The Origami Forum

I bought Complete Origami by Eric Kenneway and I'm extremely happy with my purchase. I love all the information the book provides. I understand that Origami: From Angelfish to Zen by Peter Engel also provides lots of information. I'm assuming I'll also be ecstatic with that one but I wanna be sure.

That's why I wanted to ask you guys: Who of you has read the book? What can you tell me about it? What topics does it cover? What did you think about it? I just wanna get a general feel before I make up my mind.

Thanks in advance .

I don't really like the book Origami: From Angelfish to Zen by Peter Engel. The models are rather plump and the text that fills the first half of the book was very boring to read. But who knows, maybe you like it better than me.

If you are looking for interesting texts, I would rather go for either the text-only booklets from the British Origami Society or maybe the Proceedings of the Origami, Science, Mathematics and Education (OSME) Conferences (Second Link) (Third Link).

the book is considered a classic, but as anna (in not so many words) said, its design aesthetic is very 70s/80s. its most famous design is its knight on horseback, which is kind of quaint now compared to more modern horse with rider models, and its squid, of which there are also better modern design.

engel does have a more modern book: https://www.amazon.com/Origami-Odyssey- ... eter+engel

Gerardo,if I understand your motivation correctly, you are searching for a deeper understanding of Origami and its history.
Complete Origami by Eric Kenneway is the only book I know of, that touches so many topics and provides an example fold for each of those topics.
Like I said before, there are some text only books and booklets that might be worth exploring.
Apart from that I know a couple of books that are very interesting to read if you want to learn more about Origami Design:
Origami Design Secrets by Robert J Lang
Origami Polyhedra Design by John Montroll
Genuine Origami by Jun Maekawa
Origami to Astonish and Amuse by Jeremy Shafer

Not a book but also worth reading:
http://langorigami.com/all-articles
http://www.budaiorigami.hu/en/miscellaneous

Thank you guys! What topics do the texts of the book cover?

Origami_8, to be truthful I'm not sure what my motivation is regarding origami reading. I am sure it isn't origami and math. Reflections like the ones in Between the Folds would be cool to read, just to mention one idea.

To tell the truth I forgot most of what it was about, because at the time I read it, I considered it very boring. The only thing I remember is that he met Akira Yoshizawa and that Yoshizawa acted like a big jerk, yet he admired him.
Would have to read it again to give a proper excerpt and somehow I don't feel like reading it again when I didn't like it the first time.

I thought that you're not so much interested in math but rather in history.
So maybe those two booklets would be interesting to you:
http://supplies.britishorigami.info/ind ... cts_id=499
http://supplies.britishorigami.info/ind ... shsleskqu1

On top of what has been said, I read somewhere that some of the information on FATZ is not accurate.

I own the book and I could lend it to you if you come by.

Thank you guys.

I really appreciate your suggestions origami_8. I'll take a look on the books you recommended.

Thanks Brimstone for the offer. I'll send you an email message then; I'm currently a bit occupied and in no hurry, OK? We'll work something out .

Yeah, some of the historical information is not accurate. This isn't entirely Engel's fault; there was a lot of misinformation going around, and there still is.

His more recent book "Origami Odyseey" is a similar type of book-- part essay, part origami-- but IMHO it is a much better book, unless you want a window into what was going on in the origami community in the 80s and 90s.