"You'll never make it!" With encouragement like that, author Mickey Thomas, in a fit of youthful testosterone, and with meticulous inattention to detail, decided to embark on a once-in-a lifetime 3,400 mile bicycle trek from Montana to Alaska. While riding through knee problems, illness, homesickness, infatuation, bad weather, and meeting a host of quirky and hilarious characters, Mickey, and his group rides over some of the roughest roads and most desolate scenery in North America. Along ...

I Am Stahhvin'! is the first within a collection of short story memoirs written by first time author, Mickey Thomas. She provides transparency about hardships and heart ache that left her yearning for more in life. From early age marriage to a surprising stint in jail, this collection of memoirs is a helpful reminder to stay steadfast on your journey towards finding life's purpose.

Named one of “the year’s best gardening books” by The Spectator (UK, Nov. 2014)The 1890s saw a revolution in advertising. Cheap paper, faster printing, rural mail delivery, railroad shipping, and chromolithography combined to pave the way for the first modern, mass-produced catalogs. The most prominent of these, reaching American households by the thousands, were seed and nursery catalogs with beautiful pictures of middle-class homes surrounded by sprawlin...

A nineteenth-century entrepreneur’s bold, innovative marketing helped transform flower gardens into one of America’s favorite hobbies.“There is much that is hard and productive of sorrow in this sin-plagued world of ours; and, had we no flowers, I believe existence would be hard to be borne.” So states a customer’s 1881 letter—one of thousands James Vick regularly received. Vick’s business, selling flower seeds through the mail, wasn’t unique, but it was wildly suc...

For readers of H is for Hawk and The Frozen Thames, The Ghost Orchard is award-winning author Helen Humphreys’ fascinating journey into the secret history of an iconic food. Delving deep into the storied past of the apple in North America, Humphreys explores the intricate link between agriculture, settlement, and human relationships. With her signature insight and exquisite prose, she brings light to such varied topics as how the apple first came across the Atlan...

Henry Petroski traces the origins of the pencil back to ancient Greece and Rome, writes factually and charmingly about its development over the centuries and around the world, and shows what the pencil can teach us about engineering and technology today.

This history of woodworking hand tools from the 17th to the 20th century is one of a very gradual evolution of tools through generations of craftsmen. As a result, the sources of changes in design are almost impossible to ascertain.Published sources, moreover, have been concerned primarily with the object shaped by the tool rather than the tool itself. The resulting scarcity of information is somewhat compensated for by collections in museums and restorations. In this paper, the au...

The Shakers produced many incredible furniture objects that we continue to venerate today. For the woodworker the fascination is often rooted in the essential simplicity of the work. Interest in Shaker design is as strong today as it was when the first edition of this book was published in 1977, possibly stronger. This ongoing interest is the direct result of the inherent beauty of Shaker design-beauty that stems not only from form, but from superb workmanship, a commitment to utility and ...

For more than twenty-five years, Roy Underhill has taught the techniques of traditional hand-tool woodworking. In six books and on his popular, long-running PBS series, The Woodwright’s Shop, America’s leading authority on old-time woodcraft has inspired millions to take up chisel and plane.This new Omnibus Ebook brings together the final three books into another collection of Woodwright classics. Designed for both woodworking novices and for more seasoned woodworkers look...

Praise for the first edition:"An indispensable guide for those who make art out of the contrast between light and dark. And, it's a sheer pleasure for everyone else, thanks to its many wonderful illustrations."-- Artsforum"Walker's instruction is so clear and well organized that this handbook is perfect for the beginner."-- American ArtistThe history of woodcuts goes back more than a thousand years. Working carefully a...

Marbles evoke memories of childhood and simpler times; perhaps this is why they are collected with such enthusiasm! Marble fans won't want to go without this fantastic reference, which has been the standard collecting guide since its first publication nearly 35 years ago. Collecting Antique Marbles not only provides up-to-date pricing information, it provides collecting tips and advice on the hobby every collector should know.This long-awaited 4th edition provides a full-c...

The story of the chicken traces the interactions of cultures around the globe. From Southeast Asia 8,000 years ago, chickens spread to ancient China and Japan, the Middle East, Europe during the rise and fall of the Roman Empire, and, from there, the world. Today, chickens fuel our poultry meat and egg industry. They also inspire the time-honored tradition of poultry exhibition and, increasingly, can be found in the backyards of folks who yearn for a simpler time. The Field Guide to Chicke...