by Trudy McNair
A History of Art and Civilization
Reviews and Testimonials
McNair Publishing
"Students as well as history lovers should be thankful to have an excellent humanities series like A History of Art and Civilization in hand. A History of Art and Civilization offers the answers to anyone with curiosity about how we got to where we are. In a world living so much in the moment, probing our past becomes essential not only to where we are but to our future. The author has presented what could be an overwhelming subject in a friendly narrative with a conversational tone without the lofty pedantic tone so dreaded by students and the casual reader. I am pleased to see so many graphics, especially since they are placed appropriately close to the related text. Visual images support the written word and imbed the information more firmly in one’s memory."
Donna Miller, educator, administrator, and publishing consultant
"As a composer, writer, historian, and founder of Cultural Conservation, a nonprofit foundation devoted to preserving the best of our culture, I have been concerned about the prospect of our arts and history fading into an underserved oblivion. I have regularly addressed these issues on my radio and television programs and in my books. Therefore, I am pleased to both endorse and enthusiastically recommend the series of books A History of Art and Civilization by Trudy McNair."
"Dr. McNair writes in a lively and entertaining style. In studying a combination of the history of events with the history of the arts, the reader can discover the interrelationship between history and creativity, between imagination and the men and women behind the decisions, attitudes, and philosophies that led to the world in which we live today."
"Dr. McNair’s books can be enjoyed on a number of levels. Students who are learning about history for the first time will be captivated by reading what is a remarkable story. Students of all ages can find new perspectives and surprising facts about people and places they thought they knew. The general reading public have always been receptive to reading history when it is well written, and its characters jump off the page. That is why writers like Will and Ariel Durant, David McCullough, and Kenneth Clark have written best-selling books on various aspects of history, art, and civilization."
Dr. Mark Evans, President, Cultural Conservation, historian, author and composer
"Teachers of the Humanities need to know that the six-part series entitled History of Art and Civilization, by Dr. Trudy McNair, is at once scholarly and can be appreciated and understood by college students as well as the general public. This series is comprehensive and detailed and covers The Ancient World, The Medieval World, The Renaissance and Baroque Periods, the Age of Enlightenment and Romanticism, The Asian World, and The Modern World. Dr. McNair’s writing is extremely special, as she paints grand visual pictures of mankind’s human experiences."
"One thing that I really like about Dr. McNair’s textbooks is that they are written in chronological order, which gives readers a sense of the broad sweep of history, as well as a biographical approach, which emphasizes the human side of history. Dr. McNair correctly believes history is shaped by a combination of events and individuals who changed the course of history through the force of their personalities. In her texts she has recurring sections, such as “Portraits from the Past,” which are biographies of important people who have shaped their times, and “Women’s Voices,” which emphasizes the contributions of women, especially women writers, such as the Mexican nun-poet Sor Juana de la Cruz."
"Another very attractive feature about Dr. McNair’s texts is that she also has extensive sections covering non-Western cultures and civilizations, including those of Egypt, India, China, and Japan, the Islamic world, and Africa, as well as Native American cultures. This feature makes her texts more global in perspective."
"I have taught the humanities, classics, history, philosophy, and languages for thirty-two years. During those years I have been disappointed in the mass-produced textbooks that include inaccurate information, are sterile, not learning centered, and void of passion, life, and excitement. What is remarkable about Dr. McNair’s books is that, while they are scholarly, they are at the very same time easily understandable, even for students and readers with English as a second language. Every person has a story and Dr. McNair always writes like she is telling a story."
"Dr. McNair is “in tune” with students’ needs and displays a “gift of simplification” to make things understandable for them. Her texts offer an extremely strong foundation in history and the arts and motivates her readers to learn without getting bogged down in technical jargon and high-flown language."
"It has been said that: 'history is ourselves.' Dr. McNair wants her readers to acquire true knowledge as well as wisdom from the study of history and the arts and to discover who they are in relationship to the past. In short, she wants those who read her texts to undertake a pilgrimage to the past so that her texts are not just a trip through time, but a 'journey of self-discovery.'"
Dr. Jeffery Donley, award-winning educator and author, who has worked with teachers and administrators at Yale and other colleges as well as businessmen and politicians. Dr. Donley was selected by the Carnegie Foundation to be Professor of the Year in the State of Florida; he was also chosen to translate the Copper Scroll, one of the Dead Sea Scrolls, at the University of Manchester, England.
Trudy E McNair
A History of Art and Civilization is a six-part series of books that covers The Ancient World, The Medieval World, The Renaissance and Baroque Periods, The Age of Enlightenment and Romanticism, The Asian World, and The Modern World. Each book is a comprehensive overview of the people and events that have shaped our world today from the Paleolithic Period to the twentieth century and beyond. The vast subject matter is presented in an easily understandable, reader-friendly manner that reads like a story and brings out the human side of history and the humanities.
Note: All of the books (with the exception of The Modern World, which is pending) are available for school adoption and as e-books through Kendall Hunt Publishing.