Nick Robinson (1) (1957–)

Includes a dry, but interesting history of the development of origami. Introduces some of the schools of origami, e.g., wet-folding, modular origami, with examples to construct. Does not aim to be complete, but has a lot of variety. Folding instructions are clear, and photographs of completed projects are attractive. Concludes with a gallery of origami, sans instructions, of which some examples are extremely impressive.

I constructed the skeletal dodecahedron in four colors and found it easy show more and satisfying. The four colours bring out evident symmetries which I am unable to describe mathematically. show less

I once had a bar. It was a bit of a wild bar and always had stunningly beautiful barmaids ensuring the bar was always full of men (which brought the women, ha! Marketing!) Those guys with no chance at all used to come in early, around 6 pm. in order to get the barmaid's attention when they would have no competition and she was duty-bound to make conversation with them. I think this book was probably aimed at those sort of men.

However, if you sit at an almost-empty bar with a drink and only show more the companionship of the bartender and fold these 'conversation pieces' she's going to think you're a loser. After the third drink and the third deft little paper object, she's going to understand why you haven't got a life. Especially if you build the peanut catapult and use it to get her attention which, I guarantee, will now be elsewhere, probably a fixed gaze on the door, willing anyone to walk in.

Best use: when with a group of drunken friends let the one with the least to say (but not because he's almost passed out) entertain himself and you all with these amusing little pieces. show less

This is the best origami book I own. "Encyclopedia" is a terrible name. It makes you think it has lots and lots of patterns. What it actually is is a series of projects designed to show you origami works, so that you can design your own things and alter patterns to suit what you want or need. After doing just the beginning exercises I've been able to modify a couple of patterns to suit a particular project. If you really want to learn origami, rather than just learning to make projects, this show more is the book for you show less

This might be a very good book for young folders, because it contains both photo and drawing instructions for each model. That probably means it has room for fewer models, but the ones it does have seem to be a good choice. My grandson received this as a birthday gift, and after he has a chance to try it out, I'll be able to post a more detailed review.