For many years what has become known as ''outsider'' art - the art produced by visionaries, spiritualists, recluses, the ''mad'' and the socially marginalized - was scorned and ridiculed, yet this type of art presents images of great immediacy and power, arising outside accepted art circles. These works were not made for patrons or art critics, and were often acts of compulsion in circumstances where time is of no consequence and there is no desire for money. This book provides an account and discussion of the work of ''outsiders'' and other non-academic artists, and builders of visionary environments. It begins with a brief history of the recognition of ''outsider'' art and in the second section of the book, it provides a guide to the full range of self-taught art - sometimes termed visionary art, intuitive art, grassroots art, and contemporary folk art - by using a selection of images from across the globe. Visonary environments feature in the last section of the book, ranging from the Palais Ideal in France, the towers of the Simon Rodia in Watts, Los Angeles, and Nek Chand's sculpture garden in north India.