Press releases

The Best of Instructables--New from O'Reilly: Awe-inspiring Projects from the World's #1 Do-It-Yourself Website

Press release: October 23, 2008

The Best of Instructables Volume I Sebastopol, CAInstructables.com has shown that our handmade creations are only limited by the scope of our imagination. A magnet for DIY enthusiasts of all stripes, the popular website boasts over 17,000 home-brewed projects from around the globe. With so many projects to choose from, the hack-loving editors of MAKE magazine took it upon themselves to pick the best of the best. Their selections are now featured in the wildly inspired The Best of Instructables Volume 1.

The Best of Instructables embodies the fun, creativity, and sense of community found on the popular website—and it features just as many projects for beginners as experts. “There’s a project for everyone in this book,” said site founder Eric Wilhelm. “But our big hope is that this book will not only inspire readers to replicate the projects within, but to get started on projects of their own!”

Organized in twelve chapters including Home & Garden, Robotics, Food, and Photography, this easy-to-use guidebook provides step-by-step instructions, full-color photographs, and diagrams to over 120 projects including:

  • Invisible Book Shelf: Defy gravity with this functional and unique wall-mounted book shelf made of books.
  • Marshmallow Shooter: Tons of fun, this PVC-pipe marshmallow gun will surprise you with its accuracy, range, and ease of construction.
  • Your Own Drive-In: With a projector, laptop, and an FM transmitter, turn an abandoned parking lot into a drive-in theater by displaying a movie on a building wall.
  • Turn Signal Biking Jacket: Build a jacket with turn signals to notify drivers where you are headed.
  • Dinosaur Cake: A birthday party favorite, this 3-D confection simply requires nine-inch round cakes, frosting, and decorations.

Arriving in bookstores on October 31st and currently available online at oreilly.com/catalog/9780596519520, The Best of Instructables Volume 1 offers over 300 pages of tips, tricks, and new build techniques for the first time in print.

For a review copy of this title please email pressroom@oreilly.com. Please include your delivery address and contact information. For an interview with Instructables.com founder Eric Wilhelm or additional information about the book, please contact Laura Stevens at 202.862.4372 or lauras@rosengrouppr.com.

The Editors of MAKE produce the extremely popular MAKE magazine, the Make: Blog, and run the annual Bay Area and Austin Maker Faires. They put their heads together, along with some of their favorite makers, to brainstorm what their dream workshop might look like. For more info: makezine.com.

Additional Resources:
For more information about this book, including table of contents, index, author bios, and cover graphic, see the catalog page for The Best of Instructables.

The Best of Instructables Volume I
The Editors of MAKE
ISBN: 9780596519520, 336 pages, Book Price: $34.99 USD, £21.99 GBP
PDF Price: $27.99 USD

order@oreilly.com
1-800-998-9938
1-707-827-7000


About Instructables
Instructables.com is the most popular Do-It-Yourself community on the Internet. Since August 2005 Instructables has provided accessible tools and publishing instructions to enable passionate, creative people to share their most innovative projects, recipes, and hacks. The site is currently home to over 17,000 projects covering such diverse areas as crafts, art, electronics, bikes, cars, kids, robotics, and cooking.

About O’Reilly

O’Reilly Media spreads the knowledge of innovators through its books, online services, magazines, and conferences. Since 1978, O’Reilly Media has been a chronicler and catalyst of cutting-edge development, homing in on the technology trends that really matter and spurring their adoption by amplifying “faint signals” from the alpha geeks who are creating the future. An active participant in the technology community, the company has a long history of advocacy, meme-making, and evangelism.

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Maker Media is a division of O'Reilly Media devoted entirely to the growing community of resourceful people who believe that if you can imagine it, you can make it. Consisting of Make Magazine, Craft Magazine, Maker Faire, and the Hacks series of books, Maker Media encourages the Do-It-Yourself mentality by providing creative inspiration and instruction.

For more information about Maker Media, visit us online:
MAKE - makezine.com
CRAFT - craftzine.com
Maker Faire - makerfaire.com
Hacks - hackszine.com