Tropic House Indonesia
indonesian manufacturer of wooden houses, and exporter of quality wood-made pavilions & tropical bangkirai wood bungalows

Books on Wooden House:
A Splintered History of Wood: Belt Sander Races, Blind Woodworkers, and Baseball Bats

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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.

Entertaining and readable with minor error(s) -
Entertaining, quirky, and written in an engaging style. The long history of using wood is full of anecdotes that are funny, amazing, horrific, or sometimes all of them, and the author does a good job of keeping the pace up (although I found the last few chapters to drag a little).

The only thing I found wrong was a factual error from the English longbow section, "knights were lifted onto their horses by cranes", which is incorrect and should have been caught easily by anyone researching the longbow, Agincourt, and Crecy.

The book engaged me and I would recommend it to anyone interested in the "commodity history" genre, woodworking, or just looking for an interesting look at history and ingenuity.

A quirky little survey of wood -
I can't say much that hasn't already been said. The book is all over the place from ancient preserved woods, to belt sander races (which sounded a little dangerous), to lumberjack competitions, exotic furniture grade woods, and 20 other interesting things, both foreign and domestic. I was charmed by the nature of the sub-topics addressed. I enjoy learning tidbits about odds-n-ends sorts of things that I would not seek out on my own, and this book is a nice source of such things. This IS a completely American book, though, in it's laxidasical and conversational style. It's almost random, which is sort of how coffee shop chatter goes, I guess. I detract for a just a touch over my limit of rambling, but still a very fun read. Nice airplane book, and probably everything you would want to know about wood, plus ancillary stories, like how Honus Wagner "seasoned" his baseball bats. :-) Probably 4.5 stars, to be fair.

LOADS of fun, and really you don't need to be a woodworker to appreciate it -
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.

best wood book ever -
I have just finished the best wood book i have ever read- a splintered history of wood.

I chuckled from beginning to end and from someone who is known throughout Africa as "MR WOOD" i learnt plenty of new and interesting facts about wood.

Your sense of humour made it such easy reading and the chapter on bows/yew/brits/french going to war had me hosing myself.

i have a personal library of over 1200 books on wood and this one goes to the front shelf

i look forward to your next edition

Splintered History of Wood Is Complete In Enjoyment -
The book 'A Splintered History of Wood' contains a multitude of facts, stories and light-hearted reading that will please all woodworkers of every ilk. Carpenters to woodcrafters to 'tree huggers' will all find something they didn't know earlier and topics whose knowledge they share with the writer. A great addition to your library.