Culture and Values--Alternate Volume

Rating:
Summary: Great Book For All Interested Western Civilization
Review: I, as an undergraduate student studying culture and civilization, was very impressed by the content of this title. It covers everything from the effect of the Mona Lisa on society to Guernica. It goes into great detail about how art, music, and archetecture has affected society throughout modern times. The quality of the book is unprecidented as the photos and painting prints in it are beautifully presented in a very aesthetically pleasing fashion. This is a must buy for all interested in the affect of the arts on society and culture. As this is the only textbook that I am keeping this year, I completely recommend it for those who may not be taking any subject associated but are just interested in its subject. If I could I would give it 1000 stars.

Rating:
Summary: Culture and Values: A Survey of the Western Humanities
Review: This is a very good book for introducing students to art, literature and music from the beginning of the Renaissance until the 1990s. Many illustrations are included which help the reader comprehend what the text is saying about works of art. Selections from works of writers studied are included in the back of the chapters in which they are mentioned. However, no footnotes, commentaries or definitions are included in these selections by the authors, which may sometimes be frustrating because some writers are harder to understand than others. As a student who used this book in my humanities class, I would have to say that overall this book is an excellent survey of humantities because it provides good information not only about the writers, artists and musicians but also a good background of the social/political events of the times during which these people lived.