Wood Books

This is an excellent book with a well written narrative discussing the history and modern situation of the American Wood Duck and its Asian cousin, the Manadarin. This book is a must read for anyone wanting to learn the natural habits of these great waterfowl. Furthermore, the pictures are simply breathtaking. Highly recommended.

For anyone interested in woodies or mandarin ducks there is not a more delightful informative book available(I know because I have them all I think). Well written, beautiful photography,a real joy to read.

I am in the process of completing a major home remodeling project. I purchased this book along with several others to get ideas for maximizing the available space in a two car garage. I got some great space saving ideas for making storage and work modules from others in this book who have done so. I highly recommend this book as a resource for ideas.

Hats off to Wood magazine for this consolidation effort. Bringing together these first rate articles resulted in a highly substative offering.

William Mainwaring is trying to escape from the mess his life has become over the past year, in which he fell in love with the (then) estranged wife of his best friend. So he retreats to Graystone, in the north of England, intending to try to forget Elizabeth and avoid polite society. However, he reckons without the inhabitants of the local town, who are determined to include him in their activities; after all, while he may not have a title, he is certainly one of the wealthiest single gentlemen around at the moment, which makes him extremely eligible and desirable.

Lady Helen Wade, youngest daughter of the Earl of Claymore, hates the sort of 'proper' behaviour required of a young lady of the ton, and she avoids any kind of interaction with Society as much as she can, simply by slipping out and running to her favourite place, in the woods by a stream on Graystone land. Although she's almost twenty, she does her best to pretend that she won't have to secure a suitable marriage some day; in fact, it's clear that Helen hasn't really grown up yet.

One day, William Mainwaring comes upon a young woman sitting by the river on his land, 'learning water', as she tells him. She's wearing a faded dress which is unfashionable and far too short for her; unsurprisingly, he takes her for a village girl. Helen, realising his mistake and the impropriety of her presence in his land and in his company, allows him to carry on believing that she's a simple country girl, and tells him that her name is Nell.

'Nell' and William become friends, actually seeking each other out as escape from their mundane and unwelcome daily lives; they discuss poetry and landscapes and nature, and find themselves becoming drawn to each other. Attracted to each other. Until the inevitable happens...

William thinks that Nell is a village girl. So it never occurs to him that, since he realises he needs to marry and he's actually considering one of her sisters as a potential wife, that he could marry Nell instead. And anyway, he's not in love with her, is he? He still loves Elizabeth! Nell knows that she needs to tell William the truth; after all, she's spent time with him under false pretences. But good intentions go their usual way, and very soon it's too late. William has left, and Nell is... well, Nell has to grow up very quickly in a very short space of time.

This represents the early part of The Wood Nymph; the remainder of the book is set mostly in London, and readers will need to read it for themselves to find out what happens. All I can say is that this book satisfies my desire for closure for William Mainwaring completely. A wonderful book, and well worth the 'collectible' price I paid for it.

wmr-uk

William Mainwaring is trying to escape from the mess his life has become over the past year, in which he fell in love with the (then) estranged wife of his best friend. So he retreats to Graystone, in the north of England, intending to try to forget Elizabeth and avoid polite society. However, he reckons without the inhabitants of the local town, who are determined to include him in their activities; after all, while he may not have a title, he is certainly one of the wealthiest single gentlemen around at the moment, which makes him extremely eligible and desirable.

Lady Helen Wade, youngest daughter of the Earl of Claymore, hates the sort of `proper' behaviour required of a young lady of the ton, and she avoids any kind of interaction with Society as much as she can, simply by slipping out and running to her favourite place, in the woods by a stream on Graystone land. Although she's almost twenty, she does her best to pretend that she won't have to secure a suitable marriage some day; in fact, it's clear that Helen hasn't really grown up yet.

One day, William Mainwaring comes upon a young woman sitting by the river on his land, `learning water', as she tells him. She's wearing a faded dress which is unfashionable and far too short for her; unsurprisingly, he takes her for a village girl. Helen, realising his mistake and the impropriety of her presence in his land and in his company, allows him to carry on believing that she's a simple country girl, and tells him that her name is Nell.

`Nell' and William become friends, actually seeking each other out as escape from their mundane and unwelcome daily lives; they discuss poetry and landscapes and nature, and find themselves becoming drawn to each other. Attracted to each other. Until the inevitable happens...

William thinks that Nell is a village girl. So it never occurs to him that, since he realises he needs to marry and he's actually considering one of her sisters as a potential wife, that he could marry Nell instead. And anyway, he's not in love with her, is he? He still loves Elizabeth! Nell knows that she needs to tell William the truth; after all, she's spent time with him under false pretences. But good intentions go their usual way, and very soon it's too late. William has left, and Nell is... well, Nell has to grow up very quickly in a very short space of time.

This represents the early part of The Wood Nymph; the remainder of the book is set mostly in London, and readers will need to read it for themselves to find out what happens. All I can say is that this book satisfies my desire for closure for William Mainwaring completely. A wonderful book, and well worth the `collectible' price I paid for it.

This book focuses on toys--large and small--with wheels or built on a wheeled platform. I'm not going to comment on the quality of the plans and instructions (I'm not a woodworker), but the following are some of the projects found in 'Wood on Wheels.'

Push & Pull Toys: articulated Rabbit pull-toy on a wheeled platform, three-wheeled Roller Boy, Flounder pull-toy with off-centered wheels, Alligator on a log pull-toy, Turtle (and) Dove pull-toy, primitive-style Twig Dragon, Bob's Sled (a darling design of a child on a sled), spring-mounted Bed Bug on a bed pull-toy, Puzzle Truck, and a cute Platypus push-toy.

Large Rolling & Riding Toys: Minicyle ride-on toy, Push Goat ride-on, Trundle Block Wagon, Rattle Mower, Tug Boat on wheels, Barge to connect to Tug Boat, Hoopytoad Rocker (mini see-saw), Little Red Wagon, Shopping Cart, Classic Hobbyhorse with wheeled end), Luge, Scooter on casters, Fun Roller on casters, and a child-size Garden Cart.

Specialty Vehicles, Displays and Gear: Western Pony (a rocking-horse to display), Prizewinner (a 'carved' sheep made with a rasp on a wheeled platform--adaptable to any animal), Rope Walker balance toy, Gas Pump, Oilcan, Squeegee, Road Signs, Bike Rack, and a couple of small push-type toys.

With the exception of a few special 'display' toys, the majority of these are intended for younger children--probably under 8, but the designs are so lovely that in the hands of a good woodworker, these toys will be appreciated 'on the shelf' long after they are outgrown, and probably passed along to the next generation as well.

If you can cut wood. You will be suprized how creative you could become by following the step by step, slowly they turn directions. Some really cool projects.

This book is a popular book up here (Alaska) and many of the stoves are in wide use in remote cabins. A very practical, hands on book for anyone interested in constructing their own economical wood stove. Quite thorough and well illustrated but somewhat dated as are most books in the do-it-yourself outdoors genre.

In this book the Author gives a good overview of stoves for heating a small space and excellent information on dealing with a wood stove as a sole heat source. Then, where he really takes off is on MAKING very simple stoves out of oil drums, old tins or used gas tanks. What had before seemed to me a difficult or near impossible task, was quickly transformed into a very do-able thing. For use as a cabin or garage heater, a stove to use in a large tent, or as the Author suggests, as an emergency stove, this is the way to go.

The most stunning photography of warblers you will ever see, bar none. The pictures are worth the price alone. The author lives on the western coast of the Gulf of Mexico and setup a blind with strobes near water in his backyard during migration. If you love warblers, buy this book.

Schorre has taken some of the finest photographs of warblers ever seen. Unlike some of the other bird photographers, he has pictures of wild birds, not mist-netted or aviary warblers. A stunning achievement. Warblers are, next to rails, the hardest birds in North America to photograph, and Schorre has superb photographs of them including the rarest, most secretive warblers. When reading this book, you can sense Schorre's passion for these most-beautiful of birds and for photography.

The photographs are accompanied by some introductory information on each warbler and this book would serve as a richly illustrated guide to these birds.

This little book saved our lives when our Troop decided to have a contest at the campout. All of the kids in the new patrols had to prepare a meal to compete with the rest of the older kids. We didn't know exactly where to start with our planning until one of the boys brought a cookbook his dad used around the house and when he went deer hunting. We noticed right away how it listed what to buy, how much charcoal to use to get the right temperature and how long to cook it. The instructions were real easy to follow. The tips on seasoning found in the book made it easy to decide how they wanted it to taste. The guys had everything they needed to prepare the meal. Their fire was perfect and they didn't over-cook anything. The judges were impressed with their knowledge about the ingredients, the simple steps they took to start their fire, and how good the food tasted. They didn't win first place, but all of the other guys hung around during preparation and time to sample the food. The kids were so proud of not being out done by the older guys and being the center of attention during the contest. Every Patrol leader wanted a copy of our cookbook....Judy Dalrymple, Coppell Texas.

I'm not much of a cook, and I'm usually pretty intimidated by cookbooks, so when I received this cookbook as a gift, I didn't think that things would be different. I was wrong! This cookbook literally leads you by the hand and tells you everything you need to know to use a cast iron Dutch oven-both indoors and outdoors.

The recipes are easy to follow, with everyday ingredients and very few steps. It's very practical for use when camping since the recipes call for many boxed and canned ingredients. Nothing beats cooking at your campsite. Just be prepared for all of the other campers who will come by and want a taste! And don't worry if you don't camp out. Every recipe tells you how to prepare the dish in your kitchen as well as outdoors.

By far the best thing about this cookbook is that I now know how to use a Dutch oven to make more than just pot roast and stew. The are recipes for lots of other dishes, including lasagna!! Plus, there are recipes for breads, veggie side dishes, and even desserts.

If you've got a cast iron Dutch oven sitting on a shelf in your kitchen, you should have this cookbook!

I've lived in Alaska for a long time and I've had the privilege of traveling to the Bristol Bay area and other parts of western Alaska a good number of times. The allure of this area for many is the trophy fishing, but one of the things that any visitor to this area comes away with is a vision of an area whose rare beauty goes beyond the fish that live in the streams, or the animals that stalk the land and that also attract hunters.

In addition, for the photographer, the land of western Alaska poses both opportunities and challenges. The opportunities of course are the many beautiful vistas. The challenges are capturing the spirit of a truly unique landscape.

In this book -- "Wood-Tikchik" and another volume "Rivers of Life", Mr. Ketchum succeeds where in my opinion no one else has in capturing the spirit of the land in the Bristol Bay and western Alaska regions. This is not merely a collection of pictures to grace a coffee table, this is a photographic record of a very unique land.

This is a book that will be treasured. I highly recommend you get a copy. Maybe more than one....it makes a great present.

Wood-Tikchik: Alaska's Largest State Park is an impressive and superbly presented compendium of Robert Glenn Ketchum's magnificent color photography showcasing the pristine natural areas comprising the largest state park in Alaska. A vast, river-laced landscape, Ketchum approached this project with a true artist's eye to visually capture extraordinary photographs of unforgettable Alaska mountain and tundra landscape. Also very highly recommended are Robert Glenn Ketchum's previous master collections of photographic excellence: Rivers of Life: Southwest Alaska, the Last Great Salmon Fishery () and The Tongass: Alaska's Vanishing Rain Forest

You'll get you're money's worth if you buy any carving book by Mary Duke Guldan. Unlike many other carving books this lady gives you wonderfully artistic and accurate patterns showing top, side, back and front views. In addition she gives you detailed drawings showing feet and facial characteristics of animals. Plus, this author shows you how to piece together 1" thick planks of wood to make a good size carving. (This is a great help to people who can not find, or afford huge blocks of good wood, like basswood.) I also appreciate the author's suggestions of how to vary the poses of animals, and other ways of using her patterns, like for mantelpieces. This book may be a little over the head of brand new wood carvers, but if you're beyond the very beginning stage and interested in carving something besides birds, this is the book for you!

I found "A Woodcarer's Workbook" to be an excellant source of inspiration to my carving. The patterns set forth in this issue are well laid out and easily explained. Although the author assume's that the reader has some experience with woodcarving, I found the emphasis the author puts on the most critical parts of carving (eyes, ears, feet, etc.)to justify the lack of concentration on the body. Thumbs up to Mary for a wonderful book, I'll defininately be buying the follow-up to this book.

If you're owners of wooden boats this is a great calendar to have and if you don't own a boat and love boats whether their wooden or not this is still a great calendar to have. Try the new calendar for 2008 the pictures are fantastic.

We have purchased the Wooden Boat Calendar for years. The pictures are alway great and the quality of paper used is a nice heavey stock.