The Ax Book is a thorough guide to cutting wood with hand tools. The author explains how to use various types of axes, hatchets, mauls, saws and wedges to take down trees and prepare firewood. In addition he shows every aspect of dealing with wood from the forest right to the hearth or stove. Author, Dudley Cook, of Waterboro, Maine, tells the reader a certain amount about himself. He has evidently worked in the woods a great deal, having learned to use an ax and the other tools of the woodsman as a boy growing up in a small New England town in the 1930s. He doesn't say whether, in writing The Ax Book, he found he had taken on a longer journey than he had expected; but if so, he was equal to the task, and his reader gain by the bargain. Illustrations are by S. Lawrence WhipplePaperback 144 pages, 8.50"x 11" "A remarkable piece of work...illustrations are similar to Eric Sloane's, and like Sloane's they present pictures in clearest detail..." -- Dirk van Loon, Rural Delivery, Liverpool, N.S., Canada "Cook packs his cook with vivid, entertaining anecdotes from a lifetime of experience." -- Bud Leavitt, Bangor, ME, Daily News "Praise of Cook's treatment of saws cannot be complete without mention of the superb line drawings of S. Lawrence Whipple." -- Roy C. Gunter, Jr. Southbridge, Mass., News "The Ax Book tells you how to use an ax safely and efficiently for every task it can perform..." -- from the Foreword by Castle Freeman It is a guide to axmanship, tree-felling, splitting, and storing wood...covers species, heating value, and handling what you've harvested. -- Back Home Originally published in 1981 by Universe Books as "Keeping Warm with an Ax, " The Ax Book is a thorough guide to cutting wood with hand tools. Although it is one of man's most ancient tools, the ax remains the standard tool of the woodman, and has been brought to a high degree of perfection. The author explains how to use various types of axes, hatchets, mauls, saws and wedges to take down trees and prepare firewood. In addition he shows every aspect of dealing with wood from the forest right to the hearth or stove. Throughout recorded time, the ax has been a principle tool for carving out from the wilderness the homes, farms, and roads so necessary to the advance of civilization. Even today, those who use chainsaws and other power equipment still need to be familiar with the hand tools of their craft. In many situations, only a hand-ax will suffice for the felling of trees, the rough shaping of lumber, the creation of firewood, and clearing out the nooks and crannies of forested areas for other purposes -- including the planting of new trees. Cook's The Ax Book is an ideal "how to" manual of instruction enhanced with the illustrations of Whipple to provide what is simply the best introductory guide to the subject available to readers today. The Ax Book is a "must" for anyone needing to use a hand ax for any purpose, under any circumstances. The ax is an indispensable tool for every woodsman. Even those who use chainsaws and other power equipment need to be familiar with the hand tools of their craft. In many situations, nothing will do but an ax. This book has been proven to be an ideal resource for anyone who wishes to fell trees and take lumber or firewood from the forest. D. Cook bought his first ax at age 14 from a Sears Roebuck catalog. He was educated at Boston University School of Business. During World War II he joined the Marine Corps and fought with distinction in the Pacific theater on both Guam and Okinawa. He lives in Waterboro, Maine. Used Book in Good Condition