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Listening to Stone | 
 enlarge | Author: Dan Snow
Creator: Peter Mauss
Publisher: Artisan
Category: Book
List Price: $23.95
Buy New: $15.95
You Save: $8.00 (33%)
New (9) Used (4) Collectible (1) from $15.00
Avg. Customer Rating:  42 reviews
Sales Rank: 46017
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 145
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.5
Dimensions (in): 9.5 x 6.7 x 0.8
ISBN: 1579653715
Dewey Decimal Number: 779.36
EAN: 9781579653712
ASIN: 1579653715
Publication Date: November 1, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
A master craftsman provides us with the timeless wisdom he has gained from heaving and hewing stone.
In his highly anticipated second book, Vermonter Dan Snow once again proves that he is not just one of America's premier artisans, but also one of our most articulate voices on the natural world and our relationship to it. Snow's medium is stone: He is the nation's premier drystone wall builder. Schooled in this ancient craft, he painstakingly creates structures as breathtaking as sculpture with nothing but gravity as their glue. In Listening to Stone, Peter Mauss's tactile photographs of Snow's artistry are matched by the artisan's quietly compelling prose.
In a voice as expressive as Annie Dillard's and as informed as John McPhee's, Snow demonstrates astonishing range as he touches on such subjects as geology, philosophy, and community. We learn that stone's grace comes from its unique characteristics—its capacity to give, its surprising fluidity, its ability to demand respect, and its role as a steadying force in nature. In these fast-paced times, Snow’s life's work offers an antidote: the luxury of patience, the bounty and quietude of nature, the satisfaction of sweat. "I work with stone," he ultimately tells us, "because stone is so much work."
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| Customer Reviews: Read 37 more reviews...
 Listening to Stone ...(with a hearing heart) January 7, 2009
Dan Snow is a rare bird, a genuine Renaissance man. He is humbly engaged in one rare and rugged profession; that of a stone mason -constructing incredible sculptures out of massive walls of rocks he finds near his worksites throughout New England. The raw physicality and organic beauty of what he does is magnificently captured by Peter Mauss's photos in this book, but THAT is not even the tip of impressiveness! The book is simply a great read. Dan writes from the soul, poetically and with humor. Listening to Stone makes you hear as well as understand this lost art in its most natural of forms. You'll think differently after this book about the next stonework you ever see.
 What an unusual book December 23, 2008
Stone is timeless.
Rocks placed by human hands.
Inspiration to make a pile of rocks and stones.
This is a book on making your mark with stone and appreciating how others have done this for ages.
Very inspiring. I paid a visit to my local stone supplier shortly after reading this.
Wonderful and Engaging. Recommended. December 23, 2008
Wonderful and engaging, this book is a sweet and lyrical exploration of working with Stone. It's part storybook, part travelogue, part picture book. So many good things, all in one.
If you have any interest in artists who work with their hands, in forming Stone sculptures, if you have any interest at all in unconventional art - this is the book for you.
It is not a how-to book, but more of a "look what I did and why"... and the results are wonderful. The writing is beautiful and the book is peppered with photographs and drawings throughout.
This is a master artist sharing his craft and his love for what he does. It's a cherished ode to something bigger than all of us. It's a wonder to read and to experience.
Highly recommended.
Stone masons or those that just admire masonry may find the book inspirational December 23, 2008
Well-done stonework is impressive and should stand the test of time. The beauty of well-placed stones shows us how nature can be changed from chaos to order. Even if one has some admiration for such work, when one knows the full extent of the labor and skill needed to produce such a work, this appreciation only increases. Dan Snow's Listening to Stone gives one exactly this type of insight.
Dan Snow's creations with stone are amazing. This book has photographs of breathtaking stonework that is more than just stone walls (but it has some of that too). Dan's shows us his dry stone work (no mortar involved), which are mostly located in Vermont. His creations range from functional to artistic.
Although the book doesn't show us exactly how to build similar work, it does give a general idea how it was done and tells the story behind the creation. I have to say Listening to Stone is more of a book that would inspire stone builders than one that has step-by-step instructions. Stone masons with some experience or those that just admire masonry may find the book inspirational. Those with less experience working with stone and want to learn more may find a few parts helpful but Listening to Stone doesn't have the basic details amateurs need to get started.
Listening to Stone is well written. It tells the stories behind each of the creations and the words in his stories are just like well placed stone in one of his creations. Although it may seem hard to imagine a book about stone work to be such a literary piece, Listening to Stone made just such an impression on me.
Delving Tussling Gathering December 23, 2008
Handsome book with many straight forward photographs of stone built projects. Nonosense writing manner concerned with construction of and working with stone. Every project has a story. Not a NEw Age tome with allegorical concerns, this is strictly, working with stone and what beauty can be wrought and allowed.
You will also find out the meaning of gathering, delving, and tussling stone.
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