When I saw this book I thought it would be a "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" for woodworkers. I was even more interested when I noticed a chapter of refurbishing an old boat. Since my occasional hobby is wooden boat building I bought the book with eagerness. But what a disappointment. Laird tries hard to write cleverly about the inner workings of a craftsman from the "I Ching"/Taoist point of view. However, he turns his sentences with too much effort -- like a novice making a candlestick on a lathe for the first time. I had trouble swallowing much of his non-narrative prose. As far as a story goes, you quickly realize he's not a professional woodworker with decades of experience to relate. From what I know about sharpening blades on a Japanese waterstone, a light touch is the best approach. Laird, on the other hand, describes how he presses down so hard that his back aches afterward. And, personally, I was turned off when he got around to the boat project: it's a Fiberglass hull! He had lilted for several chapters about the natural qualities of wood and then dismisses wooden boats as impractical because they rot. So he then proceeds to poison himself (and the environment) with epoxy. As an alternative to this book I'd recommend "Tools of the Trade: The Art and Craft of Carpentry" by Jeff Taylor.

I really loved this book. The author moves beyond the technical "how to" of his woodwork projects and writes about the meaning he finds through the work. The book was touching and funny -it has stayed with me and encouraged me to attempt a few "projects" of my own.

This is a beautiful book, a real sleeper. My wife got it for me because I enjoy working with my hands (home workshop, etc.) and I read it with pleasure for the descriptions of the satisfaction of making things (Laird makes a marimba for his kids, repairs an old family boat, builds a lovely container for his grandmother's ashes, etc. But what he's really addressing is the nature of creativity, where it comes from (comparisons with lightning strikes, drowning, and such) and how you find ways to soldier on in a project that baffles you -- and in your life, as it throws curves and roadblocks at you. The writing is sublime and I found myself practically hpnotized as I read it. Highly recommended both as of interest both to crafts-oriented people and to those of us who view life as a spiritual journey as well as a physical and intellectual one. This thing is a quiet little masterpiece.