Customer Reviews

Good Fences: A Pictorial History of New England's Stone Walls

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The popular saying is that "good fences make good neighbors." My thought is that the book "Good Fences" will make many of us more knowledgeable about what is around us. I live in Maine. Rural Maine. We have a lot of stone walls on the property. Some were from stones that cleared the fields so that cows could pasture. Others were moved to form a cow run to a pond so that the cattle could drink in an orderly fashion. They are large rocks for the most part. Not easily moved and majestic in repose.

I have always looked at stone walls with a sense of appreciation of why they were constructed in the first place. Especially when deer hunting and you think you are a long way from civlization and you come across a stone wall in the middle of the woods. It didn't just grow there. Someone built it and the "why and how" is the most interesting aspect of it.

William Hubbell has collected a number of such walls in the pages of this book and photgrahed them in a loving fashion and told their story in the the same way.

I have seen such walls constructed. It takes a special person to carry and fit the stones. They often have as much imagiination as one who weilds a paint brush over a canvas. The results can be stunning or simply practical.

In any event they are a phenominon worth dealing with and Mr. Hubble has done it in a most worthwhile way.

I am a fan of New England stone walls. All my life I have been literally surrounded by New England stone walls. As I type this, I can look out the window in front of my desk and see one such wall, and out the side window along another. Thwy are folk art and history and the living bones of New England. Robert Thorson's "Stone by Stone" and Susan Allport's "Serons in Stone" permanently sit on the bookshelves next to my computer. Well, her's another fine book to add to my collection. William Hubbell's "Good Fences" is filled with his own excellent photographs of stone walls all across New England, old walls for the most part, but some new ones as well. Even if you are not lucky enough to have your own stone wall or to see them every day, this book is a genuine pleasure.

GOOD FENCES: A PICTORIAL HISTORY OF NEW ENGLAND'S STONE WALLS provides a lovely pictorial celebration of these walls accompanied by text surveying their history and construction. Six stone wall builders and their works receive in-depth focus, while photos provide close-up details profiling unusual walls. A rare, visual treat documents a profession that leaves behind monuments of wonder from its builder/artists.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

I bought this book for my mother who has lived her entire life in Connecticut, where there are so many stone walls, they are easy to take for granted. The home I grew up in had stone walls on two sides.) This book helps one appreciate the history and workmanship that live in these walls. The photographs and text are excellent. The geology behind these walls (last ice age) is explained well as are the reasons behind the many different walls one sees in New England. Great gift or purchase for one's self.

I grew up in New England and this book does a great job at capturing the beauty of the area's stone walls. Beautiful pictures and great explanations of why and how the walls developed the way they did. The author also provides details and descriptions about how these walls are affected over time.

My wife has no idea why I bought this book. For me, it was a natural fit. You either get it or you don't.

I saw this book at a friend's house and loved it just looking quickly. My daughter gave me this book for Mother's Day and it's great to be able to read it and peruse it slowly looking at all the fabulous stonewalls. Definately a recommended coffee table book.