I've been interested in color for as long as I can remember. How it affects moods, why we all like different colors, do we all see the same colors, are there colors we can't see, etc.?

This book covers all aspects of color in an interesting and informative manner. Looks at color from a scientific view as well as from emotional, historical, literary, and artistic view points.

Recommended. ( )

The best thing about this book might be the cover, which is beautiful. David Scott Kastan is clearly a guy who likes to hear himself talk; it is unclear exactly what "with Stephen Farthing" means... presumably as "an artist" he brought some technical expertise in colors and painting. Is it fair to downgrade a book because it didn't give me what I was hoping for, instead of judging it for how well it does what the author(s) intended to do? (The eternal reviewer's dilemma.) According to the jacket blurb, the book "investigate[s] color from numerous perspectives: literary, historical, cultural, anthropological, philosophical, art historical, political, and scientific." That's an awful lot for a book clocking in at just over 200 small-format pages, and definitely too much to deliver more than a pretty superficial skim of the subjects. Arranged in chapters each devoted to a particular color, they can be read (the author assures us) in any order. Which means there is no arc, no building, no synthesis, and a fair amount of repetition (including rather too much about artist Yves Klein and his famous blue, who I'm thinking must be a particular favorite of Farthing's?). The chapter on green spends a lot of words on how red and blue became codes for political leanings... so, all right, maybe the intent is to hang each chapter on a conceptual hook, rather than focusing on the actual color? Well, not really. Kastan is good at library (or internet) research, and cheerfully marshals lots of anecdotes and examples - many of which are interesting - in a chatty tone that too often veers into cute, punny, smart-aleck asides. The best chapter is the one on the color (or non-color) white, as he chooses to weave Moby Dick well into it, and as a literary scholar, this is what he's best at. Overall, though, the book reads more like a conglomeration of Wikipedia content processed with his own random ruminations and commentary. And yes, "The Dress" is mentioned (with photos) - but with very little serious examination or explication. Disappointing. ( )

Although I wasn't looking for a hard read this collection of essays also felt rather slight in the end. I supposed that I was looking for more color theory to go along with the psychology of color. ( )