Art of the Skull

The photography in this is incredible. Photography alone this is easily 5 stars, as a book though this is nothing at all. I suppose the book doesn't actually promise to be anything more than pretty pictures, so maybe this is all on me. However, I was expecting at least a little substance from this. There is absolutely nothing about history. Nothing about the history of skulls being used in art. Not even anything about the natural history of skulls. The section headers technically have a few paragraphs of written explanation, but those too lack any actual information and only contain fluffy nonsensical enthusiasm. Even the captions for the photos are uninspired. And wildly inconsistent. A huge portion of the photographs don't even have captions. The ones that do have captions don't even always explain what the objects are or explain what materials they are made from (many captions contain one of these pieces of information but not the other). I suppose this book is fun to look at, but it lacks such depth that even sitting on a coffee table it likely wouldn't even spark conversation. At least not, if one has bothered to open the cover. I got my copy used for two dollars (I had not opened the cover), and honestly, I regret even spending a single cent. All of these two stars are out of sheer respect for this photographer.