Items related to The Man Who Made Things Out of Trees
The story of how one man cut down a single tree to see how many things could be made from it.
Out of all the trees in the world, the ash is most closely bound up with who we are: the tree we have made the greatest and most varied use of over the course of human history. One frigid winter morning, Robert Penn lovingly selected an ash tree and cut it down. He wanted to see how many beautiful, handmade objects could be made from it.
Thus begins an adventure of craftsmanship and discovery. Penn visits the shops of modern-day woodworkers―whose expertise has been handed down through generations―and finds that ancient woodworking techniques are far from dead. He introduces artisans who create a flawless axe handle, a rugged and true wagon wheel, a deadly bow and arrow, an Olympic-grade toboggan, and many other handmade objects using their knowledge of ash’s unique properties. Penn connects our daily lives back to the natural woodlands that once dominated our landscapes.
Throughout his travels―from his home in Wales, across Europe, and America―Penn makes a case for the continued and better use of the ash tree as a sustainable resource and reveals some of the dire threats to our ash trees. The emerald ash borer, a voracious and destructive beetle, has killed tens of millions of ash trees across North America since 2002. Unless we are prepared to act now and better value our trees, Penn argues, the ash tree and its many magnificent contributions to mankind will become a thing of the past. This exuberant tale of nature, human ingenuity, and the pleasure of making things by hand chronicles how the urge to understand and appreciate trees still runs through us all like grain through wood.
8 pages of illustrations"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
About the Author:
Robert Penn is the author of the best-selling celebration of craftsmanship, It’s All About the Bike. A writer and journalist, Penn wrote and presented Tales from the Wild Wood, a television series about British woodlands. He lives in a wooded valley in South Wales with his family.
Review:
There is no greater debt than that which mankind owes to trees, and Robert Penn proves this brilliantly - a highly readable account of the multitude of uses one single ash tree can provide -- Lars Mytting, author of 'Norwegian Wood' Beautifully crafted, [The Man Who Made Things Out of Trees ranges] freely over intellectual territory - masculinity, nostalgia, identity . . . Fascinating . . . Never have the benefits of getting your chopper out appeared more obvious -- Robert Crampton, Books of the Year * The Times * The appeal of Robert Penn's enchanting narrative extends far beyond tree enthusiasts, woodworkers and fanatic loggers like me. It is a book-lover's feast. Penn's wonderful prose and compelling research put The Man who Made Things out of Trees right up there in the league with such classics as John McPhee's The Survival of the Bark Canoe -- Rinker Buck, New York Times bestselling author of 'The Oregon Trail' This book is bound for great things -- Sophie Morris * Independent * Penn is a fine writer, and the mix of research, reportage and personal reflection is persuasive . . . A lovely book -- Ed Cumming * Observer * [An] extended tribute to the beauty and usefulness of the ash tree... A homage to vanishing skills that were once integral to the functioning of rural Britain -- Tom Fort * Literary Review * A beautifully figured and multicolored ode to our love affair with the invaluable Ash tree. I swooned. Penn's paean to the many uses of the Ash is so well-wrought that I am compelled to take up hurling -- Nick Offerman There's a bit of a wood theme this year, in fact, with ... Robert Penn's The Man Who Made Things Out of Trees. One can't help but wonder if all these books encouraging self-reliance and back-to-nature are signs of impending apocalypse -- Ian Sansom, 'Books of the Year' * Guardian * A eulogy to the importance of ash throughout human history . . . Fascinating -- Tobias Jones * Guardian * I was completely smitten . . . [A] delightful, page-turning love letter to an often-overlooked material -- Grant Gibson * Craft Magazine * Often wry and always interesting . . . A passionate love letter to the ash tree -- Harry Wallop * Daily Telegraph * A delight to read . . . Penn's writing is poetic . . . [The Man Who Made Things Out of Trees] speaks to the quality of the human experience, of craftwork and making things by hand, of appreciating resourcefulness and natural beauty -- Nathalie Spencer * RSA * This book is a great pleasure to read . . . I defy anyone to read this and not want their own collection of natural and unique objects to connect our daily lives back to the natural woodland which once covered the country * Royal Geographical Society *
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
- PublisherW. W. Norton & Company
- Publication date2017
- ISBN 10 0393253740
- ISBN 13 9780393253740
- BindingPaperback
- Edition number1
- Number of pages256
- Rating
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