Rating: 
Summary: A great travel guide
Review: A handy travel companion for those wanting to say so long to the big city. If you're looking for a slice of small town America this is it. After reading this book, I packed my bags and hit the road! I still use this book for my road trips
Rating: 
Summary: book as a guide to revitalized communities
Review: Americans and Canadians are facing similar problems when it comes to the question of how can we all reconnect with the idealistic notion of becoming living, breathing members of fully functional communities. In other words, how can we stop being so darn mall-based in our places of living. This book's third edition can be an extremely useful guide for anyone who wants to find a revitalized, functioning place to call home. Obviously, all of these 100 communities have something extra-special about their arts scenes...be that great galleries, restored performing arts venues, vibrant nightclubs or festivals showcasing top-shelf arts and giving artists a leg-up when it comes to making a living from their work. I've traveled to most of these towns personally...and I write a travel column about arts-based traveling for The Santa Fe New Mexican, the daily newspaper in my hometown. To me, it seems as if smalltown North America is in the midst of a humongous arts explosion...something unprecedented in our history...and something that had in the not-too-distant past been a phenomenon confined to urban areas. I hope this book goes a long way toward proving that great artists and arts events, both in the visual and performing arts, are flourishing across the continent. And...I hope this book serves as an encouragement for many more artists looking to escape the urban madness of Philadelphia, Chicago L.A., N.Y. and elsewhere...as well as the arts-savvy individuals who want to find a great new place to live...a place that supports the arts and artists. Gracias!
Rating:
Summary: Excellant guide to the best small art towns in America.
Review: By Georganne Beck-Wilson Columnist for the Little Rock Free Press, Little Rock, Ar and resident of Hot Springs. So you've grown tired of the rat-race of city life, the noise, hustle and bustle, high cost of living and just too darn many people. You think you might like to move to a smaller town but - God forbid - what would you do without the theatre, good restaraunts and of course, art galleries? John Villani can solve that problem for you. The author of The 100 Best Small Art Towns in America-Discover Creative Communities, Fresh Air and Affordable Living (John Muir Publications, $16.95) has done the footwork, so-to-speak, and can guide you in helping to find that perfect place to live or maybe just a special weekend getaway. In the completely revised third edition, this handy guide can help you find the best art town to visit that is near you - and what makes it so special; discover why small towns are perfect places to buy high-quality art at a price you can live with; and, what to see and do if you are trying to cram a trip into a few days. There are interviews with gallery owners who discuss why their town is the best place to be and what brought them there. The book provides essentials such as population, art events, art spaces, hangouts, bookstores, public radio stations and addresses for the chamber of commerce in each town. This new addition has completely new and updated facts on communities making repeat appearances, and for the first time, includes profiles of local artists. Hot Springs has bragging rights on this section. Out of only seven profiles, Hot Springs has not only one, but two, focusing on writer and painter Carole Katchen and Jeanie Linders, Executive Producer of the Hot Springs Street Painting Festival. These indepth looks at each artist provide information like what kind of media they work with, artistic accomplishments and what brought them to the town they now call home. For Katchen, whose achievements include writing Hollywood screenplays and 16 books, it was the stable and supportive arts community that influenced her to move to the Spa City. That and the fact that for what she was paying for car insurance in Los Angeles she could be making payments on a new house! From Baie St. Paul in Canada, to Homer, Alaska to Bellingham, Wash., to Key West, Villani, an author from Santa Fe, N.M., covers the United States from tip to tip. A travel and arts writer for numerous national publications, Villani has his own travel column in the "Sante Fe New Mexican" and covers Santa Fe's arts scene for the "Albuquerque Journal." So whether you're looking for a "great place to live or a new place to visit," this is the book for you.
Rating:
Summary: An enjoyable and highly recommended travel guide
Review: Compiled and written by John Villani, The 100 Best Small Art Towns In America: Discover Creative Communities, Fresh Air, And Affordable Living is a refreshing travel guide for the art enthusiast who is on the go, or even looking for a new place to settle down. Listing at least one small town that has art talk and talent in each American state, The 100 Best Small Art Towns In America offers a brief summary of the lifestyle in the town, and the special attractions it has to offer for art enthusiasts. Also including some of Canada's best, The 100 Best Small Art Towns In America is an enjoyable and highly recommended travel guide, especially for art connoisseurs looking to enjoy their vacation away from the big city.
Rating:
Summary: Great art towns to plan my vacation around
Review: Enjoyed the layout of the book - with listings of galleries, NPR station, bookstores etc. Am planning on visiting Maui in November and noted the Hawaii listing. Next week will be in N. Carolina - for sure will visit Blowing Rock and Ashville.
Rating: 
Summary: Interesting light reading
Review: I bought this book to help research places to move to. I think the title is misleading as some of the top places were not affordable! I think it's a great book for people that are researching vacation destinations... but if you are looking to move and basing your research on this book... you need to supplement it with others! I also thought they left some other appropriate selections out... so it didn't seem to be as complete as I would have liked. Regardless, it's interesting to see towns grouped together under this umbrella of art town and I did enjoy reading it.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting light reading
Review: I bought this book to help research places to move to. I think the title is misleading as some of the top places were not affordable! I think it's a great book for people that are researching vacation destinations... but if you are looking to move and basing your research on this book... you need to supplement it with others! I also thought they left some other appropriate selections out... so it didn't seem to be as complete as I would have liked. Regardless, it's interesting to see towns grouped together under this umbrella of art town and I did enjoy reading it.
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointed
Review: I looked to this book, as reviewed, as a possible guide to moving to a small town. Absolutely, no help! This is an upscale tourist book with all the usual popular information.
Rating: 
Summary: Serves my purpose
Review: I read this book purely as a guide to what good arts communities need to offer. I certainly understand the concerns expressed by other readers in thier reviews, but I found the book generally useful for outlining the elements that foster healthy arts-based tourism. In fact, it seems more useful in this regard than it does as a guide for artists looking for spaces to move to. As a vacation guide and as an outling for understanding what makes artsy communities tick the book works well.
Rating:
Summary: Is This Book Very Accurate
Review: I visited Berea, Kentucky because of this book's description and was very disappointed. The only interesting thing to see was Mitchell Tole's Art Gallery. We spent part of a day there and left. It made me question the validity of the book.
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