A benchmark for intelligent, engaging non-fiction, this superbly designed book is written and illustrated with a lushness that takes the breath away. Robert Cumming is chairman of Christie"s education department: he knows his art history. But he also knows how to seduce you with the sheer beauty of the material and the well-placed pointer to telling details. Fifty double- page spreads cover artists from Da Vinci and Rubens to Monet, Picasso and Pollock. Each spread is a concentrated master-class on the life, the style and the influence. Check out the luminous full-colour reproductions of "Bacchus" and "The Conversion of St. Paul", then read the opening sentence above them: "One of the few great artists to have a criminal record, Caravaggio was violent, loutish and frequently under arrest"--and see if you can resist the temptation to read on. A dream of a book that adults and their older children will fight over. (Ages 12 to adult) --Richard Farr, Amazon.com