World of Origami

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful for beginners
Review: As stated in the title, this book is wonderful for beginners. The use of compound folding is easy enough, but doesn't really stick true to the fundamentals of traditional origami, as I've heard it. Don't let yourself get held down by folding only compound animals. Check out other books as well... I personally loved this book! heh.

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful for beginners
Review: As stated in the title, this book is wonderful for beginners. The use of compound folding is easy enough, but doesn't really stick true to the fundamentals of traditional origami, as I've heard it. Don't let yourself get held down by folding only compound animals. Check out other books as well... I personally loved this book! heh.

Rating:
Summary: Getting started in Origami? This book is a good start
Review: I give it 4 out of 5 stars, because when I learned origami, I had the unabridged book and liked it a bit better (or else I am just being nostalgic.) My grandfather taught me as a child to do origami. He could make a fantastic toy concertina that you could "play." This book has a lot of fun animals, using the two paper technique. I like that, because you can learn units that are similar and get an origami portfolio fairly fast. The selection of interesting boxes is fun, too.

There are many other great origami books, but this is probably the first you should buy. It's a classic.

Rating:
Summary: Getting started in Origami? This book is a good start
Review: I give it 4 out of 5 stars, because when I learned origami, I had the unabridged book and liked it a bit better (or else I am just being nostalgic.) My grandfather taught me as a child to do origami. He could make a fantastic toy concertina that you could "play." This book has a lot of fun animals, using the two paper technique. I like that, because you can learn units that are similar and get an origami portfolio fairly fast. The selection of interesting boxes is fun, too.

There are many other great origami books, but this is probably the first you should buy. It's a classic.

Rating:
Summary: Almost perfect...
Review: In the 1970s, my grandfather used to send origami books home from Japan. The prize was the big hardcover by Isao Honda.

The oversize paperback is a significantly abridged version -- and that's the only thing wrong with it.

Since then, I've had dozens of books on origami & related arts. None but Honda's, though, gives me the feeling of having a one-on-one experience with a master. There's only one thing I can make from memory that didn't come from that book.

So, the paperback isn't as good as the original, but it's still one of the best ever produced. If you love the art, you need this on your shelf.

Rating:
Summary: A Classic, but Like Many Classics, Dated
Review: There is no doubt that this is one of the great classics in the world of origami. But, just as Shakespear and Dickens are great documentations of the Elizabethan and Victorian Ages, Honda's book is a documentation of the "state of the art" in the early 60s. The majority of the animal folds are compound (two sheets of paper are joined after folding; usually head and tail), and extensive "sculpting" is required to form pleasing results. This is NOT the book for people looking for the technical wizzardry of Montroll, Lang, Brill, et al. I place great value on it as a historical document, but it is certainly NOT the first of my 40 or so origami books that I turn to if looking for a model to fold. I wish Japan Publications would re-release the unabridged edition - even in soft cover.

Rating:
Summary: A Classic, but Like Many Classics, Dated
Review: There is no doubt that this is one of the great classics in the world of origami. But, just as Shakespear and Dickens are great documentations of the Elizabethan and Victorian Ages, Honda's book is a documentation of the "state of the art" in the early 60s. The majority of the animal folds are compound (two sheets of paper are joined after folding; usually head and tail), and extensive "sculpting" is required to form pleasing results. This is NOT the book for people looking for the technical wizzardry of Montroll, Lang, Brill, et al. I place great value on it as a historical document, but it is certainly NOT the first of my 40 or so origami books that I turn to if looking for a model to fold. I wish Japan Publications would re-release the unabridged edition - even in soft cover.