I'll always be slightly disappointed that I missed seeing the British Library's exhibition on Harry Potter, but at least they published this gloriously lush exhibition book and ensured that it was widely available to a global audience. Not that I wouldn't have paid the customs and duties (or talked nicely to my globetrotting friends), but the hefty discount available at Chapters pre-Christmas made the deal even sweeter. And boy was it worth it, since the writers and editors crammed the book with tonnes of wonderful content from the British Library's and other museum's collections, as well as included lots of illustrations from Jim Kay, film content, and HP exclusive from private collections. I quite enjoyed the smaller version of the exhibition book as well, but even with all of the added content in this volume that established its dominance, the real benefit was how much more academically the subject matter was treated. Instead of just getting materials meant to entertain, we also got treatises on historical medicine and herbology, scientific astronomy, and a serious look at witchcraft throughout the ages. Yet no matter how seriously the curators took the materials (archival research and historical analysis are crucially important), they also imbued the text with a sense of humour by dropping jokes intermittently throughout the text to ensure that readers can't get bored. Though why would they, when the exhibit (and book) so carefully juxtaposed the historical inspirations besides J.K. Rowling's seminal series of novels?! ( )

This is everything I wanted and more. It contained so much information on the different topics and classes. I loved reading on different artefacts, and seeing drafts of the Harry Potter series. It was awesome ( )

I love this book a lot. I would've given almost anything to go to this exhibition, but since I wasn't able to, I'm so happy they produced a version the rest of us can access. It's a gorgeous book and a great grown-up companion to the "Journey Through" version for kids. It also introduced me to new museums I want to visit and authors whose books I want to read. ( )

A brillian, well illustrated book of what looks like it was a brilliant exhibition at the British Library. It looks at Harry's world in terms of subjects that are studied there. Intricate and involved, yet well illuminated by photographs, and illustrations of manuscripts and drawings as well as original text from the author, this is a brilliant treasure tome for Ll Harry Potter fans. ( )