The Pop-Up Book of Phobias [Hardcover]

Gary Greenberg (Author), Matthew Reinhart (Contributor)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 20, 1999

Fear of heights, fear of spiders, fear of flying, fear of death--everyone is afraid of something. And these pop-ups place you in the hot seat--whether it's the dentist's chair as the drill comes spinning toward you; looking over the edge of a skyscraper whose sheer face plummets thousands of feet to the sidewalk far below; or the window seat of a plane as the oxygen mask deploys, your drink spills, and the horizon line shifts to an angle that is suddenly, terribly wrong . . .

Brought to life by outrageously macabre artwork and startlingly innovative pop-ups, The Pop-up Book of Phobias is an engineering marvel and cult classic in the making--an offbeat holiday treasure sure to become this season's most talked-about gift book.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Gary Greenberg is a stand-up comic and writer based in Manhattan. His written work has been produced by Comedy Central's The Daily Show and Stand-Up, Stand-Up, and he has written for USA Network's Up All Night. His first book, Self-Helpless, was published in April of 1999.

Balvis Rubess is an illustrator living in Toronto. He has worked with Harper's, the Chicago Tribune, Yahoo!, McDonald's, Coke, Pepsi, Nestle's, and many others.

Matthew Reinhardt is a paper sculptor and model maker who has created three-dimensional work for Nickelodeon's Blue's Clues, Scholastic, and Simon & Schuster. He is a partner in Librum Artifex, the company that produced the acclaimed pop-up books Tutankhamen's Gift (a New York Times Book Review Best Book of the Year) and The Christmas Alphabet.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 22 pages
• Publisher: It Books; 1 edition (October 20, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0688171958
• ISBN-13: 978-0688171957
• Product Dimensions: 11.2 x 7.9 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (66 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #99,341 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

104 of 107 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars I asked my colleague to send it back in a brown paper bag, May 19, 2001

By 

Carol Watkins "Psychiatrist" (Parkton, Maryland, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Pop-Up Book of Phobias (Hardcover)

When I lent this book to a psychologist down the hall, I asked him to put it in a paper bag if he needed to leave it in my waiting room. Why?

This is one of the funniest books I have read, but if you actually have phobias, you have to be in the "right place" in your recovery to appreciate the humor.

I would recommend it for adolescents and adults who find that humor helps them step back and laugh at their anxiety, phobias or obsessiveness. This book consists of paper pop-up depictions of phobias including fear of dentists, fear of heights and fear of snakes. The person who worked on this book has clearly been through it himself. I can't imagine any other way that someone could get this so vividly. Open a page, and your worst fear literally jumps right in your nose. Not for young children or those who are especially sensitive.

I would have given it five stars if he had done a page on thunderstorms. Maybe there will be a second edition.

Carol Watkins, M.D.

Psychiatrist

67 of 72 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Tremendous, August 27, 2001

By 

[e-mail] (London) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Pop-Up Book of Phobias (Hardcover)

This pop-up book is sure to be a winner - the spiders and snakes seem to leap out of the page at you. Well-conceived and beautifully executed, it even had something for my homophobic Uncle Sandy.

36 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Brilliance Jumps Right Out! Literally., November 23, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Pop-Up Book of Phobias (Hardcover)

Absolutely brilliant. I stumbled across this gem on a tip from Diane Sawyer on Good Morning America. You can count on feeling woozy with laughter or from recognition of your phobia! Mr. Greenberg, et al., have crafted a witty, nicely-illustrated and superbly-designed treasure of a book. The well-engineered pop-ups range from the quite elaborate to the very simple--with equal, yet remarkable, effectiveness. I look forward to anything Mr. Greenberg should produce in the future. I highly recommend it for anyone with or without phobias, in fact I've sent it to a couple of neurosis-laden friends, already. Kudos to the authors (and thanks!).