Overview

Behold the mighty chainsaw and discover its history, its influence, and its people Considered the most powerful of all hand tools, the chainsaw has been vital to contemporary life in ways large, small, and sometimes surprising since it first came on the market in the 1940s. In Chainsaw Love, author James Card celebrates this formidable implement in unflinching style, sharing stories and reflections about the world of chainsaws and the people who use and appreciate them. Card describes the personal freedom that comes from harvesting your own trees for firewood and introduces readers to lumberjack competitors, hot-saw builders, and the sculpture carvers who take sawing to new heights. Chainsaw Love asserts the key role chainsaws play in clearing the right-of-way for powerlines to keep the electrical grid humming; in forestry and conservation efforts to maintain desirable ecosystems; and in the sciences, where ecologists and astronomers use chainsaws to age trees for scientific research. Card also considers the chainsaw's place in pop culture, from movies to rock songs to presidential photo ops. Readers of Chainsaw Love will discover the lore and terminology of forests and wood cutting-- widow makers and windthrows, witness trees and barber chairs, pumpkin pine, devil's forks, cat faces, and schoolmarms. Additionally, the book offers insights into chainsaw variations and parts, guidelines for saw care and maintenance, safety recommendations, and other hard-won tips and tricks. Dozens of photos from the field, as well as helpful diagrams, add to readers' understanding of the saw's evolution and modern use. Part homage, part social history, and part field guide, Chainsaw Love is the perfect book for chainsaw users of all stripes--from loggers to conservationists, woodworkers to weekend cabin-dwellers--and anyone curious about this magnificent and underappreciated machine.

Full Product Details

9781976600494

Table of Contents

Reviews

""Anyone who loves chainsaws will be absolutely enthralled with this book. As a former climber for tree companies, I know my way around a chainsaw, but I still learned a huge amount. Card is a very fine writer, and the book is a love letter, a practical guide, and a deep history. I tore through it like a spy novel.""--Sebastian Junger, New York Times bestselling author of The Perfect Storm and In My Time of Dying ""Chainsaw Love is the ideal gift for that person in your life who, right now, is in his or her shop, sharpening the teeth of a chainsaw, or better yet, cutting up that fallen oak limb for next winter's firewood. This book is written with real adulation and respect for one of the planet's most revolutionary tools. Here's to hoping that Chainsaw Love joins Lars Mytting's Norwegian Wood as an essential book for any outdoorsperson.""--Nickolas Butler, author of Shotgun Lovesongs and A Forty Year Kiss ""As a longtime chainsaw industry journalist and tree farmer, I was impressed with the absolute accuracy of Mr. Card's review of chain saw history, technology, and operational guidelines. Upon this background, he explores a number of interesting and unusual chainsaw applications; each one garnished with fascinating tales of the chainsaw practitioners involved. Chainsaw Love offers a wealth of information for the chainsaw enthusiast, and intriguing discoveries for any outdoorsman.""--Ken Morrison, past editor of Chain Saw Age

Author Information

James Card has written for The New York Times, Rolling Stone, Foreign Policy, and other national publications. He is the only journalist in history to have stories about ice fishing and deer hunting on the front page of The New York Times. Between stints as a magazine editor and a journalist, Card worked as a line-clearance tree faller. He is the author of The Dawn Patrol Diaries, recounting his experiences as South Korea's only fly-fishing guide. He lives in central Wisconsin and cuts firewood with a chainsaw throughout the year.

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