Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Pastimes : Let’s Talk About Our Feelings about the Let’s Talk About Our -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Rainy_Day_Woman who wrote (3792)	12/30/2006 7:15:56 AM
From: Tom Clarke	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 5290

I meant to get this when it first came out, but like so much else, it got put off and forgotten about. Then yesterday I see it on Borders bargain shelf! Haven't had a chance to flip through it yet. His Birth of the Modern and Modern Times were excellent reads. Art: A New History by Paul Johnson >>This work is far better than the reviews, some of which make it sound as if the author has peculiar ideas. I find his attitude sensible and valid. For example, it is true that art is taught widely nowadays, and yet the practical skills are not. It is certain that a tradition of skilled craftsmanship, once broken, is almost never completely revived. Johnson's writing is remarkable for his ability to condense into a single sentence, with clarity, an idea which would take others a paragraph to state. As an historian, he is better able than most art critics to place art in its historical context. In order fully to understand and appreciate art, one must see it in relation to culture, history, and ideas. Johnson is an excellent writer: his prose is lively, compact, and he makes it easy - and a pleasure - to read. The selection of illustrations is good, with the pictures placed in the text for easy association with the discussion. The trade-off is that the pictures are not large and glossy, and the reader may feel moved to visit a library to see reproductions at higher-resolution. By today's standards, the book - an education in one volume - is a bargain for its price. amazon.com