I loved this book so much. I probably enjoyed it more than anything else I've read in a long while. The disclaimer here is that it's right up my alley. I love history, and I love ballet. A perfect match. Ballet is the connecting thread through history as far back as the 16th century. As with all art, you're shown how the historical and political context of each major time period affected dancing and the dancers themselves (complete with mini mini history lessons outside of dance along the way).

Usually with books such as this, the author's voice is distant and doesn't really matter. But here, Jennifer Homans shines through, and we as the audience know how much she loves and respects the ballet. I wouldn't be surprised if her epilogue has caused a minor controversy, but she more than earned the right to share her opinions on the current state of the art, and there are certainly truths within her argument.

If you have no interest in ballet, this probably isn't a book for you. Obviously. But if you do enjoy ballet, or even just history in general, it's more than worth the read. I'm in awe of the research and hard work that Homans had to have put into this in order to make it so complete.