Men and Sheds (Hardcover)

by Gordon Thorburn (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
It has been said that a shed is to a man what a handbag is to a woman - both contain all the essentials for surviving in the modern world and in the same way that no decent man would ever consider looking in a woman's handbag uninvited, so no reasonable woman would dream of setting foot in a man's shed. This book is a study of over 40 men and their sheds around the UK, a quirky look at the personalities and the passions hidden within the shed, whether it is used for eccentric inventions, as a chapel, a housing for a milk bottle collection, an allotment shed, a home for exotic reptiles or a place to make music. The fascinating story of each bloke and his shed is accompanied by photographs of the inner sanctum and of the customized exteriors.

About the Author
Gordon Thorburn started his writing career as an advertising copywriter before becoming a freelance journalist in corporate communications and eventually a full-time author of a variety of books ranging from romantic fiction through an account of the RAF to a hilarious look at village cricket. He lives in Buxton, Derbyshire.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 96 pages
• Publisher: New Holland Australia(AU) (September 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1843303299
• ISBN-13: 978-1843303299
• Product Dimensions: 7.1 x 6 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,104,889 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars fresh honey, March 31, 2003

By	Stevie Mc Garrity-Alderdice (UK) - See all my reviews

It is so nice to see something that does exist, without being sexist. I loved it growing up with pigeon sheds and all that, I know how important the shed is! nice, very diplomatice, and captures the essence of men and shed...thankyou
(just bought the book for research)

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Drinking sheds, theme sheds, shed sheds, September 24, 2005

By	E. A. Lovitt "starmoth" (Gladwin, MI USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

I didn't realize that my husband's obsession with sheds had something to do with his Y-chromosome until I spotted this book in a National Trust store. Naturally I grabbed it up to find out why we now have two-sheds-going-on-four on our property. It isn't completely about storage space, since we have a big, largely empty basement (although I realize it's not going to stay empty for long. Basements never do).

According to the author, sheds were a product of the Dark Ages: "'Scead,' of course, means partial darkness or comparative obscurity. These are fundamental concepts in understanding what made a Sheddist originally. He was a kind of wise man, a hermit, an oracle. He was partially dark and comparatively obscure but ordinary folk knew he was different, in a very special way."

It is also suggested that men are encouraged by their spouses to build and inhabit their sheds: "How do you expect me to get on with my womanly, feminine tasks with a great fat useless idle ugly wart like you under my feet the whole time?"

I refute this sexist notion, as it was entirely my husband's idea to populate our property with sheds. I hold my tongue because hanging about in a shed is much cheaper than hanging about in a pub.

"Men and Sheds" is a silly, endearing, very British book filled with black-and-white photos of men, their sheds, and the weird things that they store in them, e.g. Ethiopian banjos, reptiles, and the world's worst LPs.