John Galloway reviewing the book for New Scientist said: "Many books have been written about Escher's art. None has approached Visions of Symmetry for its scope, scale and sumptuousness. The sheer beauty and ingenuity of the pictures keep you turning the pages as though the book were a collection of detective stories whose plots are brilliantly organised patterns." In an extensive review in The American Mathematical Monthly Douglas Dunham said: "For the Escher fan, Visions of Symmetry fills a gap in the literature by showing all of his notebook patterns, answering the question "how did he do it?", and relating the patterns to his prints. For the person interested in tilings and patterns, Visions of Symmetry provides many beautiful examples (which illustrate the theory expounded in Grünbaum and Shepard's Tilings and patterns [1987])." J. Kevin Colligan reviewing the book for The Mathematics Teacher wrote: "This book sits on the boundary between mathematics and art, as did Escher. In fact, this book supports the argument that no such boundary exists; rather, the two disciplines coexist and intermingle, enriching both." Paul Garcia writing in The Mathematical Gazette writes: "I recommend the book highly to anyone - the price is small compared to the scope and interest of the work. Doris Schattschneider has done us all a tremendous favour by compiling this book."