Newbie asks, What book?

The Complete Potter's Companion by Tony Birks

-nancy-

I agree with Nancy; a stunningly good book.

Steve Bath UK

In article , Momzilla writes

Exactly my thought :o)

"The Potter's Manual" by Kenneth Clark is a good reference and is rather inexpensive.

"The Potter's Wheel" by Barbaformosa is also a very good reference andis also rather inexpensive.http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0764152157/qid=1102659770/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/002-0996844-7980028?v=glance&s=booksThose are of my favorite books and two of the best I have found.

"The Potter's Manual" by Kenneth Clark is a good reference and is rather inexpensive.

"The Potter's Wheel" by Barbaformosa is also a very good reference andis also rather inexpensive.http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0764152157/qid=1102659770/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/002-0996844-7980028?v=glance&s=booksThose are of my favorite books and two of the best I have found.

The Complete Potter's Companion is a good one. Has a little of everything. Once you decide whether you would like to stick with it there are a lot of good books out there that are more specialized. But in the beginning, in addition to the one already listed, I really enjoyed The Encyclopedia of Pottery Techniques and by Peter Cosention, Thrown Pottery Techniques revealed by Mary Chappelhow, and The potter's guide to Ceramic Surfaces. All easy to understand and have great color photos. I could go on but those books I feel should give a great start. Have fun, Crystal

I particularly like several older books like Daniel Rhodes' "Clay and Glazes for the Potter" and Glen Nelson's "Ceramics: A Potter's Handbook".

I have both. I always recommended the Nelson as a good basic overview but then I saw a copy of the Birk's. Both are good. I like the throwing instructions in the Birk's better.

-nancy-

Taking a trip to the library to browse through the available books is always worthwhile, that way you can read a little in the book, check out what it has to offer and if you like what you see buy it at a shop. If you aren't already familar with half.com it is a great source of used books, as well as amazon.com.

Following the recommendations on this group, I've just got hold of this of Amazon, it's a new edition 2003 (be careful as older editions are still available). It's a beautiful book ... it arrived this week and I've speed read the whole thing already ...thanks to everyone for the suggestions. Will probably let you know how I get on!

Cover price is £16.99, amazon is about £8.

Cheers

Paul