The Longbow, the Schooner & the Violin: Wood and Human Achievement
The English longbow, made of rare yew wood, unmatched for accuracy, speed of fire, and deadliness, shifted Europe’s balance of power in the Middle Ages. Schooners, those “able handsome ladies” of the sea, inaugurated a new era of global trade, carrying high-value cargoes of tea and spice to Europe and America with unmatched speed and reliability. The violin, individual examples of which have personalities and histories as brilliant as the performers who play them, brought Western music to the pinnacle of expressiveness. These three iconic artifacts exemplify the inventive ways human ingenuity has employed wood - one of our most extraordinary natural substances - to change its culture and history. In this sweeping and beautifully-written history, award-winning author Marq de Villiers explores our relationship with wood, from ancient times to the present, from the forest to the workshop. Wood, he writes, has always been an essential companion to human development, and its most remarkable applications may still be ahead.
"1141101751"
The Longbow, the Schooner & the Violin: Wood and Human Achievement
The English longbow, made of rare yew wood, unmatched for accuracy, speed of fire, and deadliness, shifted Europe’s balance of power in the Middle Ages. Schooners, those “able handsome ladies” of the sea, inaugurated a new era of global trade, carrying high-value cargoes of tea and spice to Europe and America with unmatched speed and reliability. The violin, individual examples of which have personalities and histories as brilliant as the performers who play them, brought Western music to the pinnacle of expressiveness. These three iconic artifacts exemplify the inventive ways human ingenuity has employed wood - one of our most extraordinary natural substances - to change its culture and history. In this sweeping and beautifully-written history, award-winning author Marq de Villiers explores our relationship with wood, from ancient times to the present, from the forest to the workshop. Wood, he writes, has always been an essential companion to human development, and its most remarkable applications may still be ahead.
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The Longbow, the Schooner & the Violin: Wood and Human Achievement

The Longbow, the Schooner & the Violin: Wood and Human Achievement

by Marq de Villiers
The Longbow, the Schooner & the Violin: Wood and Human Achievement

The Longbow, the Schooner & the Violin: Wood and Human Achievement

by Marq de Villiers

eBook

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Overview

The English longbow, made of rare yew wood, unmatched for accuracy, speed of fire, and deadliness, shifted Europe’s balance of power in the Middle Ages. Schooners, those “able handsome ladies” of the sea, inaugurated a new era of global trade, carrying high-value cargoes of tea and spice to Europe and America with unmatched speed and reliability. The violin, individual examples of which have personalities and histories as brilliant as the performers who play them, brought Western music to the pinnacle of expressiveness. These three iconic artifacts exemplify the inventive ways human ingenuity has employed wood - one of our most extraordinary natural substances - to change its culture and history. In this sweeping and beautifully-written history, award-winning author Marq de Villiers explores our relationship with wood, from ancient times to the present, from the forest to the workshop. Wood, he writes, has always been an essential companion to human development, and its most remarkable applications may still be ahead.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781989555774
Publisher: Sutherland House Books
Publication date: 05/30/2022
Sold by: Barnes & Noble
Format: eBook
Pages: 872
Sales rank: 595,120
File size: 655 KB

About the Author

Born in South Africa, Marq de Villiers is the author of nine books on exploration, history, politics, and travel, including Water: The Fate of Our Most Precious Resource, which won the Governor General’s Award for Non-Fiction. He was made a member of the Order of Canada in 2010.

Table of Contents

Introduction ix

Part 1 The Longbow 1

Part 2 The Invention of Trees 47

Before forests 49

Trees, root and branch 57

Extreme trees 64

Life in the forest 73

Are trees communitarian? 81

Part 3 The Schooner 97

Part 4 Deep in the Forest 129

The forest family 131

People of the forest 159

Wood and its uses 168

Best woods for fine furniture 181

Prodigious wood 190

Part 5 The Violin 199

Part 6 Hazards and Opportunities 251

Forests in danger 253

Forests on fire 265

Managing forests 279

The future of trees 291

Engineered wood 297

Afterword 306

Bibliography 308

Notes 312

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