Great Women Painters, a handsome volume of full-color works by more than 320 women artists from some 60 countries, "celebrates the persistent endurance of painting by repositioning the place of women in its history." Part of the pleasure of this book, which includes an introduction by Alison M. Gingeras, is that the editors have balanced the familiar with the unfamiliar. For every Mary Cassatt, Georgia O'Keeffe and Suzanne Valadon, a newer artist receives the well-deserved spotlight. Also featured are never-give-up types of stories about painters such as Carmen Herrera, the Cuban-born artist who made brilliant monochromatic paintings for decades yet didn't sell her first work to a gallery until she was 89. Great Women Painters is a beautifully produced compendium of paintings by diverse artists from all over the world. --Michael Magras, freelance book reviewer