Ancient Art: A Brief History [Kindle Edition]

Charles River Editors (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

"Ancient Art: A Brief History" presents a comprehensive look at Ancient Art in a compact format.

This digital compendium serves as a reference to the most significant works produced by early societies from 3,000 BC to 500 AD. The creations range from wall etchings to temples and statues widely studies and revered today.

You’ll discover the history behind some of ancient art’s most enduring wonders, including:

• The Caves of Chavet
• Stonehenge
• The Colossus of Rhodes
• Roman Arches
• The Scarab
• Tell Asmar
• The Parthenon

...and more.

Product Details

• Format: Kindle Edition
• File Size: 869 KB
• Publisher: Vook (May 20, 2011)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services
• Language: English
• ASIN: B0051XIOEK
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• Average Customer Review: 1.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #281,851 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

More About the Author

Vook is the leading mixed-media digital producer that lights up the world's content and connects people around stories and ideas that they love. A vook is a new innovation in reading that blends a well-written book, high-quality video and the power of the Internet into a single, complete story. You can read your book, watch videos that enhance the story, and connect with authors and your friends through social media all on one screen, without switching between platforms.

Vook has recently partnered with authors such as Charles River Editors, Thomas J. Murrey, Alycea Ungaro, and Gemma Quinn to create Brief Histories, Textvooks, How-To Guides, and quick guides. Some of their bestselling products include:

-New York: A Brief History
-Astronomy: The Quick Guide
-Everyday Pilates: From the Top Down
-50 Soups (Cooking in America)
-Caring For Your Toddler (1-3 year old): The Video Quide

Be sure to check out other products by Vook as well!

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Beyond brief, more like misleading, June 12, 2011

By 

Abby S. - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Ancient Art: A Brief History (Kindle Edition)

While I appreciate the limitations of space in an abridged format that is attempting to cover something ridiculously large as ancient art, this book dangerously misleading. The summaries are flawed in that they select a small portion of a civilization's visual record and assign a conclusion for the entirety based on it. Ex. Under Roman Art they discuss verisimilitude during the Republican period completely ignoring the idealism of the Imperial portraiture. Even more confusing is the choice of artworks used as examples. The Colossus of Rhodes (Greek case study) when there is no surviving image. Really? While the canon may need revising some of these are poor selections for underscoring the point being made.

The scope is too large and the text is too brief to provide an adequate and accurate understanding.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Doesn't really fill any niche, June 19, 2011

By 

A. Feeney (Chicago, IL) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Ancient Art: A Brief History (Kindle Edition)

This book, written at what I'd guess is a middle school level, tries to cover an immense amount of ground in very little space. As a result, it's full of generalizations and skips tremendous amounts of material.

The choices of illustrations are truly odd. For example, there are several paragraphs devoted to the Willendorf Woman (aka the Willendorf Venus) but no photos.

For the same amount, I'd recommend getting a decent used copy of a more thorough book or simply pointing them to the many websites from major museums for free. The convenience of having this text on a Kindle doesn't offset the lack of color illustrations or enough content to be truly informative or good enough writing to capture the imagination.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A very short history, July 4, 2011

By 

S. Warfield (Maryland) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Ancient Art: A Brief History (Kindle Edition)

This very concise history of ancient art is fine for readers who know absolutely nothing about art in the time periods covered in this brief book. For someone who wants an introduction that is basically a short outline then that is what they'll get.

The book is not meant to be in any way comprehensive or even a good look at the ancient art of

Sumer, Greece, Rome, or Egypt. However, if someone is interested enough and wants to learn a little about it, they will come away knowing that Roman architecture was very influenced by Greek architecture, and that the Colosseum was commissioned in A.D.70. It had Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian styles of columns. It will not define these, however. Ancient Mesopotamian and Persian art are included, as well as a small chapter on the pyramids at Giza.

I found several mistakes in reading this and editing could be better. If you are very interested in art history and want a comprehensive book on the subject, rather than this very short outline I'd suggest Janson's History of Art.