Puppetry: A World History

by Eileen Blumenthal

An exploration of the cultural diversity and personalities of puppets throughout history examines the characterizations of numerous puppeteers as well as the often sophisticated technology that has gone into their creations, in a lavishly illustrated volume complemented by lively and informative text. 15,000 first printing.

Genres: History, Art, Nonfiction, Theatre

272 pages, Hardcover

First published July 1, 2005

Reviews

[Autoclette · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lavishly and beautifully illustrated, the world history of puppetry layed out thematically.

[Nanaz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thorough
Well researched
Unique

[kev · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pulled on my heart-strings.

[Dewisyahputri]

Puppetry

[Eric · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a really wonderful visual book. It would have been very easy for a book like this to become terribly dry and boring. The color pictures were wonderful and very helpful to somebody with exactly zero background like me.
I think the order / method the author used to present the material was also helpful. Trying to cross reference all the different types of puppets and their corresponding cultures could have become very confusing and tedious. The author did a wonderful job with this. This volume would make a lovely coffee table book for the visuals, but is so much more than just a show piece. Well done.

[H. Givens · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've been obsessed with puppets for about two months, after visiting the Center for Puppetry Arts in Atlanta. This book was perfect as a follow-up, or if you don't live in the area. More detail, history, and theoretical discussion, a notch more in-depth since you can sit and read it at your leisure. The images can't replace seeing real puppets in a museum, but there are plenty of them to give examples and highlight a wide range of puppetry styles around the world. Super interesting and accessible.

[Sandra Dutton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finished. Excellent. Great photographs.

[Allison · Rating 3 out of 5]

Weird and interesting. I'm glad I happened to notice it on the library shelf.

[Story · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book; beautiful, informative and stimulating.

[Kathy Duffy]

covers everything from jointed dolls, to shadow, hand, rod, and modern puppetry. It covers from Egyptian times up through the turn into this century. Great reference resource