Customer Reviews

Walter Wick's Optical Tricks

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2 star:		(1)
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Goofiness. Utter utter goofiness. Using 4" x 5 " and 8" x 10" view cameras, photographer Walter Wick has done what many would have thought was well nigh impossible. He has systematically photographed some of the world's best known optical illusions. Happen to like the M.C. Escher print where people walk up stairs to a balcony equal in height as to where they started? It's in here. How about cubes whose arms twist in depth defying ways? In here too. Walter Wick is best known for his I Spy book series. With this book, however, he has created a series of amazing oracular photographs that are just as interesting to figure out as they are to look at. Fortunately for the reader, Wicks has included short explanations of how some tricks work and how others fool the eye. He explains how he created his photographs and why some of them work as well as they do. For any child (or, heck, adult) interested in some true to life optical illusions, this is the best book on the market today. But bear in mind, even when Wick's explanations are said and done, some of these photos bear some going over. I, personally, had to read the following sentence five times: "The balcony is attached to the arches in the foreground, but the top of the foreground archway is cut at an angle that matches the angle of the walkway's bottom edge". I'll be honest. I still don't quite know what that means. So if your kid doesn't mind reading some fairly complex explanations like the one above, this book is ideal reading material. If they do mind, best that you find them something a little less brain/word twisting.

I first ordered this book as an nice addition to my library. Nonetheless, once I got it I found an interesting use that I had not thought of before. I decided to show it to different printing press operators at the plant that I help run as a way to convice them of the importance of using a densitometer. Before showing them this book they were reluctant to use them because "we've always done it this way and nobody's complained". With this book I think they now understand that our eyes are not as reliable as we would hope. This book has made my job as plant supervisor easier and in the long run, will definitely help out product's quality assurance.

This book is wonderful and it goes to show you what meets the eye. I am a big fan of Walter Wick's, purchased this book for a gift, and had to keep it myself and get another copy to give. This is a wonderful collection to any library and really makes to think...and wonder.... Excellent Job!

A nice, glossy display of illusions,but there are better sources online for free. One time through is enough. Emphasis might be better placed on recreating some of the illusions. Not much value added.

My two boys ages 8 and 12 had so much fun looking at these with me. So much so, we had to try to find other books like it. The photos really made all of us think about how our brain and our eyes work. Definitely brought up some interesting discussion.

I went to a Walter Wick museum exhibit and fell in love with his work. I had to buy this book. I bought copies for my grandfather, my father, and my cousins (ages 14 and 11). They all loved the book. Some pages are better than others, more interesting or more perplexing. But those special pages are worth it. None of the images in the book are computer generated. Every single image is an actual undoctored photograph. And that is what makes Walter Wick so special: he builds his own models and photographs them for real optical tricks, and you have to figure out how taking such a photograph could be possible.

This was a cool book cause kids can also read it and try to figure out the optical illusions. It could help them with skool, and its also fun!