[9] The first edition of the book had five chapters, including its introduction which discusses model-making in general and the different media and tools with which one can construct models.
[5] The media used for the constructions described in the book include "paper, cardboard, plywood, plastics, wire, string, and sheet metal".
[1] The fourth chapter is on additional topics in solid geometry[5] and curved surfaces, particularly quadrics[1] but also including topological manifolds such as the torus, Möbius strip and Klein bottle, and physical models helping to visualize the map coloring problem on these surfaces.
[4] The models in this chapter are constructed as the boundaries of solid objects, via two-dimensional paper cross-sections, and by string figures.
[3] Reviewer Michael Goldberg notes some minor errors in the book's historical credits and its notation, and writes that for American audiences some of the British terminology may be unfamiliar, but concludes that it could still be valuable for students and teachers.