Library
WoO LIBRARY RULES:
1) ONLY PAID-UP MEMBERS CAN CHECK OUT LIBRARY MATERIALS,
2) ONLY 2 ITEMS A MONTH,
3) BORROW FOR 1 MONTH ONLY,
4) PREVIOUSLY BORROWED ITEMS MUST BE RETURNED BEFORE ANY ADDITIONAL ITEMS CAN BE CHECKED OUT
5) If you can’t return an item on time, notify the club librarian, Marian Bailey at mbmwm@comcast.net
as of August 2010
A Splintered History of Wood
By Spike Carlsen
A Review by Larry Miller
If you like wood, then you’ll find something to enjoy in Spike Carlsen’s “eclectic” book on the history of wood, as it has something for everyone. From the 50,000 year old wood description and explanation to the wacky world of woodworkers, you’ll find something you probably didn’t know about this most abundant resource.
I call it an eclectic book because it’s not written to flow from beginning to end like a novel, but as a treatise on the myriad uses and love of one of the most abundant resources on earth. There’s the section on tools that work the wood including not only the serious use of wood lathes but also the non-serious use of belt sander racing. Can you imagine spending over $1,000 and 125 hours building a custom belt sander that can sand a 2X10” board completely in two in seconds, just so you can make it go fast down a 40 foot track?
There is literally something for everyone with just some of the topics in the book listed as follows: how trees make wood, chainsaw artistry, wood carving with a master who makes Ferraris, wood collecting, Stradivarius Violins from wood, making of a Steinway D piano using 12,000 pieces, wood in sports, wood as shelter, solving mysteries through the use of wood forensics, wood in war, wood in the use of transportation including wooden rails and gondolas, and much more. My favorite was learning how wood pilings played a major role (and still does) in the creation of Venice. Pilings were used to stabilize the foundations of the buildings on which the water city is built.
Spike is an editor, author, carpenter and woodworker who has been immersed in the world of wood and woodworking for over 30 years. Prior to becoming an editor, he worked as a carpenter for 15 years and ran his own construction and remodeling company, so he writes not only from research but also from a practical viewpoint.
A Splintered History of Wood (ISBN: 978-0-06-137357-2; Harper Perennial) can be purchased at Barnes and Noble, Borders, independent bookstores, Amazon.com and other retailers. For more information, visit www.asplinteredhistoryofwood.com.
For every book sold, the author will donate funds to plant a seedling at the Bomalong’ombe Secondary School tree farm in central Tanzania.
I also have a copy and am willing to loan it out – if interested, give me a call, Larry Miller
bill cogswell @ March 22, 2009