The Annotated Mona Lisa- A Crash Course in Art History from Prehistoric to Post-Modern Description:

The Annotated Mona Lisa: A Crash Course in Art History from Prehistoric to Post-Modern review:
5 stars (Excellent Overview) - For those just getting started in the world of art, this is a wonderful overview. It covers at a high-level the major achievements and associates those achievements with the culture and/or history of the time. I highly recommend it.
5 stars (The Best Start) - I am starting my first Ar History class this fall, and I was a bit lost on what to expect. I bought this and gained more confidence in the subject. The text is easy to understand and full of information along with interesting facts. It's far from a bore to read and gets into just enough so you'll have an understanding of the overall history.
4 stars (A easy-to-understand layout makes art history comprehensible for all!) - When I was a senior in high school (this would be 1999), my AP Art History teacher actually listed this book as a required text. He said that it would help to clarify any murky concepts, and he was right. I used this book to supplement our more academic art history texts. Between "The Annotated Mona Lisa" and episodes of Sister Wendy, I was able to more fully understand the historical context of art in a non-esoteric, humanistic way. (I also passed the AP exam, but that's because I had a great teacher. Thanks Mr. Marcucilli!) I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to gain a little perspective on the past, and have a good time while doing so. It touches on key points in art history and gives you the right amount of useful information... granted, the focus IS primarily on Western art; in the near future I would love to see a similar tome for non-Western arts as well.