Other reviews here do a fine job of summarizing this groundbreaking work. I will just add why I am excited about Robert Place's work - all of it - and in particular this book. Personally, after 30 years of being drawn to Tarot but having a gnawing sense of doubt and questions, this book has made it all crystal clear and the study of Tarot fresh and fulfilling. On a larger scale, I believe this book will finally put divination back in its rightful place as a respected and fundamental tool for living life well - and that is whether it is used as a tool of study, a tool of meditation and reflection, or a method of divination. While the self help market has grown beyond huge, and has made remarkable advances in helping us poor seekers actually make tangible positive change - it still has a glaring omission in the area of the fundamental value of divination - when one looks at divination arts as a way to communicate with the unconscious mind. This is not the overtly obvious emphasis of Place in Tarot: History, Symbolism and Divination but for me it is the underlying significance of this beautiful book.

I am an avid student of the Tarot as well as an art historian and college professor. Robert Place's book is scholarly without being pedantic. His understanding of the way images influence their times and are, in turn, influenced by their times is admirable. His clear writing and jargon-free analysis (currently rare in academia)will delight all who love art and Tarot. I have enjoyed every page.