I came across this book after finding the series of DVDs by this title on line, How Art Made the World. The book is a good accompaniment to this BBC series, "starring" Nigel Spivey, who does such a great job walking us through history and contemporary life, a creative series that is about the creative spirit infusing all art. I am teaching a course, Into The Heart of Art, and was thinking of using this book as the text. I highly recommend this, and I totally recommend the DVD. This is not the usual "history of art" because it is slanted towards creativity and how we make art, and it focuses beautifully on the intent. For example, have you ever pondered man's need to take what is seen and enlarge upon it, make caricatures, expand on aspects of the body that are truly not exactly what we "see" but we all do this, and sometimes, frequently, without thinking about it. Have you ever wanted to understand movies in an art sort of way? Take a look at Trajan's column in this book and read the author's words. It's fascinating to realize we aren't as "advanced" as we think we are, and human creativity has been part of the lives of people, of ancient peoples, who came a long long time before us. Yes, I do recommend this series, and however you imbibe it, Take A Long Drink! It's worth it.