Action Origami: Over 25 Animated Paperfolding Projects

Rating:
Summary: Don't be fooled - it's a reprint from his other book/s
Review: Rick Beech has only published one book, but it has come out in numerous formats. "Action Origami" is an extract of the larger version of his book published as "Origami Handbook" and "Origami: The Complete Guide to the Art of Paperfolding." Weirdly, all of the different books can sometimes be found in bookshops together, the only difference between the full versions being the covers and the wildly different price tags.

Give this smaller one a miss, and try to pick up "Origami Handbook" - it's the cheapest version thus far. :-(

Rating:
Summary: Reprints always a hazard in origami
Review: Rick Beech has only published one book, but it has come out in numerous formats. "Action Origami" is an extract of the larger version of his book published as "Origami Handbook" and "Origami: The Complete Guide to the Art of Paperfolding." Weirdly, all of the different books can sometimes be found in bookshops together, the only difference between the full versions being the covers and the wildly different price tags.

Give this smaller one a miss, and try to pick up "Origami Handbook" - it's the cheapest version thus far. :-(

Rating:
Summary: Reprints always a hazard in origami
Review: Unless you're just starting an origami book collection, you always need to look out for reprints.

This is seldom the "fault" of the author/artist. It is a function of the whole screwy crafts book business, which is the realm of most English language origami publication. Only a few superstars or self-publishers have any kind of control over publication of their work.

The way it works: in order to publish, most artists must settle for a one time purchase of manuscripts or rights (no on going royalties). They also totally lose control over future publication of the material, so it is common for publishers to edit, combine, etc material into later books, usually resulting in the downgrading of the material. One artist I know recently had the experience of a publisher releasing his material in a new format that didn't even acknowledge his name/authorship on the cover!

The sole recourse of the artist is not to use the publisher again, but this is pretty ineffectual as the crafts publishers could care less. They can go on publishing the material in any form they like.

So your best bet is to check the actual book at a store, return it to amazon for refund, or subscribe to origami publications to learn about "real" new books.