Listening to Stone [Hardcover]

Dan Snow (Author), Peter Mauss (Photographer)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 2008

A master craftsman provides us with the timeless wisdom he has gained from heaving and hewing stone.

In his highly anticipated second book, Vermonter Dan Snow once again proves that he is not just one of America's premier artisans, but also one of our most articulate voices on the natural world and our relationship to it. Snow's medium is stone: He is the nation's premier drystone wall builder. Schooled in this ancient craft, he painstakingly creates structures as breathtaking as sculpture with nothing but gravity as their glue. In Listening to Stone, Peter Mauss's tactile photographs of Snow's artistry are matched by the artisan's quietly compelling prose.

In a voice as expressive as Annie Dillard's and as informed as John McPhee's, Snow demonstrates astonishing range as he touches on such subjects as geology, philosophy, and community. We learn that stone's grace comes from its unique characteristics—its capacity to give, its surprising fluidity, its ability to demand respect, and its role as a steadying force in nature. In these fast-paced times, Snow’s life's work offers an antidote: the luxury of patience, the bounty and quietude of nature, the satisfaction of sweat. "I work with stone," he ultimately tells us, "because stone is so much work."

Editorial Reviews

Review

"What a pleasure to have the tales of these new wonders told, and in such lovely prose."—Bill McKibben, author of The End of Nature

About the Author

Since 1976, Dan Snow has been hand-building unique drystone constructions for clients in New England and abroad. He is one of only a handful of Americans certified by Great Britain's Dry Stone Walling Association. He lectures and leads workshops and is the subject of the documentary film Stone Rising. He lives in Dummerston, Vermont.

Peter Mauss is a photographer of architecture, interior design, and landscapes. He lives in Vermont and New York.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 145 pages
• Publisher: Artisan (November 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1579653715
• ISBN-13: 978-1579653712
• Product Dimensions: 9.7 x 6.9 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (50 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #161,061 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Hello!
Welcome to my author page on Amazon. Thanks for your interest in my books.
Feel free to be in touch anytime - I can be reached at [e-mail]
Here's my website - companyofstone.com

Here's my official BIO
For 35 years Dan Snow has been building dry stone constructions in his native Windham County, Vermont and beyond. From the practical to the fantastical, his works in stone fuse vanguard vision with old world techniques and traditions. Environmental Art and Landscape Architecture students at universities, here and abroad, have benefited from his hands-on approach to teaching. As a Mastercraftsman with the Dry Stone Walling Association of Great Britain, Snow instructs in the craft and examines for the DSWA Craftsman Testing Program. He has authored two books that tell the story of our hand-made heritage in stone and his personal journey in the art and craft of walling.

Dan Snow is an assemblage artist specializing in site-generated, or locally sourced, natural materials. His dry stone constructions have included stock-proof fences, pillars, stiles, staircases and arch bridges. More complex creations such as garden follies, grottoes and grandstands as well as environmental art pieces and figurative works of sculpture are part of his oeuvre. He often designs his landscape installations contextually, by creating a 3-D scale-model on site. In environmental art making, Snow seeks to recognize the elemental essence of place and bring to it new meaning through the manipulation of materials and space.

In 2001 Snow authored "In the Company of Stone", published by Artisan, with photographs of his work by Peter Mauss. "Stone Rising", a film by Camilla Rockwell, released in 2005, captures the spirit of Snow's constructions and chronicles the process of their creation. Snow's second book "Listening to Stone - Hardy Structures, Perilous Follies, and Other Tangles with Nature", was published by Artisan in October 2008. His work has been the subject of articles in numerous journals, including "This Old House", "Vermont Magazine" and "Vermont Life" magazines, and the "New York Times" and the "Boston Globe." Dan keeps in contact and conversation with stone enthusiasts of all stripes on his blog inthecomanyofstone.com. Visitors to the website can also find a chronological account of his talks, presentations, book readings, projects, installations, travels and workshops.

Dan Snow has instructed many workshops in dry stone walling, environmental art and lectured on the craft across the USA, Canada and Great Britain. In 2003 and 2007 he taught environmental art workshops for the University of Art and Design, Helsinki. In 2008 and 2009 Snow worked with Kansas State Landscape Architecture students rebuilding pioneer homestead walls and creating a permanent sculpture for the grounds of the Beach Museum of Art. In 2009 and 2010 Snow instructed week-long environmental arts workshops at the English Harbour Arts Centre, Newfoundland, Canada.

As a DSWA Examiner he has organized test venues and tested dozens of applicants in the craftsman certification scheme.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My Favorite Book of the Year, November 17, 2008

By 

Julia McCurdy (Killingworth, CT) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Listening to Stone (Hardcover)

I've been a huge fan of Dan Snow since I received his first book, In the Company of Stone, 6 years ago as a gift from my father. I often find myself re-reading this cherished volume, so perhaps it's not too much of a surprise that Dan's next book scores at the top of my list of favorite books I've read this year. It is difficult to keep the hands of family and friends off my copy, because they inevitably find themselves fascinated not only by the thought-provoking and entertaining writing, but by the beautiful and intriguing photos as well. If you are interested in stone walls or sculpture, you will love this book. Dan Snow writes about not only his relationship with stone, but the relationship that stone has with the rest of us, (and, for that matter, the world) with fresh perspective. The writing is cleanly and carefully crafted such that each word, sentence, and paragraph seem to fit as gracefully together as the stones that comprise his creations. The result is simply delightful; I highly recommend this book.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Pure Zen, November 23, 2008

By 

Brunello (Honolulu) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Listening to Stone (Hardcover)

(What's this?)

This is a beautiful little book. Sitting out here in Hawaii reading "Listening to Stone", my mind was immediately transported to the verdant Vermont countryside where a man still works with his hands in the most elemental way with the most elemental of materials. While the rest of us struggle with the strangeness of modern life, Snow has found a livelihood in simplicity itself. His art is beautiful in a Zen way where the material fits in nature without spoiling it.

The language of the book is wonderful too. His descriptions are vivid and poetic.

I loved it.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars If Vermont's in your future, this belongs in your book bag, November 19, 2008

By 

Sharon Isch (Washington, DC USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Listening to Stone (Hardcover)

(What's this?)

As a longtime admirer of the dry stone walls of England and the intersecting dry stone mounds at Washington's National Gallery East Wing, I've often wondered about the manner of men (and it's just about always men, right?) who master and practice this ancient craft. Until now, the only one I've "met," is Peter Robinson's fictional Chief Inspector Gristhorpe of the Inspector Banks mysteries. What a pleasure, then, to discover the rare and quite real American waller, Dan Snow, to see the incredible diversity of his works--a grotto, an Asian garden, a footbridge, a shrine, a style, seats, shelters and, of course, walls--and learn firsthand about the insights and ideas that inspired them and the tussles with nature and other challenges involved in their execution. As an accompanying graphic shows, most can be found in Snow's native southeastern Vermont. Or within a stone's throw.

I doubt I'll ever again see a dry stone edifice without also trying to envision what it tells me about its creator.