A World History of Art 
Customer Ratings: - The book sets standards of excellence. The book in its breadth, scope, treatment, scholarship, illustration and literary merit truly sets standards of excellence. In particular the breadth and scope of a single volume treatise albeit of large format and nearly one thousand pages length is nothing less than impressive. The first review of the book written in 2000 is as pertinent to-day as it was then but with the qualification that the flaw identified then namely the inadequate treatment of 20th century art has in this seventh edition been ably remedied by the eminent contemporary art historian Michael Archer.
The book traces the evolution in the visual arts including architecture from the paleolithic era to the beginning of the 21st century and covers every continent and culture. With over 1400 illustrations, half of them in full colour and an array of maps, diagrams, time charts, an outstanding glossary, an excellent list of suggested further book reading and index comprises a complete and comprehensive text. An interesting feature in the book are the boxes which in this edition have been expanded to include additional areas apart from Sources and Documents and In Context which, however, correctly prevail.
The wide array of considerations in the book treatment of such complex issue as art can best be appreciated by citing two excerpts from the introduction which relate to our perception of art and its place in the scheme of human affairs and the human condition:
The essential unity of aesthetic, moral and natural experience can be felt in them (works of art) in varying degrees, and they sharpen our awarness of how richly it falls on the receptive consciousness. For our senses are inextricably interwined, the religious with the aesthetic, the aesthetic with the moral, and the moral with that of order and proportion. The appeal of a great work of art is never purely visual, simply to delight the eye .
In every human society, art forms part of a complex structure of beliefs and rituals, moral and social codes, magic or science, myth or history. It stands midway between scientific knowledge and magical or mythical thought, between what is perceived and what is believed and also between human capabilities and human aspirations .
The book certainly comprises one of the most valuable assets of the art book collection in my library. - Unnecessary irritant. In this edition of A World History of Art the publishers have adopted a policy of mixing UK and US spelling - e.g. color is always spelt thus, whereas neighbour and labour are written the British way. This may be an attempt to please the market on both sides of the Atlantic without running to the expense of producing two separate editions, but I find it unnatural, artificial, irritating and quite unnecessary: American readers can surely cope with 100% British spelling, and vice versa. If this is some new manifestation of political correctness, I hope it dies a swift death.
- Incomplete history. The written content is excellent, better than similar books on the market. This makes it an ideal reference book for students and serious art lovers. There are some gaps though. I missed a section on Celtic art - a field of increasing interest and popularity.
- The most complete book of world art available.. Although Honour & Fleming s World History of Art may not include entries on 20th century non-western art, as some critics have noted, it is the most complete source of world art and architecture available at present. Its text is lucid and engaging, the overall layout and comprehensive index afford the reader easy access to topics, and there is a plethora of good quality illustrations. As well as being both a well-produced book and a good read, it is not surprising that it has been selected as one of the two set texts for the new GCE AS level History of Art course.
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A World History of Art (ID: 1856694518)
