Textiles: The Art of Mankind

Let't get it out of the way first.......I don't "get" the choice of artwork for the cover. I was in a toney NYC book store and saw this book, all awash in shrink wrap, and I "assumed" that it was about the history of textiles. The choice of cover artwork, a very lovely-but-traditional print, lead me to think that this was yet-another door stop book about textile design through the ages. Luckily, I happened to encounter the book elsewhere and flipped through. Key word: "flipped"! I knew this was something that would be amazingly inspiring, for years to come. So, I am very happy with my Amazon purchase of this book. It is lavish, surprising, informative, motivational, distinctive, and beautifully presented. I think the preponderance of ethnic textiles, plus vital contemporary examples is SO at odds with the cover....Well, a small quibble. A beautiful, inspiring book. Try it!

I thought it would contain a little bit more about textile print design but non the less a very beautiful and informative book .

The photographs are superb breath taking and the text is enlightening, provocative, and relevant.. This should be required reading for anyone who wants to be in the fabric business; especially fashion design. I always learn something new and the book is worth its weight in gold (or beautiful textiles.) Kudos to Ms. Schoeser and she has written a masterpiece!!

Beautiful book. Ordered new but looked used/cover was faded

So far, I have only thumbed through, wanting to get that first overview that is so pleasurable with a new book (especially when it is a lavishly illustrated one). This book is massive ... to just turn each of its 538 pages and gaze upon each beautiful photograph, stopping sometimes to read a caption, takes quite a good amount of time. I am already in love with the book because it is loaded with such gorgeous examples of textile work from around the world. It is quite inspiring and leaves me feeling exhilarated. What impresses me greatly is, out of all these images, I can probably count on one hand the ones that I am already familiar with. That is a rare and wonderful treat.

This is exactly the reference book I was looking for. Informative and beautiful.

I had been longing for this book for quite a while. I finally bought it as a holiday present for myself. It is amazing. Unlike another reviewer i feel the cover is wonderful. It is a fabric cover and so beautiful. I was pleasantly suprised that the book contains not only textiles but fabric art pieces. It is such a special book, to savor for a long time.

The text is informative, but the book also serves as a gorgeous source of inspiration for any art & design enthusiast or professional. The binding is also beautiful, so if you are simply looking for an erudite coffee table edition this will do the trick.