Marvin Sackner reviewed the book and wrote a blurb for the dust jacket. Betty Bright is a co-founder and curator of the Minneapolis Center for Book Arts who was responsible for over 50 exhibitions in a nine year-period. She has written a book on artist books that removes the chaos from the many flavors of this genre. Her analysis is confined almost exclusively to British and American writers and artists. She discusses artist books chronologically based upon the classification of the fine press book, deluxe book, bookwork, sculptural books and hybrids She begins the journey with the books by William Morris of the English Arts and Crafts movement in the late nineteenth century. She mentions that Morris was preoccupied with the design of the book because he believed that such books should not only tell a story but cause the reader to enter into a new world, a remark that seems apropos to the artist book today. Along the way, she cites exhibitions and catalogues, some well known and others less so. She also mentions vignettes about artist books such as James McNeil Abbott Whistler's book "The Gentle Art of Making Enemies"(1904). She points out that this book was highly influential to subsequent book designers as it was printed in Italic type off center with shoulder notes and butterfly devices. She describes Marcel Duchamp's "Unhappy Readymade" (1919) that was a geometry textbook hung out a window until it was destroyed by the weather. According to Bright, Marcel could be the first yet again - this book could be considered an altered book, installation bookwork, or environmental bookwork. She attributes the first multiple bookwork to Eugene Feldman of the Falcon Press who used offset printing to publish with Alosio Magathaes, "Doorway to Portuguese" (1957). She indicates that Louise Bourgeous made a deluxe book entitled "He Disappeared into Complete Science" in 1947. Bright concludes her book with a discussion of contemporary artist books and collecting them in public and private institutions. This is a book that should be on the shelf and READ by anyone connected with artist books as a maker or collector. -- Source of annotation: Marvin or Ruth Sackner.