A Splintered History of Wood: Belt-Sander Races, Blind Woodworkers, and Baseball Bats

I have Spikes book on tips for woodworking and it is very well done. It referenced this book, but in this book Spike put in his whole heart and soul. He takes you places and describes things so well you would think you were right there with him. His descriptions of the many aspects of wood and woodworking are just super! He covers log cutting contests - to the building or musical instruments - to forensic analysis in criminal cases. I have never been board reading any chapter in this book. Spike has a talent that keeps the reader engaged and interested. It's not just a historical book about wood. It covers the lives of some of the most famous people we all know and many we don’t.Overall it's about the things that a woodworker would find most interesting that’s not about the fundamentals of woodworking. It’s more about the many aspects of wood, people and processes. It’s how we got from woodworking thousands of years ago to where we are today. There are many of those processes that are still in use today. The tools may have gotten better, but some of the true craftsmen still do it the way it was done thousands of years ago. This is a great book and I truly enjoyed reading it. The copy I purchased came from a library in Florida. It was almost new with nice clean pages and the only marking was from the library. There is the old saying “don’t judge a book by its cover”. I’m glad the people in the library district in Florida where this copy came from didn’t ever open it. To me it is a valued treasure I keep in my glass bookcase which is reserved for the special books.

This book has been a big hit at the Schindler bitranch, and we've already given a copy as a gift. If you are (or know) someone who enjoys woodworking in any form, this is a no-brainer. Save the time spent reading this review and just click on the Order This button now.However, don't imagine that this book is interesting only if you have a power tool in your garage. Because this is darned great writing, wonderful "Wow I didn't know how they made that!" material, and -- well, heck, it's just FUN READING. This falls into the same entertaining category of books that explore one item in depth (such as Kurlansky's  Salt: A World History  or Mark Pendergrast's  Uncommon Grounds  on coffee). Unlike a lot of nonfiction, which is interesting in a plodding sort of way, you could easily bring along this book on an airplane flight.The book is in several sections: extraordinary woods; the wacky world of woodcrafters; the tools that work the wood; wood in music; in sports; in shelter; in day-to-day life; wood, weapons, and war; wood by land, air, and sea; in unusual uses and peculiar places. Each chapter has several vignettes. If you aren't excited by one essay, the next one will probably grab you (though I didn't have any ho-hum responses until near the end, and I think I was simply sleepy by then). So you might be interested in the quest for the most expensive board-foot, or maybe you'll be fascinated with Carlsen's interview with president Jimmy Carter (an avid woodworker), or you'll get excited to learn about Stradivarius violins. Perhaps it'll be baseball bats that capture your interest, or ten great moments in catapult history. For me, the most fun was the section on creating a xylarium -- a collection of wood samples (and isn't that one heck of a great Scrabble word?); there's even an International Wood Collector's Society.Because this book isn't only about wood -- it's about what we humans do with it. And Spike Carlsen infuses each essay with a celebration of how inventive we all are.I completely enjoyed this book. I think you will, too.

I bought this as a gift for my husband who works with a lot of wood in his guitar-building endeavor.Although I often read passages from books I like to him, he rarely does that in return. When he does, I know he really loves the book.The other day he read to me a section about gondolas and why they are built the way they are. It was so interesting that now I've decided to read the book too.An absolute 5-stars from my highly discerning, literary-minded husband. If I feel differently, I'll update my review.

This book shows a side of wood most of us take for granted, or never even knew existed. The way Spike Carlsen covers the history, science and industrial uses of wood is not so detailed and dry that its mind numming, but rather gives a broader view of things most will be be able to understand to appreciate the wide versatility of mother natures engineering masterpiece, in a light hearted and upbeat way. The book also has many fun stories about encounters with some of the world's most famous wood workers and covers the joys of wood through chain saw contests, sander races, & more. This is not just a book wood workers will enjoy, but is a book for anyone who wants a look at the world around them in a different light as to how wood makes such an impact on lives throughout the world and history. Being a woodworker myself, I enjoyed the book thoroughly, & my wife, not a woodworker, enjoyed reading about the many interesting trivia pieces and historical impacts one doesn't normally hear of or think of when it comes to wood.

I don't know what the negative reviewers have in mind, except that they seem to be professional wood people who prefer an academic wood volume. For me, a hobby woodworker (boat, furniture) this book is a book of wonders. Not only do we get the scope of woodwork through history and now, but we also get the fascinating details of varieties of wood, their properties and values, and the strange and wide-ranging uses to which they have been put. However, I am deducting one star because of the author's frequent cutsy-wootsy writing style that he must think is funny, but really only irritates. Because of this penchant for verbal acrobatics I would have put the book down early on, but the subject matter is so interesting I just held my nose and ploughed through it.

It is not a five star and only just a four star. The writing style is rather self conscious and I would say a bit 'jolly hockey sticks' if it were not american. And thus baseball bats feature rather prominently.Four stars because I have learned a bit about wood and just a little bit about the wood business.

This was a present for my husband who is a joiner. He appears to like it very much indeed and finds it interesting.