Structure of the Visual Book (Expanded Fourth Edition) [Paperback]

Keith A. Smith (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 432 pages
• Publisher: Keith a Smith Books; 4 edition (August 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0974076406
• ISBN-13: 978-0974076409
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.8 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #134,436 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

43 of 44 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ahead of the curve, April 12, 2000

By 

John F. Ward (Connecticut) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Structure of the Visual Book (Paperback)

This volume, rather than just providing dry (or gluey) how-to instructions on how to MAKE a book, offers readers new ways to THINK about what a book IS, how to make a book expressive beyond the reader's expectations. Smith is clearly a deep thinker, but not without a sense of humor. He is able to rip apart the structure of the book by examining our preconceptions, and he is then able to assemble a new vision of what the word BOOK means, and he is THEN able to draw on his impressive skills to actually assemble the book that serves up that vision, or to show practitioners how that can be done.

Frankly, I was blown away, first by his ideas and then when I read the copyright date. I can only imagine where he's been going since the '70s!

As a letterpress printer, as a photographer and user of alternative processes and media, I strongly recommend this piece to people who need a little shaking up, or who simply want to be amused and entertained.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Keith Smith is a classic for book artists, August 31, 2004

By 

Starla Stensaas "Starmadilla" (Lincoln, Nebraska) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Structure of the Visual Book (Expanded Fourth Edition) (Paperback)

I recommended this book to another artist interested in working with the book form and when I came to amazon.com to send a direct link I couldn't believe there is only one review for this book. This is a classic in thinking conceptually about the structure and sequencing of a book, as well as thinking conceptually about what a "book" is as an artifact and an artform.

Although the text is a little intuitive for linear readers at times, anyone who wants to explore the book as an artform must take a look at Keith Smith's work.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not what I expected but..., March 29, 2007

By 

Jack Gurney (Austin, Texas) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Structure of the Visual Book (Expanded Fourth Edition) (Paperback)

I was pleasantly surprised. I expected a book full of bookmaking methods from a review I saw on another site but as another reviewer here points out, it strives to make the reader think first, and then, after understanding what they are trying to achieve, THEN make books. Inspirational.