Customer Reviews

How to Make a Book: An Illustrated Guide to Making Books by Hand

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This is a marvelous book, of potential interest to writers, small press and self-publishers, teachers, students, artists, or anyone who has an interest in cheap, effective methods for putting together books by hand. Barrett learned how to put books together through years of trial and error, and provides for the reader all of his hard-learned lessons and hints. He departs from standard hand sewing methods in several respects; always in the direction of practicality, minimizing costs and maximizing production. This is not a guide to making fine press books; there is no information included on purchasing and working with decorative papers, sewing headbands, fine press layout and format, inclusion of silk markers, decorative typefaces, etc. Instead, it is a hands-on guide describing how to put books together with the simplest methods and tools. Almost anyone would already have in their home most of the tools and supplies his method requires.. Of most interest to me were the first five chapters, wherein Barrett discusses physically building the book. Subsequent chapters include information on copyrighting, publicity, pricing, etc. The author is personable; throughout he shares his bookmaking philosophies, which sometimes carry over into philosophies of life. For that reason--the chance you have to hear from a craftsman in his own words--I recommend the later chapters, though if one is serious about marketing and publicity, one should go to John Kremer's "1001 Ways to Market Your Books" and "Book Publishing Resource Guide"; or the old standby, "The Self-Publisher's Manual" by self-publishing guru Dan Poynter. "How to Make a Book" belongs on the shelf with Merritt Clifton's "The Samisdat Method" as an invaluable resource to small publishers and would provide a wonderful compliment to existing how-to books such as Poynter's "Publishing Short-Run Books," A.W. Lewis' "Basic Bookbinding" or Pauline Johnson's "Creative Bookbinding." Highly recommended. -- C. Darren Butler -- Writer's Keeper--PYX Pres