Illustrated story of the revolution of the axe and its varied uses with photos from the author's collection and museums. Identifies the great variety of North American axes, dating from the Colonial period to the present. Detailed drawings and diagrams of construction and production of basic types of axes are also pictured, along with a list of all known American axe manufacturers since the 18th century, and notes on the care of axes.

From bronze axes of the Viking conquests to the American homesteader’s felling axe, this is a tool that has shaped human history like few others. American Axe pays tribute to this iconic instrument of settlement and industry, with rich history, stunning photography, and profiles of the most collectible vintage axes such as The Woodslasher, Keen Cutter, and True Temper Perfect. Combining his experiences as a forester, axe collector, and former competitive lumberjack, author Brett McLeod conveys the allure of this deceptively simple woodcutting implement and celebrates the resurging interest in its story and use.

This “masterful epic” spans decades and oceans from Trinidad to the American frontier during the tumultuous days of westward expansion (Publishers Weekly). Trinidad, 1796. Young Rosa Rendón quietly rebels against the life others expect her to lead. Bright, competitive, and opinionated, she does not intend to cook and keep house, for it is obvious her talents lie in running the farm she views as her birthright. But when her homeland changes from Spanish to British rule, the fate of free black property owners—Rosa’s family among them—is suddenly jeopardized. By 1830, Rosa is living among the Crow Nation in Bighorn, Montana, with her children and her husband, Edward Rose, a Crow chief. Her son Victor is of the age where he must seek his vision and become a man. But his path forward is blocked by secrets Rosa has kept from him. So Rosa must take him to where his story began and, in turn, retrace her own roots. Along the way, she must acknowledge the painful events that forced her from the middle of an ocean to the rugged terrain of a far-away land. A Booklist Editor’s Choice Book of the Year

"A detailed, original and persuasive reading of cultural and intellectual history."—Los Angeles Times. "A genuine tour de force."—San Francisco Chronicle.

On a last run, Tor teaches his nephew, Tristal, the Shumai axeman ways, but Tristal must survive deadly encounters, endure a seductive captivity, and suffer enslavement before he masters the axeman's skill. Reprint.

"At the close of this century of creativity and discovery, humanists and scientists alike wonder: How could human beings in all their brilliance - those "axemakers" with the genius to invent, lead, inspire, heal, design - have brought the world to the brink of destruction?" "The answers can be found in The Axemaker's Gift, an imaginative and brilliantly informed double-edged history of human culture. James Burke, a leading expert on the interaction of technology and society, and Robert Ornstein, a pioneer in charting the evolution of consciousness, show how the interaction between innovation and the brain has continually reshaped the world and, more important, the way we think."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved