Book Reviews (Books Review?)
These are reviews of books relevant to traditional skills, primitive technologies, and other topics related to Square One
Back to Basics: A Catalog of Skills You Should Probably Have Other Books About
“Back to Basics: a Complete Guide to Traditional Skills” by Abigail R. Gehring is a wonderful book, but it is not what it claims to be. The book surveys a broad spectrum of useful information for those interested in traditional skills or self-sufficiency. It has brief sections on choosing land, felling timber, raising livestock, gardening, wilderness survival, canning, weaving, barn building, spinning, carpentry, and blacksmithing. The only trouble with these sections is their length, though to be fair, if the sections were long enough, then “Back to Basics” would be sold as a library and not a single book.
Just Skimming the Surface
As it stands, each section is a well-organized overview of a single skill with informative illustrations, step-by-step projects, lists of tools, and resources for further reading. This last feature may be the most useful as the information is hardly sufficient to stand alone on most topics addressed. As far as illustrations go, the colorful images and illustrations clarify the concepts and skills highlighted and help to provide context for any readers who are unfamiliar with, say, the particulars of hydro-electric power. The explanations clearly orient the reader to the new subject material, but they do not provide enough information for practical application on their own.
What it Covers
The spread of topics encompasses both the familiar and stereotyped “traditional skills” of blacksmithing and canning, but also covers such modernly applicable principles as generating clean energy, buying land, and designing a home. The spread effectively introduces the reader to many topics and generates the familiarity with terms which would make a google search on each topic possible.
My Experience
I enjoyed this book tremendously. It initiated, or possibly just continued, my obsession with traditional skills and self-reliance. I would flip through the pages looking for skills, tools, and terms I had never heard about before in a manner similar to a catalog of things to learn more about elsewhere. From the brief section on blacksmithing, I progressed on to a personal collection of subject specific research. It has served me as an effective springboard and first introduction, but not a one-volume sufficient library.
Other reviews
The overall rating for this product on Amazon is a solid 4.7 with 303 reviews. Of these, 229 of them gave the full 5 stars. For many of these people, the common thread was the newness of the concept and the material. One reviewer said “Until I checked this book out of the library, I had rarely given a thought to getting "back to basics”… it opened my eyes.”
The few (4) reviewers who gave the book a “1” rating complained either of irrelevance of the information, lack of detail, or bad packaging. Those who complained about the information mentioned a longstanding interest in the subject and compared this book of broad overviews with their craft-specific libraries.
The Bottom Line On the whole, I recommend the book, particularly to those who are new to the genre, or to those who wish to learn more of what there is to learn. There may be a section on a skill you have never heard of.
Quick List
+ Covers an exceedingly broad range of topics
+ Includes beautiful illustrations
- The spread of information is too broad to teach much in any specific section
Just Skimming the Surface
As it stands, each section is a well-organized overview of a single skill with informative illustrations, step-by-step projects, lists of tools, and resources for further reading. This last feature may be the most useful as the information is hardly sufficient to stand alone on most topics addressed. As far as illustrations go, the colorful images and illustrations clarify the concepts and skills highlighted and help to provide context for any readers who are unfamiliar with, say, the particulars of hydro-electric power. The explanations clearly orient the reader to the new subject material, but they do not provide enough information for practical application on their own.
What it Covers
The spread of topics encompasses both the familiar and stereotyped “traditional skills” of blacksmithing and canning, but also covers such modernly applicable principles as generating clean energy, buying land, and designing a home. The spread effectively introduces the reader to many topics and generates the familiarity with terms which would make a google search on each topic possible.
My Experience
I enjoyed this book tremendously. It initiated, or possibly just continued, my obsession with traditional skills and self-reliance. I would flip through the pages looking for skills, tools, and terms I had never heard about before in a manner similar to a catalog of things to learn more about elsewhere. From the brief section on blacksmithing, I progressed on to a personal collection of subject specific research. It has served me as an effective springboard and first introduction, but not a one-volume sufficient library.
Other reviews
The overall rating for this product on Amazon is a solid 4.7 with 303 reviews. Of these, 229 of them gave the full 5 stars. For many of these people, the common thread was the newness of the concept and the material. One reviewer said “Until I checked this book out of the library, I had rarely given a thought to getting "back to basics”… it opened my eyes.”
The few (4) reviewers who gave the book a “1” rating complained either of irrelevance of the information, lack of detail, or bad packaging. Those who complained about the information mentioned a longstanding interest in the subject and compared this book of broad overviews with their craft-specific libraries.
The Bottom Line On the whole, I recommend the book, particularly to those who are new to the genre, or to those who wish to learn more of what there is to learn. There may be a section on a skill you have never heard of.
Quick List
+ Covers an exceedingly broad range of topics
+ Includes beautiful illustrations
- The spread of information is too broad to teach much in any specific section
Forging Like a Champ. The Backyard Blacksmith by Lorelei Sims
What it covers
The Backyard Blacksmith will teach you to become one yourself (A hobby blacksmith I mean, not a book). The book teaches from the ground up in a very clear and concise manner, defining all relevant terms, and laying a foundation of background knowledge for the beginner to build on. The title of the first chapter, “Getting Your Feet Wet,” demonstrates this commitment to explain from the ground up. In the following chapters the Ms. Sims guides the reader through the tools of the blacksmith shop (with where to find them), the definitions of wrought iron, mild steel, and cast iron (with what they are good for and how to use them), detailed descriptions of the techniques of the craft (upsetting, drawing, punching, scrolling, and the like), and hands-on projects (making your own tools, home hardware, and art projects).
The Quality of Explanations
The explanations in this book accomplish their work so effectively that a brand-new novice could go out and forge his or her first work with no other training. The author offers helpful hints, background information, and even a cure for poison ivy. In addition to the how-to instructions and background information, the book includes numerous asides (including that poison ivy cure, blacksmiths know more that you’d think). These asides offer fascinating and critically useful information. One such snippet is a description of how to use a brass wire brush to make your work look like it has been burnished with gold.
The Images
The book is nice to look at and represents a much higher standard of design than the average “how-to.” The images offer not only a clear explanation of the processes and techniques of blacksmithing, but are in many cases also visually stunning. The author’s focus on art bleeds into far more than just her blacksmithing; it also colors the layout, voice, and visual tone of the entire book. The book would almost be worth having just to flip through.
What Others Say
The Backyard Blacksmith has maintained a 4.8/5 rating after all 158 reviews on Amazon. One reviewer called it “A well written book with good information and great color illustrations.” Another said “I have found this book to be invaluable both as a resource for my work & an all-around good read.” One odd feature of these reviewers is their personal experience with the craft of blacksmithing. Several reviewers identified themselves as 30+ year professional blacksmiths.
The lowest rating for the book was a solid “3” with complaints about grammatical errors, and another “3” complaining about the costs of professional-level equipment.
Features
· Clear directions with plenty of pictures so you know what you’re doing
· Key terms defined at the level of a complete beginner
· Beautiful design
· Excellent one-volume reference
The bottom line
This is the book you have been looking for if you want to get into blacksmithing but don’t know where to start.
The Backyard Blacksmith will teach you to become one yourself (A hobby blacksmith I mean, not a book). The book teaches from the ground up in a very clear and concise manner, defining all relevant terms, and laying a foundation of background knowledge for the beginner to build on. The title of the first chapter, “Getting Your Feet Wet,” demonstrates this commitment to explain from the ground up. In the following chapters the Ms. Sims guides the reader through the tools of the blacksmith shop (with where to find them), the definitions of wrought iron, mild steel, and cast iron (with what they are good for and how to use them), detailed descriptions of the techniques of the craft (upsetting, drawing, punching, scrolling, and the like), and hands-on projects (making your own tools, home hardware, and art projects).
The Quality of Explanations
The explanations in this book accomplish their work so effectively that a brand-new novice could go out and forge his or her first work with no other training. The author offers helpful hints, background information, and even a cure for poison ivy. In addition to the how-to instructions and background information, the book includes numerous asides (including that poison ivy cure, blacksmiths know more that you’d think). These asides offer fascinating and critically useful information. One such snippet is a description of how to use a brass wire brush to make your work look like it has been burnished with gold.
The Images
The book is nice to look at and represents a much higher standard of design than the average “how-to.” The images offer not only a clear explanation of the processes and techniques of blacksmithing, but are in many cases also visually stunning. The author’s focus on art bleeds into far more than just her blacksmithing; it also colors the layout, voice, and visual tone of the entire book. The book would almost be worth having just to flip through.
What Others Say
The Backyard Blacksmith has maintained a 4.8/5 rating after all 158 reviews on Amazon. One reviewer called it “A well written book with good information and great color illustrations.” Another said “I have found this book to be invaluable both as a resource for my work & an all-around good read.” One odd feature of these reviewers is their personal experience with the craft of blacksmithing. Several reviewers identified themselves as 30+ year professional blacksmiths.
The lowest rating for the book was a solid “3” with complaints about grammatical errors, and another “3” complaining about the costs of professional-level equipment.
Features
· Clear directions with plenty of pictures so you know what you’re doing
· Key terms defined at the level of a complete beginner
· Beautiful design
· Excellent one-volume reference
The bottom line
This is the book you have been looking for if you want to get into blacksmithing but don’t know where to start.