If you have no other book about carousels, this is the one to have. Not only does the book illuminate the history of carousels, dispelling some common myths along the way, but the step-by-step, well illustrated process of carving a carousel is clearly explained in easy to understand terms. As Bruce's identical twin brother I can attest to the heart, mind and artistry that goes into every one of Bruce's creations. Many years ago I received a call from Bruce and he pleaded for my help. I replied that I had no knowledge or skill. Bruce persisted and taught me how to carve carousels using the same steps and techniques described in this book - several of the carousels I have carved are pictured in this book. Perhaps one of your creations will be in his next book!

Although this magnificent book is being marketed as a strictly how-to book, as a lover of carousels I attest to the fact that this book includes more history and delightful anecdotes about carousels, horses, designs and designers than any other book ever. Bruce encourages you to set your imagination free. Also, there is a step by step structure showing Bruce's one of a kind process. Even if you don't carve or don't want to start, it is still enlightening to see how this present day master carver makes lovely masterpieces for carousels and living rooms.

Wood is known as one of the funniest of the early Mad magazine artists, and is well represented in reprints of those classic issues, but this is the best collection of the man's work I have seen. With examples of the varied genres he mastered, including both ink drawings and preliminary pencil sketches, the book is similar in format to the John Romita sketchbook recently out. Wood was one of the best cartoonists who ever drew, and if you're interested in illustration or science fiction (especially of the 1950's), this is a must have. As I flipped through page after page of weird and absurd examples of inspired skill, I was struck by the sheer effort this guy put into his work. It's scary for me to realize that, for all his talent and labor, Wood never achieved wealth or contentment, and died at his own hand on Halloween night 1981.

This book is filled with wonderful drawings. I had never heard of wally wood before but as an artist myself was very inspired by his amazing work. This book shows just how ahead of his time wally wood was and can be an inspiration to any sci-fi fan.

This has been the most enjoyable woodworking book I have ever read. Mr. Frank's story makes fascinating reading, his knowledge of wood finishing is still amazing after eighteen years of "progress" since the publication of this book.

I don't know why Taunton has allowed it to fall out of print, but they need to bring it back.

Alaska's National Wildlife Refuges is an eye-catching collage of fascinating facts, gorgeous color photographs of nature and animals, the history and current challenges confronting Alaska's wildlife refuges, and much, much more. An absorbing, well-researched, and deftly presented read, Alaska's National Wildlife Refuges is highly recommended for Alaskan Wildlife and Wildlife Conservation reading lists and reference collections.

A huge thank you to you and your family for your contributions to children's literature. The Christmas Adventures of Space Elf Sam will not be under our tree this year, it's too good to hide in wrapping paper. We, my husband, my 3 girls, 3, 5, and 10 and myself are Star Trek fans and this one could be a new Christmas favorite for us. I was so excited to see the parts of your web site that explain where the story came from and how the animation was done. I really love to see how things come together. I was in awe at how complicated the animation is and how much work goes into it. The effort definately shows in the finished product. The illustrations are fun, inviting, futuristic and friendly, children and adults will love them! I am a preschool teacher and children's writer.

Not only does this book contain critical information not found anywhere else but it is written in a style true to the artist himself and the Yoruba oral tradition. If you are a carver you will find valuable information that relates to the process traditionally trained Yoruba carvers use to do their work as well as technical information about wood and tools. It is also valuable for the scholar intersted in the social status of the artist in Yorubaland before Europeans and how this particular artis has come into his own since colonialism and independence. But most importantly it was written by the artist himslef and is true to his personality. This type of document is rarely written by a person of Lamidi Fakeye's experience and status in Yoruba carving. This book reflects on the past while being rooted in the present situation of a Nigerian artist today.

If you can buy only one book on writing then this is it. It's filled with informative articles from Writer's Digest magazine written by the best of the best--from Ginsburg to King.

You will learn everything from theme to plotting to building believable characters.

I highly recommend The Writer's Digest Guide to Good Writing.

Vivid, colorful illustrations are the first feature readers will notice about this new title by Audrey Wood, but the story will keep them coming back to this delightful book. The lively, lower-case letters, called Charley's Alphabet, have a problem - the little i has lost his dot and the letters must help find it or they can't go to school. The story draws the reader to the conclusion, even answering my question, "Who's Charley?" Children will enjoy searching the illustrations for the hints about the ending. While there are many alphabet books, this one has great appeal for the young child, including a plot along with opportunities to repeat the alphabet. As a school media specialist, I look forward to sharing this with my young students.

As a kindergarten teacher, I was excited to find this book in time for the schoolyear to begin. What a wonderful way to introduce the alphabet to a group of wide-eyed children. This is a must-have for all pre-school and primary teachers.

The story is charming and simple. Before the letters of the alphabet can go off to school to become "Charley's Alphabet", they are delayed by the loss of the lower case i's dot. All of the letters must help to find the missing dot ... or find a way to make the dot return so that they may get to school in time for Charley, the boy who needs them.

Bruce Wood is the illustrator on this book and he has continued the family legacy of producing bright, captivating illustrations which are just begging the reader to look more closely. Indeed, there is a story in the pictures alone. My own eight-year-old daughter read the book and then immediately went back through and looked at the pictures, pointing out little details in each illustration. This is a wonderful book. I can't wait to introduce it to my class.

Bold and captivating, this alphabet concept book is a must have for the beginning reader. Not only is the story of the missing dot on the "i" appealing, but children can learn and enjoy the letter characters and detailed illustrations. This book would also be great for library story times and back to school themes. Another jewel from the ever-popular trove of the Wood family!

I have always tried to read the bible whenever I was in motel like Motel 6 or Holiday Inn and could never get myself past the 1st page because of how boring it is. Now as a book, this translated version of the bible is in plain and simple English that is easy to understand and is done in a way to make each and every story "from the words of god" (provided you believe in that) an interesting short tory that I have loads of fun reading. As a guide to understanding the Christian religion better and its application to the real world, it does an excellent job how each story is related to the everyday things but the problem I have with it is that often they talk about an everyday application that is in one part of the book that is in another part of the book. Another problem I have with it is that it doesn't really quite well explain the short comings that Christianity has in front of modern science other than GOD said so, which is good for already devout Christian, but for recent converts like me, I want it to make sense. But still, this bible is worth every penny and it would make a great gift to a young adult who is confused about the meaning of Christianity. And thanks to the good people at Carmel Baptist Church in Charlotte, North Carolina and Drew who gave me this book, things are truly clearer.

Depending on what you want from a devotional, this can be good or boring. If you want something to help you act well, I would recommend this as an AWESOME book for you. If you're going for the spiritual side, this is probably not what you're looking for. This focuses on acting like a Christian, and following God's action rules. There is a little bit of spiritual growth stuff in here, but not much. I wanted the spiritual stuff, and I wasn't satisfied with what I got out of it.

I love this book because it touches on all of the important issues that teens and everyone else faces from day to day. It helped me make a lot of important decisions and better understand the Bible and use it's teachings in everyday life.

This book will prove to be my best in-depth resource for critical information about the materials with which I make my living. As a woodworking professional, I must fully understand my materials to avoid costly mistakes(and a bruised reputation). With Bruce Hoadley's manual, I can make practical decisions or calculations about wood movement, moisture levels, strength and machining characteristics. I can confirm what I already know or suspect of the species I am most familiar with, or start from scratch with a new species I have never worked with.

Not a "how-to" manual, it has allowed me to use less guesswork and to broaden my professional knowledge - which helps me win customers over 'the other guys'.

This is NOT an easy bed-time read. It is filled with tables, formulas, charts and photos to help get the points across - which Hoadley is able to do well enough in his text with real-world examples and comparisons. But I was a little discouraged (and I doubt it could be helped) by the way this book resembles those dreaded textbooks of my university days.

This book is relevant, realistic, and practical. If you are serious about understanding wood, this book should at the top of your list.

This book may appear overwhelming to the person who is new to woodworking, and just wants to make a simple project. As you grow deeper in your skills, this book is a must read. It is fascinating for all levels. Hoadley starts off with looking at wood on a cellular level. The different types of wood, have different cell characteristics. If you look at it scientifically, reducing a substance to its cellular level gives you a cross comparative basis, in which to make relational references. Seeming too technically specific for the person, more interested in router techniques, than a science class. But that is just the beginning. He soon goes into the figure in wood, wood identification, water in wood, coping with wood movement, strength of wood, and other properties. He also covers machining wood, joining wood, and finishing wood. Finishing up with modifying wood, the woodworkers raw materials, and Forests past and future.
I would advise someone who is interested in woodworking, to use this book in addition to the others they may have pertaining to woodworking technique. When you get into the building of projects, and see wood "behavior" then this book will all the more make sense. The relationship of how it was sawn and cured, and in what section of the tree it came from, and be relational to why the wood did what it did. It is the easiest to learn that way.
I found it to be a fascinating read. It is like fine art. At first you say, wow that is great. Then as you see it more and more, you come to appreciate the layers of laws that apply to the medium, and gain all the more from it over time.
For example you may marvel at being able to make a perfect fitting mortise and tenon joint, but do you know what the best possible orientation of growth rings in that form of joinery. One way it is apt to split, another way, it will last 100 years. It may not be as much fun as whether Bosch or Makita makes the best router, but inevitably it will result in a long lasting product. It is a fascinating read. Something that should be put on the shelf as a reference source. Read it ahead of time, and read it afterwards to explain, why this thing did that.
Is this the science of wood? Sure it is, but it is done in such a way that, if you don't mind digging through learning the terminology, so you can understand the higher laws of wood joinery and the like, resulting in knowing what may have taken an old master a lifetime to learn. Parts of it are an easy read. Everyone will glean valuable experience from it. It is not so simple that you can have a beginner explain every sentence, but the learning curve is rewarding.
I find Hoadley to be a technician, as opposed to a salesman. Technicians are interested in purely the scientific understanding of the fundamentals, and the relationship of behaviors to bring about the desired result. A salesman is interested in the excitement and appeal of the project, but not the depth from which Hoadley covers the subject. I must admit, that at times it is a dry read. It can best be described by taking a small amount of text from the book. Here is two sections on mortise and tenon joinery. He starts out with this: "Fastening of end grain to side grain joints can be accomplished with a high level of success using mortise and tenon joinery" Later in the same subject he states, "The improvement in mechanical advantage obtained by increasing height is offset by increased dimensional conflict between longitudinal and transverse grain orientation." There you have it. If we knew the terminology that he uses, we could better understand the meaning of the second sentence. What it means is that if you increase the height of the joint, you create a wider surface area, and that creates a stronger joint, but that is offset by the additional expansion and contraction movement in a wider piece of wood. Since the boards in a mortise and tenon joint are typically joined together with grains running against one another, this is a major consideration. We knew that! :-) I had to read that sentence and ponder it before I knew what he meant. At times it reminds me of learing the computer. At times it is frustration, but with understanding, which is a breakthrough, come elation. This book will take you to higher laws and levels.
I guess I am getting wordy. I am excited about this book. As Woodenboat states it on the back cover, "Clearly the best book available on the subject."
I highly recommend you to buy this book. It is an easy read, and it is a complex read, all wrapped up in one book. Each time you reference it, you will derive more and more information from it. It is like fine art. A lifetime of knowledge isn't gained in a single sitting. No matter how many years you spend in woodworking, this book will be right there with you, ever unfolding the true relationship of the product we have come to love; Wood!

This book takes you from qualitative to quantitative understanding by means of accurate, readable explanations and a minimum of fuss. For instance, after explaining why a house settles, Hoadley shows us clearly how to estimate how much it will settle and what a knowledgeable builder could do about it.

Or take this simple woodworking situation: you are building a towel rack from two side pieces of white pine drilled to accept a maple dowel. Exactly how much wider should the hole be than the dowel so that expansion and contraction due to moisture changes in the bathroom won't split the sides?

A little time spent with this book will give you the ability to answer questions like these, quickly, exactly, and with authority. No more guessing about the effects of moisture, temperature, finish, and loads on wood: just look up the data in the clear and handy tables and graphs Hoadley provides and do the simple calculations (it's multiplication and division, folks, with nothing harder than an occasional exponent).

Almost every chapter contains revelations for the newcomer to woodworking. Early on we learn not only that wood changes size with moisture, but by how much (according to species), in which directions, how this affects its shape, and what are the common and best techniques to compensate for or design for these changes when building anything with wood. Later we learn how to relate these moisture changes to humidity--there's a clear and handy chart, as well as an easily memorized rule of thumb--and how to build and calibrate a simple shop hygrometer. In another chapter Hoadley applies this information to a discussion culminating in valuable information on sanding and finishing wood.

The many applications to an understanding of all things wooden make this book stand out for the casual reader, while the detailed, systematic explanations of the whys and hows make it ongoingly useful for anyone who crafts quality things from wood. It is the ideal supplement to an entire library on the how-to's of woodworking, because with the information given here, you will be equipped to make intelligent choices of how to select, cut, assemble, and finish a project of any size and complexity.

The only nit I have to pick has to do with the presentation of mathematical formulas: it's miserable. For instance, in one place the expression "D/O" stands for a single quantity rather than a value "D" divided by a value "O". Potentially confusing, yes; but what compensates for it is the clear descriptions and examples in the text: these are so good, you can totally ignore the formulas and not miss a thing.

Overall, Hoadley's long, thoughtful experience with all aspects of wood, from the engineering through the creative, shine through consistently. That's why I give this one five stars and I'm buying more copies for friends.