Awards
- Commended for Independent Publisher Book Awards (Canada-West Nonfiction) 2007
Overview
""It rips, and cuts, it makes a horrible racket -- a chainsaw is a frightening thing. I write not to glorify its terrible power but to acknowledge its place in the most sweeping revolution that technology has wrought in the 20th century -- the revolution of individual empowerment"". So begins author David Lee in this first-ever book on the world-wide history of the chainsaw, an invention that transformed the forest industry and eventually became the indispensable companion of every red-blooded country dweller. Chainsaws, it turns out, have a curious history and since the 19th century they have taken on many forms. From 600-pound steam-powered behemoths to gas chainsaws mounted on wheeled carriages to diesel chainsaws and electric chainsaws with portable generators, this book musters a curious collection of contraptions and inventors the like of which we haven't seen since 'Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines'. Carefully tracing the evolutionary threads of countless short-lived pioneer devices, author Lee, working together with a world-wide network of chainsaw buffs, traces the roaring, woodchip-and-oil-sprayed progress of what is now a lightweight modern machine that holds a place of honour in the world's woodsheds. This is a handsome gift book full of wonderful old and new photos along with priceless chainsaw ephemera that will warm the heart of anyone who's ever held a power tool. From Andreas Stihl's Black Forest experiments to Vancouver's booming World War II chainsaw industry, to the post-war race to develop one-man saws, the rise and fall of Canada's proud Pioneer brand, and the late entry into the field of the centuries-old arms manufacturer Husqvarna, it examines why the chainsaw is no good for massacres (in Texas or elsewhere), and why it is unlikely to replaced by any new high-tech inventions such as lasers.
Full Product Details
Author: David Neil Lee
Publisher: Harbour Publishing
Imprint: Harbour Publishing
Dimensions:
Width: 26.00cm
, Height: 1.80cm
, Length: 28.50cm
Weight: 1.250kg
ISBN: 9781550173802
ISBN 10: 1550173804
Pages: 216
Publication Date: 18 January 2007
Audience:
Professional and scholarly
,
Professional & Vocational
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Out of Print
Availability: In Print
Limited stock is available. It will be ordered for you and shipped pending supplier's limited stock.
Reviews
This book fills a gap in recording the history of the chainsaw - its purchase will answer many questiona nyone even remotely interested in chainsaws never considered asking, and for the chainsaw enthusiast it will probably be the only book they ever need, or indeed be able to find. -- Vintage Tractor August 2009
""This book fills a gap in recording the history of the chainsaw - its purchase will answer many questiona nyone even remotely interested in chainsaws never considered asking, and for the chainsaw enthusiast it will probably be the only book they ever need, or indeed be able to find."" -- Vintage Tractor August 2009
Author Information
David Neil Lee is one of Canada's most distinctive contemporary authors, known for The Battle of the Five Spot: Ornette Coleman and the New York Jazz Field, Stopping Time: Paul Bley and the Transformation of Jazz and the novel Commander Zero; davidneillee.com
