The Beginner's Handbook of Woodcarving

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View books by Charles Beiderman, William Johnston.

Uninspiring - Rated
The old saying that you should never judge a book by it's cover does not apply here. The simple, cartoon-ish line drawings on the cover represent the general standard of the content in terms of both narrative and illustration. The poor quality black and white photographs do nothing to enhance the appeal of the uninspiring finished articles.
The book is aimed squarely at the american market and contains no references to associations, suppliers etc. outside the U.S. - the language used also contains many coloquialisms, nouns and adjectives which may not be readily understandable by readers in the UK.
That apart, the writing of this book is clearly an exercise in self-indulgence, for instance there are many passages of lengthy and irrelevant ruminations and anecdotes on life in general, and how it would be much richer if only we could all carve wood.
The authors promote the conceited opinion that woodcarving is the epitome of creative art, however the book does nothing to support this view.