I own other bookbinding volumes that are more beginner-oriented, and others that are more specialised and offer more techniques. Cover to Cover, in my opinion, strikes a happy middle between too simple and too complex, with a presentation that is both attractive and immediately graspable. The basics are covered: paper, fabric, boards, adhesives with their pros and cons (including a recipe to make your own), required tools and basic techniques, although the lack of illustration in this section makes me feel the author takes for granted the reader's visualisation skills. There follows several different types of binding with variations, clearly illustrated step-by-step, from simplest to most complex. Then the book ventures into unusual bindings, and does explain a few, but that chapter turns out to be quite short and tantalizing: now that we've warmed up with the better-known simple bindings, we feel ready to take on more exciting projects! Then again, interspersed throughout the book, are pictures of really unusual and stunning books created by book artists. They are not commented, but they do open one's mind to the incredible possibilities bound only by one's imagination.

I'm an infrequent bookbinder, and as I need to refresh my memory every time I start a new project, I tend to avoid my more specialised books on the subject unless I have time for a full re-immersion. It's Cover to Cover I always pick up again, as it can get me back to work in only a few minutes, if I don't end up drooling enviously over the art books pictured. If like me you want to enjoy some basic (but not stupidly basic) bookbinding, this book could be all you need. It is a good tremplin to more ambitious binding books later on. Seasoned binders may not find it so useful. ( )

book art ( )

Lively and inspirational, great photographs, not very easy to use as a hands-on guide. ( )