The Uke Book Illustrated: Design and Build the World's Coolest Ukulele (Fox Chapel Publishing) Graphic Novel Format Shows Every Step of Construction with 1,500 Beautiful Watercolor Illustrations Paperback – Illustrated, June 10, 2019

It is too bad the cover art and subtitle of this book were done the way they were. At first sight, I just couldn't take this book seriously. The drawing on the cover doesn't look like a ukulele and the subtitle sounded like it may be aimed at a youth audience?I skipped over it in favor of other more scholarly looking books on this subject. I did learn valuable things from each of the other books, but still wanted more. I finally came back to this title and actually dug into the description and reviews. I decided to buy it, and ..... what a fantastic surprise. The knowledge and skill of the author and the illustrator result in a very detailed and usable book for any person wanting to know how to complete the many steps required to build a fine ukulele (most of the book also applies to guitar making). And they do it in a way most people could actually accomplish.There are no photographs in the book. Every illustration is a hand made watercolor. The art work is very clear and actually communicates the detail of each step more clearly than photographs. I found it very helpful and illuminating. If I could only have one book on this topic, I would choose this one.Highly recommended.

I don't know, if I'll be able to build the world's coolest ukulele with this book. But this is the world's coolest book on how to build an ukulele. It very full of details in building the ukulele and the illustrations are great. There is a lot of information available on how to build ukulele in books and on youtube. But this book is just pleasure to look through and it shows you how to build a ukulele. I was glad I bought and the price on Amazon was worth it for me.

I still mostly prefer books as instructional/reference materials as opposed to videos, especially in a dusty workshop. This book excels in this regard, but is also an interesting read on the couch. It would be a great addition to any waiting room for those of us uninterested in sports or fashion or celebrity gossip.My two major criticisms of the text:1. There isn't much, if any material regarding the selection of the wood, the species or the lumber and the initial prep to these dimensions. This is a critical step as most hardwoods are not sold in the required dimensions and if you purchase a kit then the sames steps may not apply.2. There's limited information on inlay/rosettes. It gives an example of making a rosette tile, but nothing regarding how to join and bind them.

i have a large collection of instrument repair and build books.Basically building a Uke is pretty much like building a guitar ( other than no truss rod - and a guitar is bigger )to see this step by step with hand drawn images is very informative and new in its technique . Every player of a uke should know how their instrument is fundamentally built , to get a better understanding of why it plays and sounds like it does - to get the most of their instrument . Sad to say the author passed away before his book went to print -he is a great builder with a great perspective . the only problem i had with the book is some of the terminologyis a bit different from most other books - Fox Chapel did a very good job - with this book being around 12 bucks - its a great book and very informative -

I haven't gone through the whole book page by page yet, but from what I see this is a really good how to build ukulele book. I know how to build guitars from taking lutherie classes at a local junior college (many years ago), but now I'm ready to build ukuleles. I've purchased a few other ukulele build books over the last 10 years, and now this one is my new favorite. Granted I already know most of the steps in this book, but there are some new “tricks” in here for me. Also, I can attest that this book was written by an experience luthier with good techniques. Finally, the biggest plus in this book, over any of the how to build books I've encountered (guitar, ukuleles, etc...), are all the wonderful illustrations. Worth the price and definitely a 5 out of 5 rating.

This is a terrific book and well worth owning with great detail on most steps. There is one glaring gap however, no information on locating and gluing in the bridge. (Critical) Be prepared to get this information elsewhere. Graham McDonald's book is a good source also as well as Bill Plant's.IMHO this book is worth it solely for the artwork.

If you want to to understand the innards of the beast and how to build one someday, this is the book. Immensely detailed and I like the pictorial / graphic novel format. Mine came all scuffed up because someone in Amazon fulfillment did a truly sloppy job of packing it, but I can't deduct stars from the quality of the book and the information therein for their bad.

I started working on ukeleles with no help. I bought a kit that didn't have instructions and figured eveything out on my own. Youtube had varaious videos about building but it wasn't a great resource.This book has lots of illistrations - something I like - but its mainly in meteric. Not to mention that the book does things very differently that I have done and seen. For examaple I will glue something together and work on a diferent piece or wait for it to dry, where the book simply tells you to keep working. Additionally I wanted a saprano uke and this book doesn't cover saprano. Argh.The story of why to book was written isn't just heartfelt, its relatable. I admire the author for finishing the work and fulfilling a dream. Some times things like this aren't just written, they are a promise kept.I give three stars because from my view, this isn't something that wasn't already attainable. I would have gone higher if it had imperial measurments and I didn't have to ponder conversions constantly. And I would go higher if I didn't feel so overwhelemed with the way the project was completed with all the clamps you are supposed to work under and around.