The Man Who Made Things Out of Trees

Author(s): Robert Penn

Biography & Memoir

An exuberant tale of craftsmanship for nature lovers and rugged outdoor types everywhere. Robert Penn cut down an ash tree to see how many things could be made from it. After all, ash is the tree we have made the greatest and most varied use of over the course of human history. Journeying from Wales across Europe and Ireland to the USA, Robert finds that the ancient skills and knowledge of the properties of ash, developed over millennia making wheels and arrows, furniture and baseball bats, are far from dead. The book chronicles how the urge to understand and appreciate trees still runs through us all like grain through wood.


Product Information

A beautifully figured and multicolored ode to our love affair with the invaluable Ash tree. I swooned. Penn's paean to the many uses of the Ash is so well-wrought that I am compelled to take up hurling -- Nick Offerman The appeal of Robert Penn's enchanting narrative extends far beyond tree enthusiasts, woodworkers and fanatic loggers like me. It is a book-lover's feast. Penn's wonderful prose and compelling research put The Man who Made Things out of Trees right up there in the league with such classics as John McPhee's The Survival of the Bark Canoe -- Rinker Buck, New York Times bestselling author of 'The Oregon Trail' There is no greater debt than that which mankind owes to trees, and Robert Penn proves this brilliantly - a highly readable account of the multitude of uses one single ash tree can provide -- Lars Mytting, author of 'Norwegian Wood'

Robert Penn is an author, journalist and TV presenter. Robert wrote and presented Tales from the Wild Wood, a TV series about British woodlands. He lives in a wooded valley in the Black Mountains, South Wales, with his wife, three children, two spaniels and a collection of axes.

General Fields

  • : 9780141977515
  • : Penguin Books Ltd
  • : Penguin Books Ltd
  • : December 2015
  • : United Kingdom
  • : books

Special Fields

  • : Robert Penn
  • : Paperback
  • : en
  • : 583.87
  • : 256
  • : WNP