Art of Being Human, The (8th Edition) [Paperback]

Richard Janaro (Author), Thelma Altshuler (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 31, 2005 | ISBN-10: 0321277635 | ISBN-13: 978-0321277633 | Edition: 8

The Art of Being Human, Eighth Edition,introduces students to the ways in which the humanities can broaden their perspectives, enhance their ability to think critically, and enrich their lives. Ideal for the one-semester humanities course, this well-respected book has been lauded for its scope, accessibility, and writing style. Featuring a unique topical organization, Part I examines ways of responding to the humanities, their mythic origins, and important struggles in the arts. Part II explores the individual genres of literature, art, music, theater, song and dance, and cinema. Part III looks at provocative themes in the humanities: religion, morality, happiness, love, life and death, and freedom.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

The Art of Being Human:
The Humanities as a Technique for Living
Ninth Edition

Richard Paul Janaro and Thelma C. Altshuler

There is an Art to Being Human.

The Art of Being Human, Ninth Edition, introduces you to the ways in which the humanities can broaden your perspective, help you think creatively and critically, and enhance your life every single day. Praised for its unique topical organization and captivating writing style, this book provides an exceptional balance between coverage of traditional masterpieces and examples from today’s global culture. The Art of Being Human, Ninth Edition, will help you move beyond a mere appreciation of the arts and truly embrace “the humanities as a technique for living.”

Why You Need This Book!

• A new chapter on critical thinking will help you develop the skills you need to understand, evaluate, and appreciate the arts, and to understand the importance of the arts in the context of daily life.
• Updated examples throughout provide more coverage of contemporary works than any other text available, offering a bridge between the arts of today and the great works of the past.
• Over 60 new visuals offer images not only of well-known classics, but also of forgotten masterpieces and the work of emerging artists.
• An extended discussion of architecture ties this important art to the other humanities.
• And as always, The Art of Being Human includes a wealth of examples by non-Western, minority, and women artists–and demonstrates the worldwide reach and universal appeal of the arts.

Visit us at www.pearsonhighered.com

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

About the Author

Author Bio information is added for eCatalog Offshore QA Testing. AB --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 704 pages
• Publisher: Longman; 8 edition (July 31, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0321277635
• ISBN-13: 978-0321277633
• Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 7.7 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #863,844 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Textbook Worth Keeping, February 20, 2011

By 

gpstogo "Lee" (Chicago, IL) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Art of Being Human, The (9th Edition) (Paperback)

This was purchased for a Humanities class: Ideas & Values. Normally, I would use the book and then re-sell it as most people do but I already have my degrees and am taking that particular class for personal pleasure. Like everyone else, my degree requirements stopped me from taking so much that I thought would be interesting just for its own sake.

I will admit that I'm a hardcover textbook fan but just try to find those these days. :) The color plates, paper quality and organization of this book are all excellent. That having been said, the most valuable concept surrounding this book that made me decide to cover it with clear contact paper and add to my home library is that "The Art of Being Human" subtitle is "The Humanities as a Technique for Living." After studying 3 chapters, I realized exactly what that meant. It's one thing to analyze works of art, theater, music, film, books, etc. for their intrinsic value but its another to see how they fit into your belief system and personal values as opposed to your personal 'tastes' in the arts. You are encouraged to learn to think critically as is required in our daily life ... an extremely valuable and necessary manner of making decisions we need to make every day.

In general, the book examines our own personal creative and intellectual expressions and moments of inspiration. Simple things seen having value to each of us because they have the same meaning to humanity now as they did in the past. Many lessons to be learned, ideas to consider and values to examine within ourselves, not to mention advice. This will be a book I'll visit and re-visit on relaxing evenings. It's already sent me into areas I've not taken the time to venture into for one reason or another. Now THAT'S a book worth keeping to my way of thinking. Memorizing is one thing ... application of concepts to one's own life is something totally different and of greater value.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Art and Humanities, September 28, 2009

By 

Shalizeh "shalizeh2" (California United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Art of Being Human, The (7th Edition) (Paperback)

I used this book in college and then when I began teaching humanities I thought this book is excellent for art and humanities. There are explanations, critical thinking about civilizations.There are several interesting topics of discussion that helps develop consciousnes about art and the world and how they are connected.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Egregious mistakes, immature writing, lip service to diversity., December 14, 2011

By 

Elizabeth Rose Ellis (Berkeley, CA, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Art of Being Human: The Humanities as a Technique for Living (10th Edition) (Paperback)

This textbook appalled me. The chapter on music describes a major scale as a sequence of "seven whole tones"--anyone who's taken even a day of music theory knows it's five whole and two half. It also claims that the key of C is more "natural" or "easier for singers," which is ludicrous; playing in C is easy for *pianists* because it uses only the white keys, but different instruments vary depending on their tuning, and for singers it makes no difference at all. This happens to be the chapter whose content I knew best, and therefore was most able to spot the errors in; see other reviews for blatant misinformation in other chapters.

The text is also broadly judgmental, casually referring to things that "all people" feel or experience (many of which I haven't!). It contains basic typographical and grammatical errors ("dominate" as an adjective? Seriously?). It clearly wants to appear diverse, but rather than taking a global view in its overall approach, it tacks on short sections about non-Western art, women, and artists of color, which only serves to emphasize the "other"-ness of those groups. Overall, the writing quality reads to me as slightly above what I'd expect from an average high school essay on a topic which did not particularly interest the student.

Teachers: Please, please do not teach from this book. You can do better.