A meaty and illuminating excavation, full of vigor and punch..."[1] Publishers Weekly noted "this is no bland, dumbed-down survey intended to flatter its subject or its audience.

Hughes writes with an aesthete's disdain for political posturing, a traditionalist's belief in the importance of technical skills (painters are frequently taken to task for their shoddy draftsmanship) and a pragmatist's contempt for mystagogical bunk.

and concluded "This slashingly witty, briskly paced, ferociously opinionated tour of the American visual landscape is a book that even the most un-likeminded readers will love to hate.

"[2] A review by The New York Times calls it a "witty and impassioned history of American art from its beginnings to the present day", "beautiful and essential", notes that "Mr. Hughes fortunately remains the critic throughout his historical canvassing, making distinctions and judgments without taking sides."

and concludes "With it, Mr. Hughes has made American art safe for the receptive alien deep inside us all.