Cindy Brick, a nationally recognized expert on crazy quilts, has finally written a book about her passion for this exuberant quilt stye. The first 99 pages explore the history of crazy quilts, from the earliest contained crazies in plain cotton, to Victorian crazies with their over-the-top embellishment on velvets and satins. The final third of the book describes several methods for crazy piecing, followed by a brief section on embellishing of crazy quilts, an appendix of Victorian embroidery motifs, and a bibliography.

Color plates are provided on almost every page, including overview and detail photos of quilts, and images that may have appeared on crazy quilts, including 19th century sewing notions, postcards, political ribbons, etc.

This book wil be very satisfying for anyone who wants photos and historic information. Those who are more interested in the embellishments should look to Carole K Samples or Judith Baker Montano. ( )