Sermons in Stone: The Stone Walls of New England and New York
 

by Susan Allport (Author), David Howell (Illustrator)

In 1871 there were 252,539 miles of stone walls in New England and New York—enough to circle the earth ten times.
What do we actually know about these structures? About the people who built them, and why they were built? Stone walls are not simply monuments to the skill of Yankee farmers. The historical record makes clear that many were built by slaves, Indians, indentured servants, and children.

Sermons in Stone is the surprising history of the walls, a story that begins in the Ice Age and has been shaped by the fencing dilemmas of the nineteenth century, by conflicts between Native Americans and colonists over land use, by America’s waves of immigration and suburbanization. Beautifully illustrated by David Howell, this is an illuminating and entertaining work of the first rank.

Stone by Stone: The Magnificent History in New England’s Stone Walls
 

by Robert Thorson

From Publishers Weekly
"To know New England well, one must know its stone walls," writes the author of this authoritative paean to the structures he calls the "signatures of rural New England." There were once approximately 240,000 miles of stone walls in New England, and Thorson, a professor of geology and geophysics at the University of Connecticut, combines natural history and human history as he tells the story of the walls and how they were built…

Good Fences: A Pictorial History of New England’s Stone Walls

By William Hubbell

For this stunning new volume, photographer William Hubbell has turned his lens toward New England’s ubiquitous stone walls. Beginning with the basic geology of the region and why New England has so many darned rocks, he presents a chronological overview of the varying styles and methods of wall building, and includes conversations with six contemporary wall builders. The result is a surprising and refreshing look at stone walls and at the history of New England.

Exploring Stone Walls: A Field Guide to New England’s Stone Walls

by Robert M. Thorson

The only field guide to stone walls in the Northeast.

"Every stone wall is unique and every stone tells a story," says Robert M. Thorson, the author of the first field guide to historic New England stone walls– one that helps you identify and appreciate those in your yard, neighborhood, and throughout the Northeast.

Exploring Stone Walls is like being in Thorson’s geology classroom, as he presents the many clues that allow you to determine any wall’s history, age, and purpose. Thorson highlights forty-five places to see interesting and noteworthy walls, many of which are in public parks and preserves, from Acadia National Park in Maine to the South Fork of Long Island. Visit the tallest stone wall (Cliff Walk in Newport, Rhode Island), the most famous (Robert Frost’s mending wall in Derry, New Hampshire), and many more. This field guide will broaden your horizons and deepen your appreciation of New England’s rural history.

The Granite Kiss: Traditions and Techniques of Building New England Stone Walls

by Kevin Gardner , Susan Allport, & Guillermo Nunez

n this elegant, literate primer, a master stonemason imparts the fundamentals of building traditional New England dry stone walls, along with thoughts on the history, aesthetics, and philosophy of the craft of placing stone. Author Kevin Gardner defines "the granite kiss" as "that instantly discouraging, and inevitable, experience in stone work when a fingertip or two fails to escape the contact point between two large stones on the occasion of their first meeting." In this eminently readable primer on the fundamentals of placing stone, Gardner distills 25 years of experience in building and repairing New England-style dry stone walls into clear, step-by-step instructions. In addition to directions on building basic stone walls, he also demystifies steps, wells, ramps, walkways, and many other forms of dry masonry. Detailed illustrations throughout by Guillermo Nuñez bring the stonemason’s craft to life. Along the way, Gardner considers the history, aesthetics, and philosophy of placing stone in a book that will bring as much pleasure to armchair craftsmen as it does valuable instruction to the beginning wall builder. 30 black and white illustrations • Glossary • Bibliography • Index.

In the Company of Stone: The Art of the Stone Wall

By Dan Snow

Dan Snow builds stone walls without benefit of mortar or other binding material. This ancient dry-stone method is experiencing a revival, and Snow’s In the Company of Stone is full of moody photos of recent landscape projects, some of which look as if they’d been part of the scenery for centuries. Snow’s poetic commentary and a helpful appendix of design detail make for an inspiring, informative book.

Real Life Kitchens

by Lynn Peterson

This is perhaps my favorite book on Kitchen Remodeling & Design not just because it presents some great design ideas but because it is also about the process, how you need to think about the robust and detailed process of planning a kitchen remodeling project and working with your design and contracting professionals

Great Kitchens: Design Ideas from America’s Top Chefs

by Ellen Whitaker

Kitchens for Cooks : Planning Your Perfect Kitchen

by Deborah Krasner, William Stites (Photographer), John R. Paoli

The Kitchen Idea Book