The Complete Book of Puppetry (Dover Crafts: Dolls & Toys)

I find this book facinating to read,and as I grew up loving puppets and puppet theater,Diver Dan, Howdy Doody, Kookla Fran and Ollie, Sharry Lewis and Lambchop etc,I am glad to have the tools to make some for my own amusement and hopefully be able to make some use of them. Great book. I love it.

I got this book as a gift for my daughter who is a theatre professor, because I knew Mr. Latshaw years ago when we were both high school students in a summer university program and I'd seen articles about his work. I think he has made substantial contributions to the world of puppetry and I'm glad I had the opportunity to meet him.

A great read for people interested in the history of marionettes and other puppets. Very informative and interesting. Would recomend for pupet fans.

nice book . would buy from again .

Historical and informative...

I very pleased to have this book in my collection. I knew George Latshaw and respected him as a fine puppeteer and great human being. May he Rest In Peace.

Ultimately, this book is not bad, per se, but there are many flaws. First, a fair amount of the information is rather out-dated. Due to developments and changes to the art of puppetry, epsecially in the past 10-20 years, many of the "norms" of puppet theatre that Latshaw describes are no longer true, or at least not the norms. Additionally, many of the comparisons or refernces to live actor theatre are generic and in some cases, mis-informed. Though there is a great deal of information, most of it tends to be basic and not particularly useful. If you are looking for your first book on puppetry, with no previous experience or knowledge in the art, and don't want to spend much money, this could be a decent book for you, though I would recomend one of Currell's (Puppets and Puppet Theatre, Introduction to Puppets and Puppet Making).

May be useful to some...Completely boring to me, with very old content.MJL

Expected more information on making marionettes.