So often the big coffee table sized Art Books may be splendid to peruse, but their contents are usually limited to Western Art. Robert Belton in this very generous and lavishly illustrated tome seeks to fill that gap by devoting a significant amount of his book to the art of Eastern Civilizations, Tribal Art and art from places from where we have very few examples - until now.
The writing is erudite without reverting to 'artspeak' and the layout of the book, obeying the thought of alphabetizing to facilitate cross referencing, is not only helpful to the entire spectrum of art majors to art novices, it makes the book one of those to which we can turn for quick information. Belton does not gloss over important changes in the fluid movement of art history. Quite the contrary, his writing exceeds expectations set by other 'big pretty art books'. This is one volume that can easily be recommended to all readers interested in a fine, well-illustrated resource book about the history of art. Highly recommended. Grady Harp, October 05