“A fascination with them shines through every page of this beautifully illustrated celebration that doubles as a craft book…Attractive full-color photos picture the devices. Sequenced black-and-white photos illustrate the 11 projects included…A lovely book designed with both the handicrafter and the pure aesthete in mind.”—Booklist. “Captivating…dazzling.”—American Bookseller.
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The Kaleidoscope Book: A Spectrum of Spectacular Scopes to Make
Tags: aesthete, american bookseller, black and white photos, Book, celebration, color photos, craft book, fascination, industrial engineering, Kaleidoscope, Scopes, Spectacular, spectrum
#1 by Megan on February 16, 2010 - 11:20 pm
I purchased this book after reading dozens of reviews, saying it was challenging and wonderful. This book is for small children, it’s not challenging, and it only explains how to make 2 and 3 mirror scopes, it doesn’t even explain the 4 and 5 mirrored scopes. Buying this book was a mistake, and it was a waste of money. This book was supposed to have informative and easy instruction to build complex scopes, I’ve never built one before, and just glancing at the pages, im grossed out. The bulk of each instruction is about how to decorate the scope, the only challenge is to add stained glass, or make a wheel. My advice to any serious student is to not purchase this, keep looking for something that is more about kaleidoscopes, and less about who makes the prettiest kaleidoscope and how to make the best scopes. That’s a basic summary of this kindergarden level book. I would give it no stars, but I can only go as low as 1! This book is a joke, stay away!!!!
Rating: 1 / 5
#2 by Maria R. Aldridge on February 16, 2010 - 11:44 pm
This is a beautiful book, with lovely kaleidoscopes for inspiration. However, I am looking for a VERY beginning book for someone who knows absolutely nothing. This book isn’t it. Nice to look at, though.
Rating: 2 / 5
#3 by FES on February 17, 2010 - 12:00 am
I’m new in this art, but this book is very good to beginners like me, it teaches the secrets of the mirrors, so i can build my own designs. many pictures and well designs
Rating: 5 / 5
#4 by Anonymous on February 17, 2010 - 2:51 am
This easy to follow, well laid out how-to book will allow you to make a simple kaleidoscope within the first few hours and very complex ones in a manner of days. My children loved having daddy’s attention to making them each a scope.
Rating: 5 / 5
#5 by Gabriel Wizard on February 17, 2010 - 3:47 am
Thom Boswell has written a wonderful book on the art of Kaleidoscopes. It opens with a brief history and explanation of the science behind these magical instruments. Next follows a beautiful gallery of color images which highlights not only the splendor of the inside of the scope, but also the creativity and artistic skill of many kaleidoscope makers. The pictures taken inside the scopes are the clearest and most beautiful I’ve ever seen. And the artistry of the exteriors is beyond belief. Many artists are featured and their scopes displayed for your enjoyment. You will be touched by each as they work their own unique magic in designing and building some of the most wonderful scopes imaginable. Finally, Mr. Boswell provides you with plans and projects for building your own kaleidoscopes. There are designs for scopes made from PVC pipe, stained glass, wood, brass and other materials. Each project is fully explained and illustrated and even a novice will be successful at kaleidoscope building using these instructions. This section of the book was a real eye opener for me, as I had never imagined that I could create a kaleidoscope myself. After reading this book, I have become an avid scope maker (…). I can highly recommend this book for anyone who likes kaleidoscopes or would like to learn how to make one. (…)You won’t be sorry if you buy this book!
Gabe Wizard, Forum Host
Kaleidoscope Korner
(…)
Rating: 5 / 5