Collectible Beads: A Universal Aesthetic

Rating:
Summary: An outstanding and invaluable book for all bead lovers
Review: Robert K. Liu is one of the foremost authorities today in the field of collectible beads. In this book he gives clear and succinct insight regarding collectible beads from all over the world. In some cases he gives approximate monetary values, but the book is mostly a celebration by someone who knows as to the place which beads have played in cultures around the world from ancient times to the present. A necessary help for anyone who collects or is thinking of collecting beads. It will save time and money.

Rating:
Summary: Beautiful Book But Not For Beginners
Review: This is a beautifully written, beautifully illustrated book, however, it is definitely for the advanced bead collector. Its main focus is on beads the average person could not find or afford. I am a beginner in the bead collecting world and needed a book that was more of an identifying guide. The chances of me running across a bead that was illegally excavated from an archeological dig in a foreign country are slim..and I wouldn't know what to do with it anyway. I'm returning the book and continuing the search.

Rating:
Summary: Beautiful Book But Not For Beginners
Review: This is a work of immense proportions. Robert Liu is both a scholar and an artist. This is a work which draws on both sets of skills, and the result is wonderful. For bead lovers it's a definative work. As a scholarly piece, it likely has material of interest to those interested in art history and world culture as well. It's an important book and one that would be sorely missed if it ever went out of print--I say this as one who's passed on books like this, only to search the world over for them when they were no longer available...get this one now. You won't regret it.

Rating:
Summary: A stunning work of art.
Review: This is a work of immense proportions. Robert Liu is both a scholar and an artist. This is a work which draws on both sets of skills, and the result is wonderful. For bead lovers it's a definative work. As a scholarly piece, it likely has material of interest to those interested in art history and world culture as well. It's an important book and one that would be sorely missed if it ever went out of print--I say this as one who's passed on books like this, only to search the world over for them when they were no longer available...get this one now. You won't regret it.