My Journey in Writing, Ranting, and Woodworking

My buddy Richard sent me a book recently.  It is 110 pages, was originally published in 1965, and the copy he sent me, sent me was printed in 1974.  ‘A Reverence for Wood’, by  Eric Sloane, was a book that I choose to judge by it’s cover.  I expected a delightful tale by an obcure author.  I couldn’t have been more wrong.

It was a fantastic book, by an author who was a prolific, well known, writer.  It is arrogance which led me to believe he wasn’t significant, because I hadn’t heard of him.  I learned a lesson.  One shouldn’t judge a book by it’s cover, or judge an author by one’s own limited reading experiences.  In hindsight, it is rediculous for me to have thought I would have known the author of a book about wood.  I am able to name only a handful of famous woodworkers.  My grasp of the world of woodworking is extremely limited.

As I read though this book, which I assumed was a tome printed in a limited run, many years ago, I kept thinking how sad it was that this little gem wasn’t available to the woodworkers who read my blog.  I envisioned several copies sitting on shelves, in used book stores, scattered around the country.  Surely nobody would be able ot find this little jewel and experience the joy I felt.  It was true joy.  The writing was brilliant and moving.

Eric Sloane begins with a quote from Emerson, “Perpetual moderness is the measure of merit in every work of art.”  The year is 1965 and our hero is tearing down a barn with his friend.  The friend knows a lot about wood and shares a multitude of facts.  I was immediately engrossed in both the tale and the history.  In the first sitting I read through about 1/3 of the book slowly.  Then I flipped back through the pages and read my favorite parts again.

As I set the book down, I felt pleased with learning about the history of wood in the U.S. and how vital it was to the beginning of our country.  I also felt sadness, because I wanted everyone to be able to read it, should they be interested.  Too bad it was just an insiginificant book published over 35 years ago.  The pages are filled with hand drawing, which help move the story along.  I started to doodle a copy of a tree from one of the pages the next day at work.

It really bothered me that this book wasn’t currently in print.  I started to think about public doman.  If the copyright wasn’t still in effect, maybe I should rerelease it.  The next day I read the next 3rd.  The story rolled along like a raft on a lazy river.  It was calm and pleasant.  I became more distraught about the availability of ‘A Reverence for Wood’, for my woodworking friend.

That night, when I returned from work, I asked my friends on Twitter if they knew anything about public domain.  This sparked an interesting conversation, but no answers, so I asked Google.  It turns out that my little book,is still, very much protected.  Oh well, I guess I will just have to hope anyone who wants to check it out, will get lucky in a used book shop.  Then the twitter conversation turned to the specifics of the book I was raving about.  I mentioned the author.

Several other people jumped into the conversation, as they have heard of him.  This surprised me, as my assumptions had been he was not well known.  I don’t know why I hadn’t asked The Google about Eric Sloane, before that moment.  I Google everything.  Eric Sloane has written a bunch of books, was widely read, and that wasn’t all.  I checked Amazon.com and if anyone wants a copy, it is available.   But wait, there’s more.  If you want a 1st edition, you can pony up $189.00 and get it.

My worries about the masses reading my review and being unable to enjoy Eric Sloane’s tribute to wood, were completely unfounded.  So the next day I finished the book.  The ending was really sweet.  I can’t recommend this book enough.  It was a joy.  I realize that I didn’t tell you much about what it was about, so perhaps I should include a few descriptions.

Apparently, in the 17 and 1800′s, it was common for the most effort and craftsmanship to be put into the door of a new house or barn.  The style of the door served a purpose too.  One type of door, with a maltese cross, was called a Witch Door, because the designe kept away evil spirits!  Nobody wants an evil spirit getting into their new house or barn.  I also learned about the dirtiest job, making charcoal.  Charcoal was used for more than just heating, people used charcoal powder to brush their teeth, and a spoonful would tame an upset stomach.   These are but two of the delightful tales.

So if you want a relaxing and interesting read, I highly recommend this book by well known author Eric Slone. If I were to rate this book, on a scale of 1 to 37, I would give it a solid 32.