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I recently purchased this book and with shipping, the cost came to about $75. Double what I would have paid in a bookshop where I could have seen first hand, and for real, the pros and cons of the product.

The authors and contributors must be commended on their efforts to highlight the magnificent and visually enticing medium of mosaic, giving artists who express themselves via this medium, the recognition they deserve. It is rare to find a publication which celebrates mosaic as art, not just a craft.

However, I was disappointed by the quality of some of the images, which seemed to be out of focus to the degree that one can hardly see the groutlines and hence the flow of tiles so... More > intrinsic to the visual identity of the medium. The layout is clean and well-designed- whoever put the book together knew what they were doing- so I can only put poor image quality down to what was supplied by the primary sources who contributed their images to the book.

This publication appears to be part of a growing trend of POD (print on demand) books & sites so it did not go through the rigorous editing process of a publishing company; with a book designer, image retouching, sub-editor, editor, proof reader and production manager.

But if a publishing company were the only option (as in the 'bad old days' before the self-empowerment of the internet) this book may never have seen the light of day... < Less