Responding to Art : Form, Content, & Context Review

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(More customer reviews)Robert Bersson has written a clear and accessible book on art history, incorporating hundreds of illustrations. His choices are relevant,linking the reader to the intricate evolution of visual arts on a continuum through history.
For the art historian,the art educator, and the art lover, Worlds of Art is a remarkable resource.

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Responding to Art: Form, Content, & Context is designed to excite and interest students with minimal knowledge of art and limited confidence in responding to it. To this end, the book starts at the students' introductory level and sets out to stimulate their interest and active participation. From the onset, Responding to Art integrates art and design forms that the students are already familiar with and have some interest in: including CD covers, magazine advertisements, fashion styles, websites, crafts, product design, and folk art. In addition, the book engages students and builds their confidence by incorporating into the opening chapter responses to art by introductory-level students like themselves. This sends an immediate message to the students that their own thoughts and feelings are valid, valued, and diverse. With expanded interest, confidence, and knowledge, students are prepared for more challenging art forms, information, and concepts.

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Living with Art Review

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(More customer reviews)"Living With Art" is a fairly common textbook for intro to art classes, but it manages to rise above the level of a superficial survey. Even though it's probably intended as a textbook, the format doesn't waste space for someone wishing to brush up on their art history outside of the classroom. By that I mean there aren't lengthy end-of-chapter reviews, projects, or answer keys. Having read fairly thoroughly in the field of art and aesthetics, I was not expecting to get a lot out of this book. How much can one really say about art in a single volume? Surprisingly, Getlein says a lot in a very readable, succinct manner.
The book starts out with the impossible question, "what is art"? One of the most pleasant surprises was the discussion of the nature of art. With such a variety of opinions and ideas, to present the major ones in a clear, concise manner is something of an achievement in itself. It sets the tone for the later chapters which are a straightforward history from ancient cave drawings to Jeff Koons inflatable lobsters.
The book itself is quite nice. The images are reproduced with all their detail and color intact. Granted, the images are small, but they are also plentiful. Virtually every point is supported with an image as an example. This is one textbook that students will want to hang on to.
As an alternative, I would recommend E.H. Gombrich's "The Story of Art". It's probably superior in every respect, but it's also a little more difficult for beginners and casual readers. That's not to say that most readers couldn't pick it up and get a lot out of it.
Whether you're looking to brush up on your art history, or you're a student and this is a required purchase, you have a lot to look forward to. I've seen a lot of "comprehensive" histories, but "Living With Art" ranks amongst the top.

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Throughout the previous seven editions, this text has earned a reputation for elegance and the highest standards of quality. Living with Art helps students develop an appreciation of art by offering a clear and comprehensive introduction to the visual arts from several perspectives: themes and purposes of art; the vocabulary of art; individual art media (painting, drawing, camera arts, sculpture, architecture, etc.); and the history of art. The book is rich with illustrations drawn from a wide range of artistic cultures and time periods.

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Operations Management (McGraw-Hill International Editions) Review

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(More customer reviews)Stevenson's book on Operations Management gives the book on operations management by Knod and Schonberger a good run for the money,but the Knod and Schonberger book wins by a nose,in the opinion of this reviewer.This book has very good sections on location analysis and run-sign tests that are missing from the Knod and Schonberger book.Stevenson's treatment of the exponential smoothing model and its offshoots represents an improvement over the Knod-Schonberger book.The solution may be to use some of Stevenson's book as a supplement in courses in operations management.Perhaps one should buy both books if there is no financial constraint that is binding.

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This text surveys the field of operations in the services and manufacturing sectors. It provides enhanced coverage from the strategies of designing a product or service, through the processes and systems of making and delivering the product and controlling the operations. All the standard topics are covered with concepts and supporting examples, problems, cases and appropriate current news clips and readings. Stevenson highlights the very important role operations play in today's business world with concise coverage of concepts such as JIT, TQM and supply chain management with more thorough integration of services and increased use of real world examples. All basic quantitative techniques are presented, many in supplements that can be highlighted or bypassed depending on the course structure, and all are supported with step-by-step examples and solved problems, many including example solutions built into Excel spreadsheets. The text is the most widely adopted of any for the introductory course mainly due to the balanced coverage and clearly explained concepts.The text contains a balanced mix of newsclips from the popular press, classic readings, and short articles all highlight and support student motivation and understanding of the real-world applications and the pre-eminent importance of OM concepts in business today. A wealth of carefully tested and refined assignment material is included, from thoughtful discussion questions to conceptual "big picture" memo exercises, cases and operations tours, along with a complete set of problems. Text presentation is supported by more graphic illustrations than any other, using four colours for interest and function, as well as carefully chosen colour photos.

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