30,000 Years of Art: The Story of Human Creativity Across Time and Space 1st (first) Edition by Editors of Phaidon [2007]

The folks at Phaidon have come up with a subversive approach to art history: Rather than examining a particular country or era, they've decided to explore what was happening around the world at various points in time 30,000 years' worth of time, in fact. That explains why 30,000 Years of Art: The Story of Human Creativity Across Time and Space has more than 1,000 pages and weighs an arm-straining 13 pounds. The history begins in 28,000 B.C. with Germany's Lion Man of Hohlenstein-Stadel and concludes with an as-yet-unfinished American work, Roden Crater. In between, there are works from China, Italy, Syria, Greece and more; the artwork ranges from sculptures to paintings to masks to collages. The timeline and glossary at book's end add context, and its design encourages art-immersion: There is one piece of artwork per page, with explanatory text tucked away at the bottom or side. There, like the best museum guides, it quietly makes information available, but doesn't distract the viewer from the art.