The Essential: Thomas Eakins (Essential (Harry N. Abrams))
This series is geared to the needs of the armchair art lover  eager to broaden his or her knowledge of the art world without  having to wade through lengthy and sometimes pretentious tomes.  Past titles have focused on artists as disparate as Hieronymous  Bosch, John James Audubon, Norman Rockwell, Andy Warhol, and  Cindy Sherman, and all have followed a fairly similar formula.  Look here for art history "lite," with no indexing and no  attempt to appear scholarly but lots of good illustrations.  There are stylistic differences among the individual writers,  some of whom have better qualifications than others. For  example, Chollet's previous writing experiences have been  limited to screenplays (Seven Years in Tibet), and the Cassatt  book can be maddening because of the author's preoccupation with  feminist issues. Sidebars, called "Sound Bytes," include  pertinent quotes by or about each artist profiled including a  pitch from actor Brad Pitt speaking as an authority on Louis  Comfort Tiffany. Given the books' small size (an easily stolen  6" square) and the likelihood that most libraries would already  have material on these artists, none should be considered a  necessary purchase. Margarete Gross, Chicago P.L.Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.