- Hardcover: 320 pages
- Publisher: W. W. Norton & Co. (16 Aug 2005)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0393047733
- ISBN-13: 978-0393047738
- Product Dimensions: 21.3 x 14 x 3 cm
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 994,755 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
Oak: The Frame of Civilization
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More About the Author
Product Description
Product Description
The oak tree is found throughout the temperate zones of the world; knowing how to use it has made an astonishing difference to human history. Acorn-eating has sustained humans and animals; oak has been central to religious rites, heating, homemaking and travel by land and sea; the ink from oak galls advanced the written word; oak casks have made possible food and drink storage and transport; oak ships have fought the dramatic naval battles that determined political and economic history. William Briant Logan combines science, philosophy, spirituality and history with a quirky curiosity about why the natural world works the way it does. In lively literary prose, he narrates the biography of the tree that since time immemorial has been a symbol of loyalty and strength, generosity and renewal.
About the Author
William Bryant Logan is a certified arborist and award-winning writer. He previously wrote a column for the New York Times and contributed to numerous gardening magazines.
Inside This Book
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First Sentence
TREES ARE THE tallest, most massive, and longest-lived creatures on earth. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
TREES ARE THE tallest, most massive, and longest-lived creatures on earth. Read the first page
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Concordance
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Amazon.com:
14 reviews
14 of 15 people found the following review helpful
Fascinating
5 May 2006
Format:Hardcover
This is a book that I would have liked to have written myself! It is a wonderful tale about the place of oaks throughout civilization. I found the linking of so many European family names to oaks and other trees very fascinating. The descriptions of the wooden structures, coppicing, early inks, acorns as food, oaks as foundation for many early technologies, and many other details brought a richness to the history of our ancestors and the beginnings of civilization. I live in an oak-hickory region of the eastern U.S., and this book has given me a greater appreciation of our national treasure.
16 of 19 people found the following review helpful
recommended
14 Aug 2005
Format:Hardcover
i found this book well written, easy to read and full of interesting aspects. i must admit that the section on using oak to build with that got into the details of cuts and joints was a bit hard to follow but all in all i now understand and appreciate the value and importance of the oak to civilization. so i encourage and recommend this very enjoyable book.
16 of 20 people found the following review helpful
So Rich
1 Aug 2005
Format:Hardcover
This book is a wonder-full exploration of the lives of Oak and Us. It talks about the growth and evolvement of human beings in terms of their ability to create using oak as their medium. It is a fascinating treck through the history of our time on earth. Kudos to Bill Logan. Read it; give it to a friend. He has done it again!
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