A Splintered History of Wood: Belt Sander Races, Blind Woodworkers, and Baseball Bats |  | Author: Spike Carlsen
Publisher: Harper
Category: Book
List Price: $24.95
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Rating:  27 reviews
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 1St Edition
Pages: 432
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.5
Dimensions (in): 9.1 x 6.3 x 1.5
ISBN: 0061373567
Dewey Decimal Number: 620.12
EAN: 9780061373565
Publication Date: September 1, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| • | ISBN13: 9780061373565 | | • | Condition: NEW | | • | Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark. |
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Product Description
In a world without wood, we might not be here at all. Without wood, we wouldn't have had the fire, heat, and shelter that allowed us to expand into the colder regions of the planet. If civilization somehow did develop, our daily lives still would be vastly different: there would be no violins, baseball bats, chopsticks, or wine corks. The book you are now holding wouldn't exist. At the same time, many of us are removed from the world where wood is shaped and celebrated every day. That world is inhabited by a unique assortment of eccentric craftsmen and passionate enthusiasts who have created some of the world's most beloved musical instruments, feared weapons, dazzling architecture, sacred relics, and bizarre forms of transportation. In A Splintered History of Wood, Spike Carlsen has uncovered the most outlandish characters and examples, from world-champion chainsaw carvers to blind woodworkers, the Miraculous Staircase to the Lindbergh kidnapping case, and many more, in a passionate and personal exploration of nature's greatest gift.
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 27
 Polished woodwork February 17, 2010
Margaret D. Shultz
Well written. Somewhat simplistic since it covers a broad expanse. If you know anything about wood, this will be fascinating
 A Splintered History of Wood: Belt-Sander Races, Blind Woodworkers, and Baseball Bats February 8, 2010
Sacramento Book Review (Sacramento, CA)
For those of us who have never witnessed a belt-sander race--yet have wished to know more about the intimate relationship between humans, woodworking and wood products--columnist and carpenter Spike Carlsen brings us //A Splintered History of Wood//. Besides the pleasant, novel-like feel of this enjoyable read, Carlsen's wry humor shows through in the various people and things showcased, which circumvent normal wood topics experienced on television programs, stepping into another realm altogether.
Via a knowledgeable guide, the reader is deftly led through historical logging techniques, unique stories of "minimalist" board merchants, even including a piece on former president Jimmy Carter, pictured skillfully woodworking in his garage. Who knew that one could vacation in a huge, hollowed-out tree? Apparently you can, at a "treesort" near Cave Junction, Oregon... or for world travelers, the Kayila Lodge in Zambia. A far cry from mundane, this book holds a well of interest-invoking topics whose educational intent is so subtly purveyed that one almost does not know they are learning.
Reviewed by Meredith Greene
Delightful After Dinner Palaver February 3, 2010
Lee Barker (Redmond, Oregon USA)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
The subtitle is "Belt-Sander Races, Blind Woodworkers and Baseball Bats" which suggests this is a lightweight book of snippets of things. After all, how much could one write about baseball bats? (OK, John McPhee wrote an entire book about oranges, but that's McPhee.)
Carlsen's book does go deep, and amazingly broad. I picture him musing at a desk with a window that opens onto a small woodlot and as he finishes a section he looks up and thinks, "Barrels!" or "Crossbows!" or "Spruce Goose!" and he grabs his jacket from the back of the chair and heads out for more research.
Outside of the elongate cells of wood, there would seem to be little holding these disparate chapters together, but one trips readily to the next one, eager to get his slant on something for which one is totally unprepared. "Romp" is an overused word which works strangely well here.
Carlsen does have trouble with the preposition "between." He writes (p. 193), "The floors separating each story..." ignoring the need for two items if the word between is used. And if you have more than two, "between" gives way to "among" but Carlsen misses that one too.
Carlsen evidently spent a good deal of time at the Forest Products Laboratory--a place we might imagine filled with harmless drudges--and brings it to life with his witty yarnspinning and clever puns slivered into sentences.
Read this book and you'll become more aware of wood in your life. Your interest in things ligneous could, um, branch out.
A Delightful Book January 27, 2010
Fred (Frankfort, OH USA)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Bought this on a whim based entirely on the title. I read everything from biographies and histories to mysteries. This book included a bit of everything and was great for just reading awhile and then coming back later and picking it up for another few minutes. It doesn't leave you wanting to quickly turn the page, but each page is full of information. One reviewer keyed on the typos and inaccuracies. They do exist but so what? The book is entertaining, enjoyable, and informative.
Well worth the purchase price.
A fun read on the lighter side of woodworking November 18, 2009
E. Sincox (My back yard, Saint Peters, MO)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
I like a good book where I can imagine the author is talking directly to me, like he's sitting on my sofa, enthralling me with story after story. That is pretty much how I felt about Spike Carlsen's A Splintered History of Wood. It isn't one of those books you can plow through in just one sitting, though. You have to read it more like you read Robert Fulgum or James Krenov - one chapter at a time, taking a break in between sittings to absorb what you've just read. You can't read this book when you're in a hurry, either. You have to approach it with a calm and relaxed mind; you have to be willing to be drawn away from your hectic day into a narrative about one of every woodworker's favorite
topics - wood.
As you read the first chapter on extraordinary woods, you'll develop mysterious cravings and desires when Spike reports on where you can get 50,000 year old Kauri wood (I have some), discusses WOOD PORN with Mitch Talcove, and interviews people who make a living salvaging redwood logs. Later, you'll be awed by stories of woodworkers who are blind, artists who can carve your name in a pencil with a chainsaw, and an inspirational visit with Mira Nakashima. Spike then dives into wood as it relates to music and sports, detailing what goes into making a world class violin, a Steinway piano, a persimmon wood golf club, and a pool cue.
With a knack for making even the mundane seem amazing, Carlsen jumps into stories about wood used in construction, from people who live in trees to the 36-year remodeling project called the Winchester House. His chapter on weapons and war, interesting to anyone who ever played knights as a child, covers such topics as catapults and the English long bow. He ends his book on a note he describes as, "emotional, environmental, and political." In this final chapter, which includes an interview with Patrick Moore (one of the founding members of Greenpeace), he details reasons for using wood more than steel, concrete, and plastic. He also discusses methods for maintaining natural forested areas while planting trees specifically for harvesting and his thoughts on purchasing endangered woods. I don't know - it all seemed like common sense to me.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 27
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