Art History for Dummies Paperback – January 1, 2007

I saw this book started off with ancient art, which I really have no interest in, but was willing to force my way through it anyway. I was pleasantly surprised when the author almost ordered me to not read parts I wasn't interested in, and that most parts of the book were self contained. I think it really lives up to that.I read the Kindle edition of this book, and I knew it'd be difficult to read the text and look at the artwork at the same time. I was very pleased to find I really didn't need to. The author did a great job of describing the important parts of the works and what was unique about them, so much so that most of the time I didn't bother actually looking at the photos unless they were incorporated into the text. And I think as long as the reader knows and expects the book to be about the history of art, and not just a collection of pretty pictures, they will be very pleased with this book.

Fantastic work that hits all of the high--and low--points of the history of world art. Done with humor as well as great savvy, Wilder's book is a great tool for dummies and even non-dummies to learn about every aspect of art history and art appreciation. Well-organized with an excellent introduction to the elements of art design and what to look for in art, including a section on the viewer's perspective. One caveat: This book focuses on Western Art.

This helped me study for my MTELs, I’d never tried one of these before but they are organized in a very practical way that’s easy to understand. Enjoyable to read, and helped me pass my exam with flying colors :)

This book will definitely not take the place of attending lecture. May or may not be able to replace the textbook. In my case, it did. It doesn't have many of the works of art we covered, but it gives a great summary of each period's art in only 3 pages max. It's witty, it's easy to understand and, unlike Gardner's, fun to read. I feel like with this and my lecture notes, I was set.

If you have to take an Art class centred around Art History, may I recommend you buy this book on kindle, turn on the voice reader, and chill back. I hated every waking second of that class, but this book helped me pull through. Kindle + book + earbuds = I got a B and I was fine with that.

It covers all major art periods but I wish there were more illustrations. It would be worth it to pay more and be able to see more.

This is as good, or better, than the outrageoulsy priced textbooks. Tells you, concisely, everything you need to know about the different art periods. Now I can converse with my artist friends who received degrees ..... I didn't. If you're into art at all, it's fun to know this stuff.

I found this text to be clear and informative. It was not "dumbed down" too much by jokes and I thought it was a quick read. The only problem I found was that there was a lot of page flipping in the many instances that the author tried to illustrate an example through referencing a figure that was located on a different page. It was easier to google the composition for a more detailed color picture.