This is an excellent survey of Monet’s life and work. His personal life, artistic development, and the evolving growth of Impressionism (and beyond) are well developed, but not to the point of tedious detail. There are fascinating insights and detours to other aspects of the culture, such as the Dreyfus affair, and the impact of Japonisme. (Monet’s use of picture-series, such as haystacks and Rouen Cathedral front, was influenced by Japanese traditions such as Hokusai’s One Hundred Views of Mount Fuji). The illustrations are plentiful, well selected and matched to the text, and well reproduced.