This book will, I believe, find a very welcome place on the shelf of hand papermakers who like to play, create, and invent with the fibery fruits of their labor. Judging from her book, Shereen LaPlantz is a book artist first, which places her genius perhaps somewhere between my own focus as a bookbinder and conservator and that of the readership of this journal. More specifically, in a book of modest length she makes a courageous attempt at the multifold task of teaching and suggesting alternatives for book construction technique, format possibilities, and material use. I feel best qualified to examine the first area in a professional way, but will treat that aspect later. The hard cover edition which I reviewed is adequately and durably bound with a sewn construction. The illustrations as a whole are profuse and well done, one of the real strengths of the book. The diagrams, if followed carefully, do indeed lead the reader successfully through the steps. The photographs are carefully taken and the examples used appear to be of high quality and imagination. Unfortunately, the publisher chose a rather light typeface, tempting eye-strain. The general format follows a basic logic of introducing materials and terms first, then leading the reader through a variety of techniques and format variations. The appendices, fairly complete and useful, include sources for bookbinding supplies and materials, paper (rather limited), book centers, organizations, and newsletters. A bibliography and brief index complete this information. After a short introduction, which appropriately encourages the reader to use the book's contents flexibly and creatively, the author attempts to describe bookbinding basics. I would suggest that artists not use this book as a manual for learning bookbinding; there are better ones listed in the bibliography. LaPlantz begins by challenging the possibility of defining "book" as a concept, then (without transition) defines it. Here the terms and diagrams are a bit uncertain and seem arbitrarily chosen, perhaps an inevitable pitfall of trying to describe something so big in a small space. Subscribers to this journal will recognize the painful misuse of the term "rice paper" after reading the thorough treatment of it by Ken Grabowski in the Summer 1994 issue. LaPlantz's description of paper types and characteristics are hardly sufficient; qualities such as flexibility, tear strength, dimensional stability, fiber characteristics, and method of formation deserve better coverage to help the reader best approach the structures described. On page 12 the author asserts that endpapers "don't need to be as sturdy, flexible, and durable as cover papers." This thought could lead to problems, as in the suggested use of gift wrapping paper for endpapers. Happily, LaPlantz mentions the value of archival papers, though she mistakenly says that an archival paper cannot be alkaline. Regarding adhesives, the book contains a few inaccuracies and omissions as well. Glue sticks do not provide a dependable bond where stress occurs; PVAs vary greatly in characteristics; and animal glue is generally considered a non-toxic (though messy) substance. Flour pastes and starch pastes are not the same and flour paste is not archival (and invites insect damage). Again, I would suggest the novice refer to a bookbinding manual. The section on tools is brief but nicely illustrated. I would note that bone folders are actually made of real bone (unless specifically indicated otherwise, Teflon being an excellent substitute), not plastic. A paper cutter with a clamp (as pictured on page 15) is an excellent choice; another is the wonderful Japanese hole punch. Though not many tools are included here, it is a pleasant discovery to see how few tools are actually needed to get started. The beginner would do well to contact the bookbinding suppliers listed in the appendix to find these and many other useful and fun tools. Instructions for pamphlet binding are clear and concise. The author explains the primary "basic codex" sewing structure as a butterfly stitch, which, while adequate for small books, places the stress of the thread against the paper in a sawing motion. Unfortunately, she describes the chain stitch (pictured on the front dust jacket) in a later chapter only as a variation which "requires extra work and offers few, if any, benefits other than beauty" (p. 61). In fact, this is perhaps the most functional of all the bindings described, as it transfers the stress of use not to the paper but to the thread links themselves. The diagram here is a bit confusing and the technique includes sewn-on boards, not a necessary aspect of the stitch. The advice given under "other possibilities" in the chapter on stitches may reveal the author's curiously non-functional perspective toward sewing structure: she refers the reader not to binding manuals but to embroidery books for further reading. The well laid-out, descriptive section on stab bindings includes a number of interesting diagrammed and photographed stitches of varying complexity. Japanese paper rather than copier or typing paper might have been better chosen (for flexibility) as the preferred text paper, however. The author provides extensive discussion of "fold books", photograph albums, accordion books, and combination books with alternative hinges, pockets, and flaps. She also explores several other interesting options for page attachment, supplying an excellent range of options and ideas for the book and paper artist to draw from. On page 116 she even reveals a binding technique very specific to the hand papermaker; it consists only of newly formed sheets and pressure! The volume concludes nicely with an exploration of the concept of presentation, dealing especially with the ideas of "single impression" and "reader involvement" as useful modes for book design. Once again, the book is a visual feast employing several pages of well designed and photographed artist books conjuring visions of everything from umbrellas and pie slices to beds that fold--not down, but out. My bias for sound materials and structure, even in book art, should be obvious. Those comments taken into account, I recommend this book, as it nearly bursts with structure and format ideas, ranging from sewing variations to origami-like inventions that nearly walk, fly, or creep on their own.

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