Bonsai Nut
Nuttier than your average Nut
Quick thoughts on this book since I received it yesterday and was done reading it by last night First let me start with the description from the Stone Lantern web site:
Every bit as good as the first volume. Though both show the master at work, the focus in volume 2 is more on how-to, step-by-step transformations and the thinking that goes into creating some of the world’s greatest masterpieces.
What it DOESN'T say is that this book is 95% reprints from Bonsai Today magazine articles. If you subscribed to Bonsai Today and/or own back issues, there is little new in this book. It should be viewed as a "2nd edition" to these original articles, since there has been some editing and commenting on technique. Otherwise, the subject matter is unchanged.
Contrast this to the first Bonsai Art of Kimura book, which was a direct English translation of parts of Kimura's first two books (The Magical Technician of Contemporary Bonsai, Parts I and II) and you will probably feel (as I did) that Bonsai Art of Kimura II does not begin to compare to the original. I feel that it is a disservice to have named it as a sequel when in fact it is nothing more than a magazine compilation.
I have purchased and enjoyed Stone Lantern's "Master Series" Pines and Junipers books, even though they follow a similar "take old magazine articles, dust them off, and reprint them as a compilation" formula. Perhaps this is due to the fact that they feel like reference binders - each tree genus is introduced, they talk broadly about care and technique, and then get into specific design examples. In the case of The Bonsai Art of Kimura 2, there is no unifying theme, and the articles are arranged in the book in the exact same chronological order that they appeared in Bonsai Today. The result feels choppy and ill-planned; like someone who has a lot of good material but doesn't know what to do with it.
My recommendation: if you don't have ANY Kimura book - buy the first!! If you don't have back copies of Bonsai Today, this book is a nice compilation of BT's Kimura articles. Otherwise it brings nothing new to the table.
I am concerned that this may be a theme for upcoming Stone Lantern publications as well. I am NOT planning on filling my library with more reprints of old BT articles.
Every bit as good as the first volume. Though both show the master at work, the focus in volume 2 is more on how-to, step-by-step transformations and the thinking that goes into creating some of the world’s greatest masterpieces.
What it DOESN'T say is that this book is 95% reprints from Bonsai Today magazine articles. If you subscribed to Bonsai Today and/or own back issues, there is little new in this book. It should be viewed as a "2nd edition" to these original articles, since there has been some editing and commenting on technique. Otherwise, the subject matter is unchanged.
Contrast this to the first Bonsai Art of Kimura book, which was a direct English translation of parts of Kimura's first two books (The Magical Technician of Contemporary Bonsai, Parts I and II) and you will probably feel (as I did) that Bonsai Art of Kimura II does not begin to compare to the original. I feel that it is a disservice to have named it as a sequel when in fact it is nothing more than a magazine compilation.
I have purchased and enjoyed Stone Lantern's "Master Series" Pines and Junipers books, even though they follow a similar "take old magazine articles, dust them off, and reprint them as a compilation" formula. Perhaps this is due to the fact that they feel like reference binders - each tree genus is introduced, they talk broadly about care and technique, and then get into specific design examples. In the case of The Bonsai Art of Kimura 2, there is no unifying theme, and the articles are arranged in the book in the exact same chronological order that they appeared in Bonsai Today. The result feels choppy and ill-planned; like someone who has a lot of good material but doesn't know what to do with it.
My recommendation: if you don't have ANY Kimura book - buy the first!! If you don't have back copies of Bonsai Today, this book is a nice compilation of BT's Kimura articles. Otherwise it brings nothing new to the table.
I am concerned that this may be a theme for upcoming Stone Lantern publications as well. I am NOT planning on filling my library with more reprints of old BT articles.