviews with Keith's contemporaries (they even bring in Junior Vasquez), without any attempt at being complete. The price is lowered because of a black Sharpie line on the top of the pages. That's it! If you have any interest in Keith Haring or even art in general, this is a great way to look at a great artist.

10.Case Study Houses: 1945-1966: The California Impetus (Taschen Basic Architecture) by: Elizabeth A T Smith May 01, 2006
Average Rating: >>More Details		Off The Bookshelf's Price: $9.99 Prices subject to change. Used Price: $6.10
I think this book is an incredible value. Wonderfully satisfying photos for the price. The designs are still very inspirational for Mid-Century Modern fans. I love the series and intend to buy the other editions in the near future.

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