This title is absolutely worth every penny. Though weighing in at only 143 pages, it is deceptively meaty and educational. The 106 selected photos (47 color and 49 B/W) are crisp, beautiful, and plentiful, and the inclusion of a maps and a glossary were also helpful. The mosaics selected for illustration are heartbreakingly sublime, and even those ravaged by time are hardly less beautiful for it. Chapters are (in order) Intro, Greek Period, Roman Italy, Roman North-West, Roman Africa, Wall and Vault Mounts, and Context and Meaning. In a book of this length each chapter is necessarily short, but the examples chosen to illustrate each section are well-chosen to guide further study in selected areas.
I really appreciate scholarly works like this book. Ive been trying to find a good book on the history of mosaics that is - in-print - and this is it! Excellent documentation! Not too - dry - of a read either. A big thanks to Roger Ling for the enlightenment. Beautiful photographs, wish there were a-whole-lot more.
