BOOK REVIEWS

Woodworking has come a long way in the past hundred years. No longer the closely-guarded domain of exclusive guilds, wood craftsmanship has become a vital and popular activity for generations of hobbyists, homeowners, professional furnituremakers and artisans. In the absence of an apprenticeship system, the woodworkers of today learn most of what they know from books and magazines, and, more recently, from Internet forums and chat rooms like WoodCentral.

As woodworking's popularity has increased in recent years, so has the number of books on every imaginable woodworking topic. Amidst this profusion (confusion?) of new titles, it can be difficult to decide which books are worthy of our personal bookshelves. So, WoodCentral is proud to present our Books Department, dedicated to helping you sort through the bewildering lineup of wonderful and arcane woodworking information in print today, from classics to the latest offerings.

At the moment, we have quite a selection book reviews uploaded for your enlightenment -- contributed for the most part by Barb Siddiqui, an avid woodworker and literary aficionado -- along with several essential book lists compiled by John Kelsey, veteran woodworking editor. And, the latest addition to our treasure trove of book info is Robert R. Clough's excellent list of personal favorites, selected expressly for the amateur woodworker.