Talking Books Talk

With the past week and a half of extremely hot days, one of the best ways the Kansas Talking Books (KTB) staff stayed cool was through reading. The KTB staff has various reading interests, from vampire stories to cryogenically frozen bodies to future outlooks on technology . Find out what the KTB staff has been reading recently and make these one of your next reads. 

Beat the heat this summer by staying indoors and get any of these books in seconds using BARD, Braille and Audio Reading Download. BARD is a download service provided by the National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled allowing all its patrons to have access to audio and braille materials with just a few taps or clicks. Learn more about BARD through the KTB BARD Resources webpage or by calling the office at 1-800-362-0699 or emailing KTB@ks.gov.

Maggie Witte, Outreach Librarian / Lead Readers' Advisor

DB 128903 Under a vampire moon: Argeneau, book 16 by Lynsay Sands

"Escaping a horrible marriage, Carolyn Connor has no desire to think about men--a vow she's determined to keep while on vacation in St. Lucia. She'll take the Caribbean sun and sea and plenty of tropical drinks with those cute umbrellas poolside, thank you. She absolutely does not need male company, no matter how tan and rock-hard his body may be. Easy enough, but then Carolyn meets the charming Marguerite Argeneau, who is infamous among her family for her matchmaking prowess...Christian Notte has well known the power of finding a life mate. He's seen enough of his Argeneau relatives taken down for the count, but he never imagined he'd let himself fall in love--until he meets the enthralling, charmingly skittish, and oh-so-mortal Carolyn. But how will he reveal what he is and still convince this once-bitten mortal to trust him with her heart...and her forever?"-- From publisher. -- Unrated. Commercial audiobook.

DB 129208 The lady is a vamp: Argeneau, book 17 by Lynsay Sands

"One late night leads to... Kidnapped! When Jeanne Louise Argeneau left work, she never thought she'd end up tied down by a good-looking mortal. More attracted than annoyed, she quickly realizes there is more to her abductor than meets the eye. One desperate act leads to...Love? Paul Jones has need of a vampire, and only Jeanne Louise will do. He just has to convince this beauty of a Vamp to help him...never imagining that he would fall in love. But with the immortal world's answer to law enforcement hunting them, their time together is running out...and Paul and Jeanne Louise will need to risk everything to spend an eternity together."-- From publisher. -- Unrated. Commercial audiobook.

DB 128994 Immortal ever after: Argeneau, book 18 by Lynsay Sands

"When she is rescued from a psychotic vampire by Anders, an immortal creature who claims that she is the woman destined to be his life mate, Valerie Moyers tries to resist her fate as Anders battles her former captor."-- From publisher. -- Unrated. Commercial audiobook.

DB 129128 One lucky vampire: Argeneau, book 19 by Lynsay Sands

"Luck be a vampire tonight... When Nicole Phillips agreed to hire a housekeeper, she pictured someone a little frumpy and almost certainly female. Instead, she gets gorgeous, unmistakably male Jake Colson. The man is proving indispensable in the kitchen and everywhere else..."-- From publisher. -- Unrated. Commercial audiobook.

DB 129297 Vampire most wanted: Argeneau, book 20 by Lynsay Sands

"For Basha Argeneau, anything is better than facing her estranged family. Even hiding out in sweltering southern California. But when a sexy immortal in black shows up determined to bring her back to the clan, she'll do anything to keep far, far away from the past she can't outrun..."-- From publisher. -- Unrated. Commercial audiobook.

DB 129681 The immortal who loved me: Argeneau, book 21 by Lynsay Sands

"After meeting Sherry Carne when he chases some rogue immortals away from her store, Basileios Argeneau realizes that she may be his life mate and determines to win her love while protecting her from harm."-- From publisher.

DB 129524 About a vampire: Argeneau, book 22 by Lynsay Sands

"With immortal good looks and scorching charisma, Justin Bricker has yet to meet a woman he can't win over. His potential life mate should be no different. But instead of falling into his bed, Holly Bosley runs away and ends up mortally wounded. To save her, he has to turn her. And then Bricker learns the shocking truth: Holly's already married. Holly wakes up with a bump on her head, a craving for blood, and a sexy stranger who insists they belong together. She needs Bricker's help to control her new abilities, even as she tries to resist his relentless seduction. Choosing between the world she knows and the eternity he offers is impossible. But Justin is fighting for his life mate--maybe even his life--and he'll break every rule to do it..."-- From publisher. -- Unrated. Commercial audiobook.

DB 129687 Runaway vampire: Argeneau, book 23 by Lynsay Sands

"Dante Notte has heard it said that love hurts. He just wasn't expecting it to run him over in an RV. Still, a punctured lung and broken ribs are nothing compared to the full-body shock he feels whenever he's near the vehicle's driver, Mary Winslow. He needs to keep her safe from their pursuers while he rescues his brother. Most challenging of all, he needs to claim this smart, stubborn woman as his life mate. The naked, injured, insanely gorgeous younger man who clambered into her RV insists they belong together. If Mary wasn't feeling their incredible connection in every inch of her being, she wouldn't believe it. But now that the men who took Dante's twin are after her too, trusting her gut means risking her life for an immortal who's the very definition of a perfect stranger."-- From publisher. -- Unrated. Commercial audiobook.

DB 129527 Immortal nights: Argeneau, book 24 by Lynsay Sands

"When she rescues a naked man from a plane's cargo hold, Abigail Forsythe, miles away from civilization and hunted by his kidnappers, finds a passion like no other in the arms of this immortal creature."-- From publisher. -- Unrated. Commercial audiobook.

DB 114458 Ten tomatoes that changed the world: a history by William Alexander

"The tomato gets no respect. Never has. Lost in the dustbin of history for centuries, accused of being vile and poisonous, subjected to being picked hard-green and gassed, even used as a projectile, the poor tomato has become the avatar for our disaffection with industrial foods - while becoming the most popular vegetable in America (and, in fact, the world). Each summer, tomato festivals crop up across the country; the Heinz ketchup bottle, instantly recognizable, has earned a spot in the Smithsonian; and now the tomato is redefining the very nature of farming, moving from fields into climate-controlled mega-greenhouses the size of New England villages. Supported by meticulous research and told in a lively, accessible voice, Ten Tomatoes That Changed the World seamlessly weaves travel, history, humor, and a little adventure (and misadventure) to follow the tomato's trail through history. A fascinating story complete with heroes, con artists, conquistadors, and-no surprise-the Mafia, this book is a mouth-watering, informative, and entertaining guide to the food that has captured our hearts for generations." -- Provided by publisher. -- Unrated. Commercial audiobook.

DB 122000 Assassins anonymous by Rob Hart

"Mark was the most dangerous killer-for-hire in the world. But after learning the hard way that his life's work made him more monster than man, he left all of that behind, and joined a twelve-step group for reformed killers. When Mark is viciously attacked by an unknown assailant, he is forced on the run. From New York to Singapore to London, he chases after clues while dodging attacks and trying to solve the puzzle of who's after him. All without killing anyone. Or getting killed himself. For an assassin, Mark learns, nonviolence is a real hassle"-- Provided by publisher. -- Unrated. Commercial audiobook.

Sarah Bruemmer, Library Assistant

DB 124340 That librarian: the fight against book banning in America by Amanda Jones

"One of the things small town librarian Amanda Jones values most about books is how they can affirm a young person's sense of self. So in 2022, when she caught wind of a local public hearing that would discuss "book content," she knew what was at stake. Schools and libraries nationwide have been bombarded by demands for books with LGTBQ+ references, discussions of racism, and more to be purged from the shelves. Amanda would be damned if her community were to ban stories representing minority groups. She spoke out that night at the meeting. Days later, she woke up to a nightmare that is still ongoing. Amanda Jones has been called a groomer, a pedo, and a porn-pusher; she has faced death threats and attacks from strangers and friends alike. Her decision to support a collection of books with diverse perspectives made her a target for extremists using book banning campaigns--funded by dark money organizations and advanced by hard right politicians--in a crusade to make America more white, straight, and "Christian." But Amanda Jones wouldn't give up without a fight: she sued her harassers for defamation and urged others to join her in the resistance. Mapping the book banning crisis occurring all across the nation, That Librarian draws the battle lines in the war against equity and inclusion, calling book lovers everywhere to rise in defense of our readers."-- From publisher. -- Unrated. Commercial audiobook.

Dylan Calhoon, Patron Services Manager

DB 35967 Ubik by Philip K. Dick

Scientists have found a way to preserve bodies in order to bring them back to half-life. Glen Runciter, concerned about some of his firm's clients, goes to consult with his dead wife, Ella, but finds her body taken over by a stronger half-life. When Runciter is killed during an assignment on the moon, his employees hope to put his body into a state of half-life also. But strange happenings make them wonder if he is really dead. Strong language. 1969.

Michael Lang, Director

DB 128554 Cold eternity by S. A. Barnes

"Halley is on the run from an interplanetary political scandal that has put a huge target on her back. She heads for what seems like the perfect place to lay low: a gigantic space barge storing the cryogenically frozen bodies of Earth's most fortunate citizens from more than a century ago... The cryo program, created by trillionaire tech genius Zale Winfeld, is long defunct, and the AI hologram "hosts," ghoulishly created in the likeness of Winfeld's three adult children, are glitchy. The ship feels like a crypt, and the isolation getsto Halley almost immediately. She starts to see figures crawling inthe hallways, and there's a constant scraping, slithering, and rattling echoing in the vents. It's not long before Halley realizes she may have gotten herself trapped in an even more dangerous situation than the one she was running from..."-- Provided by publisher. -- Unrated. Commercial audiobook.

DB 130138 (in process) The starving saints by Caitlin Starling

"Aymar Castle has been under siege for six months. Food is running low and there has been no sign of rescue. But just as the survivors consider deliberately thinning their number, the castle stores are replenished. The sick is healed. And the divine figures of the Constant Lady and her Saints have arrived, despite the barricaded gates, offering succor in return for adoration. Soon, the entire castle is under the sway of their saviors, partaking in intoxicating feasts of terrible origin. The war hero Ser Voyne gives her allegiance to the Constant Lady. Phosyne, a disorganized, paranoid nun-turned-sorceress, races to unravel the mystery of these new visitors and exonerate her experiments as their source. And in the bowels of the castle, a serving girl, Treila, is torn between her thirst for a secret vengeance against Voyne and the desperate need to escape from the horrors that are unfolding within Aymar's walls. As the castle descends into bacchanalian madness -- forgetting the massed army beyond its walls in favor of hedonistic ecstasy -- these three women are the only ones to still see their situation for what it is. But they are not immune from the temptations of the castle's new masters ... or each other; and their shifting alliances and entangled pasts bring violence to the surface. To save the castle, and themselves, will take a reimagining of who they are, and a reorganization of the very world itself." -- From publisher.

Jason Brinkman, Production Manager

DB 127088 Dead in the frame: Pentecost and Parker mystery, book 5 by Stephen Spotswood

"New York City, 1947: Wealthy financier and ghoulish connoisseur of crime, Jessup Quincannon, is dead, and famed detective Lillian Pentecost is under arrest for his murder. Means, motive, and a mountain of evidence leave everyone believing she's guilty. Everyone, that is, except Willowjean "Will" Parker, who knows for a fact her boss is innocent. She just doesn't know if she can prove it. With Lillian locked away in the House of D-New York City's infamous women's prison-Will is left to root out the real killer. Was it a member of Quincannon's murder-obsessed Black Museum Club? Maybe it was his jilted lover? Or his beautiful, certainly-sociopathic bodyguard? And what about the mob hit-man who just happened to disappear after the shots were fired? With the city barreling toward the trial of the century, each day brings fresh headlines and hints of long-buried scandals from Lillian's past. Will is desperate to get her boss out from behind bars before her reputation is destroyed. Because the House of D is no kind place, especially for a woman with multiple sclerosis. Or one with so many enemies. Her health failing and targeted by someone who wants her dead, Lillian needs to survive long enough to take the stand. With time running out on both sides of the prison walls, Will and Lillian must wager everything to uncover who put their thumb on the scales and a bullet in Quincannon's head. Before Lady Justice brings her sword down, ending Pentecost and Parker's adventures once and for all."-- Provided by publisher. -- Unrated. Commercial audiobook.

DB 129569 More everything forever by Adam Becker

"How Silicon Valley's heartless, baseless, and foolish obsessions--with escaping death, building AI tyrants, and creating limitless growth--pervert public discourse and distract us from real social problems Tech billionaires have decided that they should determine our futures for us. According to Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Sam Altman, and more, the only good future for humanity is one powered by technology: trillions of humans living in space, functionally immortal, served by superintelligent AIs. In More Everything Forever, science journalist Adam Becker investigates these wildly implausible and often profoundly immoral visions of tomorrow--and shows why, in reality, there is no good evidence that they will, or should, come to pass. Nevertheless, these obsessions fuel fears that overwhelm reason--for example, that a rogue AI will exterminate humanity--at the expense of essential work on solving crucial problems like climate change. What's more, these futuristic visions cloak a hunger for power under dreams of space colonies and digital immortality. The giants of Silicon Valley claim that their ideas are based on science, but the reality is darker: they come from a jumbled mix of shallow futurism and racist pseudoscience. More Everything Forever exposes the powerful and sinister ideas that dominate Silicon Valley, challenging us to see how foolish, and dangerous, these visions of the future are."-- From publisher. -- Unrated. Commercial audiobook.

We are bringing you more recommendations from patron to patrons. If you didn't read the last post, you can visit it here. One of our patrons, Miss Anon, is a cozy mystery enthusiast and just an overall book lover. Throughout the year, she has provided Kansas Talking Books staff recommendations for books, authors, and series that are similar to each other based on characters, plot, pacing, and more. We share these with you, our other patrons, to assist you in finding new books to read. These recommendations are from Ms. Anonymous, for the most part, in her own words 

Order just one book from this post or try several new author or series to see if these recommendations fit your needs for your next read.

Happy reading!

Other than it isn't a mystery, and shopping is only a murder to the pocketbook, fans of: Jana DeLeon's Miss Fortune; Donna Andrews' Meg Langslow; Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum; Jesse Q. Sutanto's Aunties; and Jess Lourey's Mira James series will love:

• Sophie Kinsella's Shopaholic series

I almost missed on this due to content as I'm as uninterested in cheese making as I am in shopping (I yawn through much of Avery Aames' cheese mystery series); however, Korina Moss' Cheese Shop mystery series is an excellent series! Fans of: Ellie Alexander's Bakeshop mystery series; Joanna Carl's Chocoholic series; Nancy Coco's Candy-Coated series; Abby Collette's Ice Cream Parlor series; Jacqueline Frost's Christmas Tree Farm series, etc. would like: 

• Korina Moss' Cheese Shop series

I'm not normally fond of Carlene O'Connor's series, except I did read the first one in her Irish Village series, and it was great! The heroine lost her parents in a car accident a year ago when she was 21, so she is now guardian of her 4 younger siblings, one of which is a precocious 10-year-old. Anyway, it was funny when she had the kids distract the murder suspect (an undertaker) while she rifled through his desks for clues. Ha! So many other funny moments, yet I just don't know about other patrons because of the Irish culture/lingo, although the narrator is excellent--she makes that first book!  

• Recommended for fans of: Maddie Day, Joanne Fluke, M. C. Beaton, Vivien Chien, and Mia P. Manansala

Fans of: Ellie Alexander; Jeffrey Allen; Winnie Archer; Maymee Bell; Janet Bolin; Ginger Bolton; Leslie Budewitz; Joanna Carl; Laurie Cass; Vivien Chien; Nancy Coco; Krista Davis; Maddie Day; Daryl Wood Gerber; P. J. Howell; Sharon Mondragon; Korina Moss; Barbara Ross; and R. L. Syme might enjoy:

• A very woodsy murder: Golden Motel, book 1 by Ellen Byron

For Andrew Klavan's Cameron Winter series, what immediately sprung to mind for read-alike series was: 

• Spencer Kope's Special Tracking Unit series. 
• However, while a different gender AND venue, having a unique gift is similar as in Allyson K. Abbott's Mack's Bar series. 
• In addition, even though different professions, the following author sort of resonate with Klavan's torture protagonist/philosophical views, as well:
  • William Bernhardt's Ben Kincaid series; David Housewright's McKenzie series; John Verdon's Dave Gurney series; and possibly even Peter Swanson.

Fans of: Isabella Alan's Amish Quilt Shop; Donna Andrews' Meg Langslow, and Jana DeLeon's Miss Fortune series might enjoy:

• Laura Levine's Jaine Austen series, as they all tap into the sarcasm factor;
• but fans also might enjoy Laurie Cass' Bookmobile Cat mystery series and Julie Chase's Kitty Couture series though they lack the sarcastic edge but maintain humor and a love of cats.

Art; the creation of something new, expressing emotions, ideas, and/or experiences through various forms and media. War; the armed conflict between states, nations, or differing cultures, ethnic groups, and ideologies, leading to the destruction or assimilation of the losing side. Art and war have been intertwined throughout the course of history.  During war, art is often destroyed or looted by soldiers for themselves, their family, or for their leaders to control. War also inspires art. Many famous artworks are depictions of war, such as The Battle of San Romano by Paolo Uccello.

But crimes involving art don't just occur during war. Art theft and forgery are also common. In art forgery, someone creates and sales works of art which are credited to usually more famous artists. Multiple law enforcement agencies have divisions devoted to the handling of art crimes, including the recovery of stolen art.

Kansas Talking Books presents a list of books involving art in war and true art crimes. Find out how war influenced an art movement or how the art world is impacted by forgeries. 

DB 40324 The rape of Europa: the fat of Europa's treasures in the Third Reich and the Second World War by Lynn H. Nicholas 
Describes the Nazis' attack on European artworks, documenting the pillage of entire countries and the destruction of "degenerate" art. Nicholas also tells how world leaders united to protect masterpieces while fighting the enemy, how ordinary people and experts made heroic efforts to save their treasures, and how the Allies sought to restore works to their rightful owners.

DB 43362 Beautiful loot: the Soviet plunder of Europe's art treasures by Konstantin Akinsha 
The authors, art historians and former Soviet museum curators, allege the Soviets stole more than two million pieces of art from Germany near the end of World War II. The loot included the famous "Trojan gold" excavated by Heinrich Schliemann in the 1870s and masterworks by Botticelli, El Greco, Rembrandt, Renoir, and Degas.

DB 68758 Loot: the battle over the stolen treasures of the ancient world by Sharon Waxman 
American journalist examines the ongoing conflict between major museums where antiquities are displayed and the countries from which they were plundered. Includes discussion by prominent personalities from Egypt, Turkey, Greece, and Italy as well as the Louvre, Metropolitan Museum of Art, British Museum, and J. Paul Getty Museum. 2008.

DB 87662 Grand illusions: American art and the First World War by David M. Lubin 
Professor of art examines the impact of American involvement in World War I on twenty-four painters, designers, photographers, and filmmakers between 1914 and 1933. Highlights works by Man Ray, John Singer Sargent, Anna Coleman Ladd, and James VanDerZee, among others. 2016.

DB 96461 Hitler's last hostages: looted art and the soul of the Third Reich by Mary M. Lane 
Journalist examines the Gurlitt family--father Hildebrand and son Cornelius--of Germany. Discusses Hildebrand's acquisition of more than one thousand pieces of art--often through foul means--for Hitler's Führermuseum, his concealment of the collection, and the disposition of the art after it was confiscated from Cornelius. Some strong language Commercial audiobook. 2019.

DBC18236 Treasure hunt: a New York Times reporter tracks the Quedlinburg hoard by William H. Honan 
This story has elements of a good mystery novel as well as intriguing art history. New York Times reporter William Honan describes how he first became interested in the missing Quedlinburg treasures - priceless medieval manuscripts and reliquaries - which disappeared from Nazi Germany in the final days of World War II. Honan tracks the treasures to a small Texas town and unravels the mystery of how they got there. Contains strong language.

DB 125833 Paris in ruins: love, war, and the birth of Impressionism by Sebastian Smee 
"From the summer of 1870 to the spring of 1871, famously dubbed the "Terrible Year" by Victor Hugo, Paris and its people were besieged, starved, and forced into surrender by Germans--then imperiled again as radical republicans established a breakaway Commune, ultimately crushed by the French Army after bloody street battles and the burning of central Paris. As renowned art critic Sebastian Smee shows, it was against the backdrop of these tumultuous times that the Impressionist movement was born--in response to violence, civil war, and political intrigue. In stirring and exceptionally vivid prose, Smee tells the story of those dramatic days through the eyes of great figures of Impressionism. Édouard Manet, Berthe Morisot, and Edgar Degas were trapped in Paris during the siege and deeply enmeshed in its politics. Others, including Pierre-August Renoir and Frédéric Bazille, joined regiments outside of the capital, while Claude Monet and Camille Pissarro fled the country just in time. In the aftermath, these artists developed a newfound sense of the fragility of life. That feeling for transience--reflected in Impressionism's emphasis on fugitive light, shifting seasons, glimpsed street scenes, and the impermanence of all things--became the movement's great contribution to the history of art. At the heart of it all is a love story; that of Manet, by all accounts the father of Impressionism, and Morisot, the only woman to play a central role in the movement from the start. Smee poignantly depicts their complex relationship, their tangled effect on each other, and their great legacy, while bringing overdue attention to the woman at the heart of Impressionism."-- Publisher's description. -- Unrated. Commercial audiobook.

DB 74650 Monuments men: Allied heroes, Nazi thieves, and the greatest treasure hunt in history by Robert M. Edsel 
Portrays the WWII special army unit--composed of architects, museum directors, curators, and archivists--formed in 1943 to recover cultural treasures that had been plundered by the Nazis. Describes the bombed historical buildings the group preserved and works of art it salvaged. 2009.

DB 76945 Saving Italy: the race to rescue a nation's treasures from the Nazis by Robert M. Edsel 
In this companion to The Monuments Men (DB 74650), the author discusses the efforts to keep cultural treasures from Italian museums and the Vatican from being plundered by the Nazis or destroyed by Allied air raids during World War II. 2013.

DB 72029 The Venus fixers: the remarkable story of the Allied soldiers who saved Italy's art during World War II by Ilaria Dagnini Brey 
Journalist recounts work of British and American art historians, scholars, and architects who, as Allied monument officers, salvaged Italian art and antiquities during World War II. Describes the officers' efforts to preserve Europe's cultural heritage by evacuating some pieces and restoring others that were damaged in air raid bombings. 2009.

DB 83425 The art of the con: the most notorious fakes, frauds, and forgeries in the art world by Anthony M. Amore 
Head of security at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum presents eleven cases of art fraud. Discusses the individuals involved, their motives, the methods used to perpetuate the fraud, and the ways the crimes were uncovered. 2015

DB 43737 False impressions: the hunt for big-time art fakes by Thomas Hoving 
Surveys the world of art forgery through the centuries. Recounts case histories in which inauthentic art works were foisted on curators, art collectors, and other experts. Examines forgers' motives and offers methods for detecting fake works of art.

DBG08906 Hot art: chasing thieves and detectives through the secret world of stolen art by Joshua Knelman 
Knelman spent four years immersing himself in the mysterious world of international art theft, travelling from Cairo to New York, London, Montreal and Los Angeles. He befriends the slippery Paul, a master art thief; and meets Donald Hrycyk, a detective working on a shoestring budget to recover stolen art. His investigation finds there are only a handful of detectives, FBI agents and lawyers fighting a global battle against the thriving black market of international art theft, estimated to be one of the largest in the world. Includes strong language. c2011. Marrakesh title.

DB 93863 Caveat emptor: the secret life of an American art forger by Ken Perenyi 
Memoir of a man who claims to have spent thirty years forging art masterpieces. Discusses becoming involved in a local art scene as a teenager in the 1960s, his development as an art forger, and the work he did. Strong language. Commercial audiobook. 2012.

DB 125478 Priceless: how I went undercover to rescue the world's stolen treasures by Robert K. Wittman 
"Robert K. Wittman, the founder of the FBI's Art Crime Team, pulls back the curtain on his remarkable career, offering a real-life international thriller. The son of an antique dealer, Wittman built a twenty-year career going undercover, usually unarmed, to catch art thieves, scammers, and black market traders in Paris and Philadelphia, Rio and Santa Fe, Miami and Madrid. Wittman tells the stories behind his recoveries of priceless art and antiquities: the golden armor of an ancient Peruvian warrior king; the Rodin sculpture that inspired the Impressionist movement; the rare Civil War battle flag carried into battle by one of the nation's first African-American regiments. The art thieves and scammers he caught run the gamut from rich to poor, smart to foolish, organized criminals to desperate loners. Wittman has saved hundreds of millions of dollars worth of art and antiquities, but he considers them all equally priceless."-- From publisher description. -- Unrated. Commercial audiobook.

DB 61523 The rescue artist: a true story of art, thieves, and the hunt for a missing masterpiece by Edward Dolnick 
Chronicles the 1994 theft and recovery of Edvard Munch's The Scream, a painting valued at seventy-two million dollars. Describes the heist from Norway's National Gallery in Oslo and the subsequent three-month investigation by half-English, half-American undercover detective Charley Hill of Scotland Yard's elite Art and Antiques Unit. Strong language. 2005.

DB 62853 The Irish game: a true story of crime and art by Matthew Hart 
Journalist author of Diamond (DB 55703) examines the 1986 heist at Ireland's Russborough House during which Dubliner Martin Cahill stole eighteen paintings including Vermeer's Lady Writing a Letter with Her Maid. Chronicles Scotland Yard's investigations and the sting that uncovered illicit drug connections and a stunning art discovery. 2004.

DB 67547 The forger's spell: a true story of Vermeer, Nazis, and the greatest art hoax of the twentieth century by Edward Dolnick 
Examines the dealings of small-time Dutch artist Han van Meegeren (1889-1947), who passed off his works as masterpieces by the seventeenth-century painter Johannes Vermeer, even selling one to Nazi leader Hermann Goering. Analyzes the forger's technique, talent for manipulating people, and trial for treason in Amsterdam. Some strong language. 2008.

DB 93814 Citizen Keane: the big lies behind the big eyes by Adam Parfrey and Cletus Nelson 
Profile of Walter and Margaret Keane, subjects of the 2014 Tim Burton movie Big Eyes, based on Parfrey's 1992 newspaper article of the same title. Examines their lives and works, including the fraud perpetrated by Walter in claiming Margaret's paintings as his own. Strong language, some descriptions of sex. Commercial audiobook. 2014.

DB 71251 Vanished smile: the mysterious theft of Mona Lisa by R.A. Scotti 
Chronicles the 1911 disappearance of Leonardo da Vinci's masterpiece from Paris's Louvre Museum. Describes the investigation and search for suspects, which included Pablo Picasso and other modernist painters, before the portrait was finally recovered in Florence in 1913. Explores the crime as well as the painting's iconic, universal appeal. 2009.

DBC03893 Master thieves: the Boston gangsters who pulled off the world's great art heist by Stephen Kurkjian 
An award-winning Boston Globe journalist meticulously investigates the 1990 Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum robbery, exposing the plotters behind the heist, their motives, and details that the FBI has long kept secret.

DB 103290 The woman who stole Vermeer: the true story of Rose Dugdale and the Russborough House art heist by Anthony M. Amore 
Author of The Art of the Con (DB 83425) profiles Rose Dugdale--debutante and member of the Irish Republican Army--who led the group who stole artwork including work by Johannes Vermeer in 1974 to ransom it. Topics include Vermeer and the IRA in the 1970s. Some violence and some strong language. 2020.

Make any of these your next read on cartridge sent through the mail or download on the go with BARD. BARD, Braille and Audio Reading Download, is a download service provided by the National Library service for the Blind and Print Disabled (NLS) giving all patrons access to almost the entire collection of books and magazines. Patrons can download these books to your mobile device through the BARD Mobile app, to play on a computer with BARD Express, or to a flash drive to play in the player using the BARD website. There are no due dates or expiration dates, and you never have to wait for a book to be returned as everyone can read the same book at the same time. For more information on BARD, contact the Kansas Talking Books office at 1-800-362-0699 or KTB@ks.gov, visit the BARD Resources webpage, or the NLS BARD website.

When you think of art, what do you think about? Most likely famous artists, their artworks, or different types of art. However, the art world is not just about artists but also famous collectors and influential art museum curators. We've put together a list of books about famous visual artists (sculptors, painters, photographers), collectors and curators that influenced the art world. 

These books can be found available on BARD, Braille and Audio Reading Download, a download service from the National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled provided to all Kansas Talking Books patrons to access the collection any time, anywhere. Take it on the go with you as you travel this summer and listen in the car or wherever life takes you with BARD Mobile. Search, download and listen directly on your Mobile device or use BARD Express to download and listening using the built in player. To find out more, please visit the Kansas Talking Books' BARD Resources webpage, the NLS BARD website, or contact our office at 1-800-362-0699 or KTB@ks.gov. 

DB 14315 A concise history of modern sculpture by Herbert Read 
A chronological survey of modern sculptors and their work, beginning with Rodin.

DB 83037 Listening to stone: the art and life of Isamu Noguchi by Hayden Herrera 
Author of Frida (DB 55556) profiles Japanese-American sculptor and landscape architect Isamu Noguchi (1904-1988). Describes the influence of his dual heritage and childhood in Japan on the development of his art, his family and personal relationships, and his major works of art and architecture. 2015

DB 24362 Giacometti, a biography by James Lord 
The author, who turned a chance encounter with the great sculptor in 1952 into a lifelong obsession, here gives the story of a life lived purely for art. Included are many side-biographies of the great cultural figures with whom Giacometti shared his life--Sartre, Genet, Picasso, and Samuel Beckett.

DB 32636 Louise Nevelson: a passionate life by Laurie Lisle 
Biography of an unconventional American sculptor, born in Russia just prior to the turn of the twentieth century. When she was five, she and her family emigrated to the U. S., settling in Maine, where as Jews and foreigners, they were ostracized. The author describes Nevelson's beauty and flamboyance, the power she brought to her work, and her struggle to enter the male-dominated world of art. Some strong language.

DB 107129 The radical potter: the life and times of Josiah Wedgwood by Tristram Hunt 
The director of the Victoria & Albert Museum presents a biography of one of the world's most famous makers of ceramics. The author draws from an array of letters, journals, and historical documents to illuminate the achievements of Wedgwood as a potter, entrepreneur, and abolitionist. 2021.

DB 89588 Leonardo da Vinci by Walter Isaacson 
Author of Steve Jobs (DB 73682) chronicles the life of the iconic Renaissance man, Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519). Examines his early life in Vinci, artistic pursuits, patronage from leading Italian Renaissance families, engineering projects, investigations into human anatomy, and more. 2017.

DB 15919 The world of Durer, 1471-1528 by Francis Russell 
Examines the German artist's achievement in oils, watercolors, drawings, woodcuts, paintings, and engravings.

DB 79812 Michelangelo: a life in six masterpieces by Miles J. Unger 
Journalist examines the life of Renaissance Italian artist Michelangelo Buonarotti (1475-1564) through the lens of six of his works: the PietaÌ, his statue of David, the Creation of Adam ceiling fresco in the Sistine Chapel, the Medici tombs, The Last Judgment, and the Basilica of St. Peter's in Rome. 2014.

DB 14957 The world of Bruegel, c. 1525-1569 by Timothy Foote 
Biography of the Flemish painter who excelled in portraying the common man in art and in the contemporary life of Northern Europe. 1968.

DB 49716 Caravaggio: a passionate life by Desmond Seward 
Biography of the Italian painter Michelangelo da Caravaggio, born in 1571. Explores what is known about his life; investigates his world, his acclaim as an artist, the fatal duel that made him an outlaw, and his untimely death in 1610. Presents a portrait of a tortured soul.

DB 14790 The world of Rembrandt, 1606-1669 by Robert Wallace 
Surveys the life and works of the Dutch artist and corrects some of the myths about him. First published 1968.

DB 53408 Vermeer: a view of Delft by Anthony Bailey 
A portrait of the seventeenth-century Dutch artist and the society in which he lived. Augments biographical facts with educated supposition. Includes historical and cultural information about Delft and some of its important citizens. Discusses Vermeer's paintings and their lasting contribution to the arts. 2001.

DB 58883 Goya by Robert Hughes 
Interpretive biography of Spanish artist Francisco Goya (1746-1828) by Time magazine art critic and author of Culture of Complaint (DB 36854). Chronicles Goya's development as a man and artist, offering critical analyses of his work, social milieu, professional influences, and dominant events like the Inquisition. 2003.

DB 86025 Turner: the extraordinary life and momentous times of J. M. W. Turner by Franny Moyle 
An account of the life of J. M. W. Turner, one of Britain's most famous landscape painters. Discusses the committal of his mother to an insane asylum, the personal sacrifices he made for his career, and the odd double life he led in the last years of his life. Commercial audiobook. 2016.

DB 12774 The world of Delacroix, 1798-1863 by Tom Prideaux 
Reveals the paradoxical personality of the talented French artist and interprets his art.

DB 101244 The private lives of the impressionists by Sue Roe 
Examination of the group of French artists known as the Impressionists who gathered together between 1860 and 1886. Artists profiled include Camille Pissarro, Berthe Morisot, Edgar Degas, Claude Monet, and Auguste Renoir. Discusses their relationships with each other and attempts to be accepted by the Parisian art establishment. Some violence. 2006.

DB 118345 The grand affair: John Singer Sargent in his world by Paul Fisher 
"A great American artist, John Singer Sargent is an abiding enigma. He scandalized viewers with the frankness and sensuality of his work, while dressing like a businessman and crafting a highly respectable persona. He charmed the possessors of new money and old, while reserving his greatest sympathies for Bedouins, Spanish dancers, and the gondoliers of Venice. At the height of his renown in Britain and America, he quit his lucrative portrait-painting career to concentrate on allegorical murals with religious themes-and on nude drawings of male models that he kept to himself. In The Grand Affair, scholar Paul Fisher offers a vivid life of the artist and his work. Sargent's nervy, edgy portraits exposed illicit or dark feelings in himself and his sitters-feelings that London, Paris, and New York high society was fascinated by yet kept at bay. Fisher traces Singer's life from his wandering trans-European childhood to the salons of Paris, and the scandals and enthusiasms he elicited, and on to London, where he mixed with other aristocrats and eccentrics, and formed a close relationship with a boxer who became his model, valet, and traveling partner. Relating Sargent's restless itinerary, Fisher explores the enigmas of fin de siecle sexuality and art, fashioning a biography that grants the man and his paintings new and intense life." -- Provided by publisher. -- Unrated. Commercial audiobook.

DB 74364 Van Gogh: the life by Steven Naifeh and Gregory White Smith 
Biography of Dutch artist van Gogh (1853-1890) by the Pulitzer Prize-winning authors of Jackson Pollock (DB 33540). They use primary documents from the van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam to analyze his family life, work, and death at age thirty-seven--and raise doubts that van Gogh killed himself. 2011.

DB 41024 Toulouse-Lautrec: a life by Julia Frey 
Portrait of the French painter best known for his posters of cabaret performers. Drawing on family letters, the author focuses on the artist's aristocratic heritage, his mentally ill father and pious mother, his chronic illness and physical deformity, his alcoholism, and his untimely death at age thirty-six. Frey also speculates on probable artistic influences, including Degas, Japanese prints, and the art nouveau movement.

DB 125496 Mondrian: his life, his art, his quest for the absolute by Nicholas Fox Weber 
"The extraordinary and surprising life of Piet Mondrian, whose unprecedented geometric art revolutionized modern painting, architecture, graphic art, dress design, and much more"-- Provided by publisher. -- Unrated. Commercial audiobook.

DB 10054 Chagall by Jean Paul Crespelle 
A colorful account of the life and work of the celebrated Russian-born Jewish artist whose joyous and creative talents have influenced the development of 20th-century art.

DB 110062 Ninth Street women: Lee Krasner, Elaine de Kooning, Grace Hartigan, Joan Mitchell, and Helen Frankenthaler: five painters and movement that changed modern art by Mary Gabriel 
"Set amid the most turbulent social and political period of modern times, Ninth Street Women is the impassioned, wild, sometimes tragic, always exhilarating chronicle of five women who dared to enter the male-dominated world of twentieth-century abstract painting--not as muses but as artists. From their cold-water lofts, where they worked, drank, fought, and loved, these pioneers burst open the door to the art world for themselves and countless others to come. Gutsy and indomitable, Lee Krasner was a hell-raising leader among artists long before she became part of the modern art world's first celebrity couple by marrying Jackson Pollock. Elaine de Kooning, whose brilliant mind and peerless charm made her the emotional center of the New York School, used her work and words to build a bridge between the avant-garde and a public that scorned abstract art as a hoax. Grace Hartigan fearlessly abandoned life as a New Jersey housewife and mother to achieve stardom as one of the boldest painters of her generation. Joan Mitchell, whose notoriously tough exterior shielded a vulnerable artist within, escaped a privileged but emotionally damaging Chicago childhood to translate her fierce vision into magnificent canvases. And Helen Frankenthaler, the beautiful daughter of a prominent New York family, chose the difficult path of the creative life. Her gamble paid off: At twenty-three she created a work so original it launched a new school of painting. These women changed American art and society, tearing up the prevailing social code and replacing it with a doctrine of liberation. In Ninth Street Women, acclaimed author Mary Gabriel tells a remarkable and inspiring story of the power of art and artists in shaping not just postwar America but the future." -- Provided by publisher. -- Unrated. Commercial audiobook.

DB 31323 Georgia O'Keefe: a life by Roxana Robinson 
Georgia O'Keeffe struggled most of her ninety-eight years to capture the radiance of light, with paint on canvas. Robinson, an art historian, describes O'Keeffe's early years in Sun Prairie, Wisconsin; her career as an art teacher; her relationship with photographer Alfred Stieglitz, first as protege, then as model and lover, and later as his wife; and her final years with a much younger companion, Juan Hamilton.

DB 50710 Lives of the great 20th-century artists by Edward Lucie-Smith  
Biographical sketches of 100 deceased artists, presented roughly in chronological order, grouped by movement or nationality. Begins with Edvard Munch and major European trends--cubism, dada, and the Bauhaus. Proceeds to North Americans such as Diego Rivera and Edward Hopper, abstract expressionists, pop artists, and Jean-Michel Basquiat. 1999.

DB 33760 Matisse and Picasso: a friendship in art by Francoise Gilot 
Picasso's mistress from the end of World War II until 1954, the year of Matisse's death, provides biographical information about the artists and describes their close personal relationship. An artist herself, Gilot reveals her role as a catalyst in this complicated trio, focusing on the friendly rivalry between the two men, with particular emphasis on the work they produced during this period. 1990.

DB 49684 Dreaming with his eyes open: a life of Diego Rivera by Patrick Marnham 
Biography of the early twentieth-century Mexican muralist. Describes his friendship with Picasso in Paris, his Communist leanings, and his series of love affairs including his tumultuous relationship with Frida Kahlo. Discusses his devotion to his art and his tendency to embellish his past. 1998.

DB 101615 Frida in America: the creative awakening of a great artist by Celia Stahr 
Art historian examines the work and life of Mexican artist Frida Kahlo while she lived in America with new husband and fellow artist Diego Rivera. Discusses the influence of living in the place Kahlo called "Gringolandia" on her sense of Mexican identity and subsequent work. 2020.

DB 95666 Almost nothing: the 20th-century art and life of Józef Czapski by Eric Karpeles 
Biography of Polish painter Józef Czapski (1896-1993), best known for his work in the Kapist art movement and for being one of the few survivors of the Katyn massacre of 1940. Describes his early years and artistic influences, his experiences during World War II, and his lasting impact. Some violence. 2018.

DB 76264 Banksy: the man behind the wall by Will Ellsworth Jones 
Biography of the graffiti artist known as Banksy details his early work in Bristol, England; the success of his Oscar-nominated film Exit through the Gift Shop; and his efforts to maintain his anonymity. Explores the culture of outsider art and Banksy's place in it. Young adult appeal. 2012.

DB 120468 Radiant: the life and line of Keith Haring by Brad Gooch 
"A stunning life of the iconic American artist, Keith Haring, by the acclaimed biographer Brad Gooch. In the 1980s, the subways of New York City were covered with art. In the stations, black matte sheets were pasted over outdated ads, and unsigned chalk drawings often popped up on these blank spaces. These temporary chalk drawings numbered in the thousands and became synonymous with a city as diverse as it was at war with itself, ravaged by poverty and oppression but alive with art and creative energy. And every single one of these drawings was done by Keith Haring. Keith Haring was one of the most emblematic artists of the 1980s, a figure described by his contemporaries as "a prophet in his life, his person, and his work." Part of an iconic cultural crowd that included Andy Warhol, Madonna, and Basquiat, Haring broke down the barriers between high art and popular culture, creating work that was accessible for all and using it as a means to provoke and inspire radical social change. Haring died of AIDS in 1990. To this day, his influence on our culture remains incontrovertible, and his glamorous, tragically short life has a unique aura of mystery and power. Brad Gooch, noted biographer of Flannery O'Connor and Frank O'Hara, was granted access to Haring's extensive archive. He has written a biography that will become the authoritative work on the artist. Based on interviews with those who knew Haring best and drawing from the rich archival history, Brad Gooch sets out to capture the magic of Keith Haring: a visionary and timeless icon"-- Provided by publisher. -- Unrated. Commercial audiobook.

DB 93710 Broad strokes: 15 women who made art and made history (in that order) by Bridget Quinn 
Feminist art historian profiles women artists from the seventeenth to twenty-first centuries. Subjects include Artemisia Gentileschi, Rosa Bonheur, Vanessa Bell, Lee Krasner, Kara Walker, and Susan O'Malley. Provides an overview of the world they grew up in and their development as artists. Strong language, some descriptions of sex. Commercial audiobook. 2017.

DB 91210 Berenice Abbott: a life in photography by Julia Van Haaften 
Biography of photographer Berenice Abbott (1898-1991). Discusses her early life in Ohio with a fractured family, developing interest in photography, work in the United States and Europe, personal relationships, involvement in socialist causes, and more. Strong language. 2018.

DB 90167 Vivian Muir: a photographer's life and afterlife by Pamela Bannos 
Examination of the life of a photographer who supported herself as a nanny and whose work only came to broad recognition after her death. Chronicles Maier's years growing up in France, return to America, and eventual life in Chicago. Discusses the disposition of the storage lockers which housed her photography. 2017.

DB 20363 Stieglitz: a memoir/biography by Sue Davidson Lowe 
Portrait of the celebrated photographer and modern art impressario by his grandniece, who draws on her own recollections and those of his friends, relatives, and colleagues. Among the avant-garde artists he helped launch were Picasso, Rousseau, Brancusi, Marin, Hartley, Dove, and wife Georgia O'Keefe.

DB 53639 Brunelleschi's dome: how a Renaissance genius reinvented architecture by Ross King 
Discusses the intermittent construction during the 1300s of a cathedral in Florence that would require the largest dome in the world. Explains how this led to the 1418 competition for solving the architectural puzzle; how it was won by Filippo Brunelleschi, a clockmaker; and how he achieved engineering marvels. 2000. 2000.

DB 54671 Art lover: a biography of Peggy Guggenheim by Anton Gill 
Portrait of an influential collector of modern art. Discusses the New York socialite's promiscuous and scandalous private life, her years in Europe among artists and intellectuals, and her promotion of abstract painters such as Jackson Pollock. 2002.

DBC02722 Unstill life: a daughter's memoir of art and love in the age of abstraction by Gabrielle Selz 
Gabrielle Selz's father, chief curator of painting and sculpture at the Museum of Modern Art was known to the world as Mr. Modern Art. Leaving her to grew up in a home full of the most celebrated artists of the day. Like the art he loved, he was vibrant and freewheeling, but his enthusiasm for both women and art took its toll on family life. When he left MoMA and his family to direct his own museum in California, marrying four more times, Selz's mother, moved the family into a Utopian artist community. Unrated.

Check out June's top BARD downloads in Kansas! If you aren't yet a BARD user, you can learn more at the NLS BARD website. If BARD isn't a good fit for you, we are still happy to mail books and magazines directly to your home. Just drop us a line at KTB@ks.gov or call 800-362-0699. Happy reading!

Most popular BARD audiobook downloads in Kansas, June 2025.

• DB128607 The Writer by Patterson, James; Barker, J. D.
• DB126887 Guilty by Elliot, Laura
• DB127169 Captive Star by Roberts, Nora
• DB126835 The New Couple by James, Alison
• DB128112 Lethal Prey by Sandford, John
• DB128435 Blood Moon by Brown, Sandra
• DB128075 Partners by Grisham, John
• DB128898 Anything but Plain by Fisher, Suzanne Woods
• DB128732 Overkill by Jance, J. A.
• DB128430 Welcome to the Honey B&B by Carlson, Melody
• DB128731 Murder in an Irish Garden by O'Connor, Carlene

Most popular BARD audio magazine downloads in Kansas, June 2025

• Talking Book Topics May, 2025
• Economist June 14, 2025
• Economist May 31, 2025
• Consumer Reports May, 2025
• Rolling Stone June, 2025
• Atlantic Monthly June, 2025
• The Week June 06, 2025
• National Review June, 2025
• Economist June 07, 2025
• The Week May 30, 2025
• The Week June 13, 2025

A full list of available magazines can be found on the NLS Website. 

Most popular BARD braille book downloads in Kansas, June 2025

• BR 25256 Experiencing God: Knowing and doing the will of God by Blackaby, Henry T.; Blackaby, Richard; King, Claude V

Art has been around for thousands of years, but it hasn't stayed the same. Just as cultures and societies have evolved over time, art too has evolved. Phases in the development of artistic traditions, styles, characteristics, and techniques define what we call art periods or art movements. These movements may last several years to hundreds of years.

Find out more about these art periods with books from our collection. We’ve tried to present these books as a timeline of art movements through history, though not all periods are represented. 

DB 85857 Ancient Egyptian art and architecture: a very short introduction by Christina Riggs

Presents the art of objects and structures produced in Egypt over a 3,500-year period. Examines art and architecture to highlight the complexity, misconceptions, and Eurocentric biases in studying ancient Egypt's contributions. Includes museums, building construction, writing, kingship, royal and divine power, and insights into Egyptian societies. 2014.

DB 86460 Classics: a very short introduction by Mary Beard

Highlights the continued relevance of the ancient world's legacy, focusing on Greeks and Romans and the effect of the Roman Empire's conquest. Explains studying classics as bridging the two-thousand-year gap that separates us when viewing artifacts and reading literature and philosophy. Reviews famous expeditions and art objects. 1995.

DB 35941 A world lit only by fire: the medieval mind and the Renaissance: portrait of an age by William Manchester

The author first outlines the period made chaotic by the waning authority of the Catholic Church, made turbulent by Martin Luther, made beautiful by Michelangelo, but, most importantly, made aware by Ferdinand Magellan. According to Manchester, it was Magellan's circumnavigation of the globe, when he proved the rotundity of a rotating earth, that shattered myths and ushered in a new age.

DB 86633 Renaissance art: a very short introduction by Geraldine A. Johnson

Lecturer in art history provides an overview of the art, artists, patrons, and viewers during this period of extraordinary cultural ferment and transformation. Examines representative works by Leonardo, Holbein, Dürer, and many lesser-known artists. Discusses the transitional function of altarpieces, and explains the special importance of Michelangelo and Vasari. 2005.

DB 86637 Romanticism: a very short introduction by Michael Ferber

Professor of English explores the artistic and philosophical movement that dominated literature and the arts in Europe and America throughout the nineteenth century and beyond. Seeks unifying themes among a wide range of poets, composers, and philosophers, including Byron, Wordsworth, Chopin, Wagner, Carlyle, and Kant. Considers social and political ramifications. 2010.

DB 08844 The romantic rebellion: Romantic versus Classic art by Kenneth Clark

Essays on artists of the 18th and 19th centuries include Piranesi, Goya, Ingres, Blake, Delacroix, Turner, and Rodin. Mr. Clark discusses the conflicts and influences in their works.

DB 56257 Nineteenth-century European art by Petra ten-Doesschate Chu

Art historian Chu traces the evolution of artistic works in the context of social and cultural trends from the mid-eighteenth century up to roughly 1900. She also explores the impact of new technology on art forms, focusing mainly on painting and sculpture, and incorporates biographical sketches of individual artists. 2003.

DB 48011 Impressionism: reflections and perceptions by Mayer Schapiro

Essays that discuss the concept of impressionism, analyzing the artists of the movement, including Claude Monet. Explores the art's connection with science, history, and literature. Also describes the genre in relation to its subjects: the environment, railroad, city, and people.

DB 125833 Paris in ruins: love, war, and the birth of Impressionism by Sebastian Smee

"From the summer of 1870 to the spring of 1871, famously dubbed the "Terrible Year" by Victor Hugo, Paris and its people were besieged, starved, and forced into surrender by Germans--then imperiled again as radical republicans established a breakaway Commune, ultimately crushed by the French Army after bloody street battles and the burning of central Paris. As renowned art critic Sebastian Smee shows, it was against the backdrop of these tumultuous times that the Impressionist movement was born--in response to violence, civil war, and political intrigue. In stirring and exceptionally vivid prose, Smee tells the story of those dramatic days through the eyes of great figures of Impressionism. Édouard Manet, Berthe Morisot, and Edgar Degas were trapped in Paris during the siege and deeply enmeshed in its politics. Others, including Pierre-August Renoir and Frédéric Bazille, joined regiments outside of the capital, while Claude Monet and Camille Pissarro fled the country just in time. In the aftermath, these artists developed a newfound sense of the fragility of life. That feeling for transience--reflected in Impressionism's emphasis on fugitive light, shifting seasons, glimpsed street scenes, and the impermanence of all things--became the movement's great contribution to the history of art. At the heart of it all is a love story; that of Manet, by all accounts the father of Impressionism, and Morisot, the only woman to play a central role in the movement from the start. Smee poignantly depicts their complex relationship, their tangled effect on each other, and their great legacy, while bringing overdue attention to the woman at the heart of Impressionism."-- Publisher's description. -- Unrated. Commercial audiobook.

DB 85835 The avant-garde: a very short introduction by David Cottington

The meaning and history of the avant-garde, particularly in relation to the arts. Explores why Western societies place such high value on newness and "up-to-dateness," the connection between avant-garde arts and radical politics, and the avant-garde's co-option by popular consumer culture. 2013.

DB 86482 Dada and Surrealism: a very short introduction by David Hopkins

History of the two early-twentieth-century art movements and their lasting cultural impact. Explores the work of artists such as Marcel Duchamp and Salvador Dali, the publications and public events through which they promoted their ideas, and the aesthetic differences between Dada and Surrealism. 2004.

DB 86165 Modernism: a very short introduction by David Cottington

Explores innovative works of art in literature, painting, and music during a 30-year period (1909-1939) to illustrate the experimental originality that characterizes modernism. Discusses destruction of conventions of nineteenth-century realism, growth of abstraction, use of stream of consciousness, surrealism, and the subjective point of view within modern urban conditions. 2010.

DB 87139 Art in America, 1945-1970: writings from the age of abstract expressionism, pop art, and minimalism by Jed Perl

Writings culled from the work of critics, poets and novelists, journalists, and the artists themselves during the turbulent quarter century after the end of World War II. Among the contributors are critics Clement Greenberg and Harold Rosenberg; poets Robert Creeley and Frank O'Hara; and painters Robert Motherwell and Larry Rivers. 2014.

DB 86542 Postmodernism: a very short introduction by Christopher Butler

Professor of English language and literature explores the key ideas of postmodernists and demonstrates their engagement with theory, literature, the visual arts, film, architecture, and music. Examines postmodernism's rejection of "master narratives"--e. g., the progressive emancipation of humanity and the triumph of science--the overturning of hierarchies, and the decoupling of signs from referents. 2002.

DB 86479 Contemporary art: a very short introduction by Julia Stallabrass

An exploration of changes in the art world effected by world events since 1989. Discusses the globalization of art production and consumption, cost and uses, efforts to bring art and fashion closer together, competition with mass culture, art as investment, corporate sponsorship, and the growth of museums. 2004.

These books can be found available on BARD, Braille and Audio Reading Download, a download service from the National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled provided to all Kansas Talking Books patrons to access the collection any time, anywhere. Want to read books on your mobile device, use the BARD Mobile app. Enjoy the sound more on your talking books player? Download books to a flash drive with the BARD website or BARD Express desktop application and plug it into your player to read. To find out more, please visit the Kansas Talking Books' BARD Resources webpage, the NLS BARD website, or contact our office at 1-800-362-0699 or KTB@ks.gov.