Wood: Craft, Culture, History (Hardcover)

~ (Author) "Just about everyone in the world over the age of six or seven years old probably knows that wood comes from trees, although they might..." (more)
Key Phrases: splint baskets, stave churches, United States, North America, The Empire of Wood (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Histories of materials continue to rise in popularity, exemplified by this excursion into the uses and aesthetics of wood. Green, a student and practitioner of the craft of woodworking, spans the remarkable range of objects created from trees throughout human history. In addition to defining terms, such as the distinction between hard- and softwoods, Green reiterates throughout this fluent and pleasing work the uniqueness of wood, which contributes to its attraction. No two pieces are alike in appearance, and specific species of trees are preferred for specific purposes: ash for baseball bats, oak for ships, cedar for furniture. Whatever object Green investigates, he discovers its layers of historical, commercial, environmental, and artistic significance, not least in the substitution for wood by other materials. Despite this trend, however, wood is always more appealing to sight and touch than its competition: nobody loves a titanium golf club the way they do a persimmon-headed driver. Sophisticated but approachable, Green's work richly satisfies curiosity about the subject. Gilbert Taylor
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review

“Like a walk along a quiet forest rail, reading this book provides opportunity after opportunity to reflect upon the meaning of trees and the things that come from them.”
— Henry Petroski, author of The Pencil and The Evolution of Useful Things --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 496 pages
• Publisher: Viking Adult (October 19, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0670038016
• ISBN-13: 978-0670038015
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.3 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #123,183 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #17 in	Books > Professional & Technical > Engineering > Civil > Construction > Materials
  #75 in	Books > Outdoors & Nature > Plants > Trees

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Overambitious?, March 25, 2007

By	P. van Rijckevorsel (The Netherlands) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book addresses a huge topic, so huge it is difficult to review a book on it. FWIW a few notes:

The easiest way to approach the topic is by organizing it around good illustrations: in this book the illustrations are limited to line-drawings and b&w photographs, printed on the same paper (not glossy) as the text. The illustrations do add to the book but not all that much.

Some browsing proves to be rather hurtful: whenever the author touches on an aspect I know something about I am noticing mistakes. By this time I have come to accept that a book like this will muff the distinction between hard- and softwoods, but it also happens when the author discusses more mundane matters.

All in all, I would recommend finding a copy of "The International Book of Wood" rather than buying this.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent overview, January 18, 2008

By	TKP (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Wood: Craft, Culture, History (Hardcover)

I can appreciate the other reviews criticisms that this is an ambitious book. Green seems quite conscious of this fact in his writing. Instead of making an attempt to cover every complexity of the topic, he selects several diverse examples to demonstrate the ubiquity and importance of wood.

This work is worth a read for any craftsman or student of material culture.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Material issues, March 19, 2007

By	Blue Eyes "music lover" (nyc) - See all my reviews

An interesting book which is difficult to pigeon-hole in any particular category. Not precisely a history book, yet it examines the history of wood, and its importance and symbolism to different times and cultures. I found it a little long winded, and yet there is much of interest here, such as the history of wood in sporting equipment, hunting and war weapons, housing, religion, furniture, musical instruments, etc. Chock a block full of quaint facts and sharp insight, I would recommend this book. One of those books which will make you appreciate much of the world around you normally taken for granted.