The Art of Origami Books: Origami, Kirigami, Labyrinth, Tunnel and Mini Books by Artists from Around the World

This is a must-have volume for anyone interested in non-traditional book structures. Jean-Charles Trebbi has searched the world and brought his sophisticated sensibility to understanding and unlocking the secrets of how messages can be delivered in engaging, unexpected, and wonderful ways. The chapters include Simple Origami, Modular Origami, Kirigami, Mazes, Tunnel Books, and Mini Books. Not content to observe from the sidelines, the author has taken out his scissors, cutting knife and bone folder to create model after model, often inventing new structures in the process. On top of all the dramatic images, informative text, and historic insight, The Art of Origami Books concludes with an A to Zed of 26 patterns for single-sheet book structures, starting with a basic 4-pages and progressing all the way up to a whopping 30 pages. This book is packed with beautiful photographs, thoughtful descriptions, historical background, artist biographies, diagrams, and unexpected insights. It is a compelling comprehensive compendium of non-traditional and fringe bindings. All book lovers and book creators will find inspiration in these pages.

It is clearly illustrated and there are book structures here I cannot resist trying. If you make books you should have it on your shelf!

If you are looking for a book with diagrams and instructions about how to make unique books, this might be a disappointment. There are very few diagrams, some very small and unclear. There are many crease patterns, but without dimensions for the starting rectangles or other shapes, or directions for how to efficiently fold them like there would be in an origami book. A more satisfying book with very clear directions for innovative book structures is Hedi Kyles' book, "The Art of the Fold." That said, this book is full of photographs of many interesting and creative handmade books.

I agree with those who say that this is a book you should borrow from the library primarily to enjoy its inspirational eye candy. If you already have experience in both origami and book arts, you will probably be able to use the crease patterns as the basis for your own experiments, but as another reviewer pointed out, information about ideal paper sizes, choice of paper for particular models, step-by-step folding sequences or how to join modulars is generally not given. That said, there was a wealth of information that I found useful b/c I already have experience with origami and book arts, but the purchasing deal-breaker was the book's microscopically small, low-contrast (medium grey on white) print that required a magnifying glass to see. This book should have been given to a test audience without extensive experience to see if they could understand (and SEE!!) the directions before being published. A true disappointment.