Best book for teaching myself origami from scratch

[fncll]

Does anyone have recommendations for a good book for teaching myself origami? I am exploring the world of online video-- and maybe I can find some folders here in the hinterlands-- but I'd like something that I can focus on that would give me the best foundation for learning the basics (and classics)...

[Ariel_A]

Have a look at John Montroll's books, for example "Birds in Origami" or the slightly more advanced "Origami Sculpture". The books are very nicely structured in that they always start with easier models and then progress in difficulty. The books have clear descriptions of the basic folds, but you would have to look somewhere else for descriptions of the most common bases.

[orislater]

i learned everything from robert langs book "the complete book of origami"

[Totallyblintzed]

I would recommend books by Robert Harbin. Some very simple models to get the basics learnt but with very satisfying results. They will give you a good understanding of how models are diagrammed and are very easy to follow.

[cjbnc]

Genuine Origami by Jun Maekawa. Probably not the best book starting from zero, but a very good book for progressing beyond classic, simple models. Here's my gallery of the models in the book: http://www.flickr.com/photos/cjbnc/sets ... 829316160/

[gailprentice]

I second the suggestion for Genuine Origami as each model focuses on a specific technique . Also, three other books that I know of do a similar job and can give give you an excellent foundation:

-Essential Origami (Steve & Megumi Biddle): The title is particularly apt. The first two chapters have symbols, folding procedures, and simple folds. Then there are ten chapters, each teaching a different base plus models that use that base. There is also a chapter on modular origami and two chapters on models with cuts (including connected cranes and a crab).
-The Complete Origami Course (Paul Jackson) - Chapters are: Getting Started, Valley/Mountain Designs, Squash Fold Designs, Inside and Outside Reverse Fold Designs, Petal Fold Designs, Pre-crease Designs, Sink Fold Designs, and Projects. I haven't actually tried anything from this book yet, however, the models look really good and varied. This book is out of print, however, I just bought a used copy from Amazon for $3.99 including shipping...the author is wrongly listed as Mary Wilder Tileston instead of Paul Jackson (the ISBN is 0831727926). There are lots still available for the same price...there is another listing under another ISBN but the price is a lot higher.
-Complete Origami (David Mitchell) - a variety of techniques, mostly either low intermediate or high intermediate/advanced.

Another good book is Origami Handbook (Rick Beech). It has lots of fun models, simple to some complex modulars. The diagrams are photos so can give a different perspective on how to fold things. This book is not organized by technique, though.

Good luck!

And nice work on all those Maekawa models, cjbnc!