Rating: 
Summary: Great survey of art even for Art History majors
Review: It has been years since I got my degree in Art History. I found this book to be a great refresher. I wish I had this book when I was in college. This book has been well thought out and well designed and illustrated. I'm looking forward to reading the author's subsequent book "The Annotated Arch: A Crash Course in the History of Architecture."
Rating:
Summary: Great survey of art even for Art History majors
Review: It has been years since I got my degree in Art History. I found this book to be a great refresher. I wish I had this book when I was in college. This book has been well thought out and well designed and illustrated. I'm looking forward to reading the author's subsequent book "The Annotated Arch: A Crash Course in the History of Architecture."
Rating: 
Summary: Too much fun
Review: Sadly, I have to thank this book for sparking my interest in art history. Now that I know more about the subject, of course, I can see how simple and inadequate "The Annotated Mona Lisa" really is, but for anyone who is grossly unfamiliar with art, as I once was, this is a fine place to start. The book's coverage of pre-Renaissance art and non-Western art is limited, but the sections on 19th- and 20th-century art are fairly thorough, and certainly entertaining--you've gotta love those gossipy stories the author throws with her descriptions of every artist. I heard somewhere that someone read this book and then scored a 5 on the Art History AP exam without doing any other work, but having just taken the test I very much doubt this is true. Art History students might benefit from reading the chapter on modern art, since the AP doesn't require much knowledge about 20th century art movements beyond their general characteristics, which "The Annotated Mona Lisa" provides. The rest of the book, however, is guilty of dangerous oversimplification, and probably wouldn't be useful to serious students, though it is still way too much fun.
Rating:
Summary: Too much fun
Review: Sadly, I have to thank this book for sparking my interest in art history. Now that I know more about the subject, of course, I can see how simple and inadequate "The Annotated Mona Lisa" really is, but for anyone who is grossly unfamiliar with art, as I once was, this is a fine place to start. The book's coverage of pre-Renaissance art and non-Western art is limited, but the sections on 19th- and 20th-century art are fairly thorough, and certainly entertaining--you've gotta love those gossipy stories the author throws with her descriptions of every artist. I heard somewhere that someone read this book and then scored a 5 on the Art History AP exam without doing any other work, but having just taken the test I very much doubt this is true. Art History students might benefit from reading the chapter on modern art, since the AP doesn't require much knowledge about 20th century art movements beyond their general characteristics, which "The Annotated Mona Lisa" provides. The rest of the book, however, is guilty of dangerous oversimplification, and probably wouldn't be useful to serious students, though it is still way too much fun.
Rating:
Summary: Great source
Review: The Annotated Mona Lisa is a fabulous introduction to the history of western art from pre-history to the Post-Modern era. Artists, movements, vocabulary, and specific works of art are all discussed in enough detail to give the reader a very good foundation. The only thing lacking is that it is oriented exclusively towards Western art. Boswell has done a marvelous job on the art of the West, its a pity attention was not given to the art of Asia, the Americas or Africa - especially considering the influence these regions have had on western art through the ages. Nonetheless, a recommended resource.
Rating:
Summary: a wonderful introduction
Review: The Annotated Mona Lisa is a fabulous introduction to the history of western art from pre-history to the Post-Modern era. Artists, movements, vocabulary, and specific works of art are all discussed in enough detail to give the reader a very good foundation. The only thing lacking is that it is oriented exclusively towards Western art. Boswell has done a marvelous job on the art of the West, its a pity attention was not given to the art of Asia, the Americas or Africa - especially considering the influence these regions have had on western art through the ages. Nonetheless, a recommended resource.
Rating: 
Summary: Poor in terms of Non-Western Art
Review: The book provides a quick glance on the art of the west and for that, I would give it 4 stars. It is faulty though, when the book calls itself "A Crash Course in Art History from Prehistoric to Post-Modern".
The book does little next to nothing in presenting Islamic Art and its influences on Western Art and vise versa. This leaves a big gaping whole in one's understanding of the History of Art and how the Renaissance began. The book also fails to mention the cultures pre-dating those of the Greeks and the Romans, leaving one to believe that those cultures just came from nowhere with no influences at all! Cycladic figures could have at least been mentioned along with the Minoans and the Myceneans. I also find it odd that the history and art of the Etruscans were left out, seeing as how it helps tie in the Greek influence on the Romans.
Basically, this book is a very abridged version of "Art History". It focuses only on Western Art, but does a poor job of tying it all together, showing the actual "History" aspect of art, how it has evolved and "why". It should really be called "Western Art for Dummies" as art from the non-western tradition is barely mentioned.
Rating:
Summary: Better than Cliff's notes
Review: This book is a must for anyone studying art history! It is the fountain of clarity.
Rating:
Summary: Covers the History of Art from Prehistory to modernity
Review: This book is a must have to anyone studying history of art of the western world. Very useful for student of Advanced Placement History of Art. She (C. Strickland) explains the information in a way useful to study and remember. The text includes color images, tables, among other useful learning methods. I used this book to study for my AP Art History exam in May 98 and it was very useful. It is a great coffee table book too!! I highly recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent from middle school to college
Review: This book is wonderful for several reasons: 1) clear and concise; 2) inclusive of the audience; 3) makes art very approachable; 4) places art within its historical context and development; 5) quick reference; I was exposed to this book after taking various humanities courses and found this book great. It does a much better job of making art accessable than books like Gardner and Janson. I was impressed that the book covered a variety of bases without leaving too much out. The tone of the work was inclusive and allowed anyone with an interest in understanding methods, techniques, personalities and history of art to do well towards approaching that goal. It does not approach art for the few with a rarefied tone nor does it talk down to the reader. The layout of the pages are done well and have a decent flow of text and image. It does not, thank god, go into list memorization which is the downfall of some compact versions of some topics. Highly recommended for those who play academic tournaments at the high school and college levels. The topics covered and interesting personal history found in this book will be found at all levels of play. The pricing of the paperback version will allow people to compete very well indeed. For home schoolers/educators this book is a good survey introduction and is portable enough for museum trips. Very few books do so well with so much material to compress. Very impressive. The only thing I could wish further is a music history version of this work.
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