The Man Who Made Things Out of Trees

An exuberant tale of craftsmanship for nature lovers and rugged outdoor types everywhere 
 
Robert Penn cut down an ash tree to see how many things could be made from it. After all, ash is the tree we have made the greatest and most varied use of over the course of human history. Journeying from Wales across Europe and Ireland to the USA, Robert finds that the ancient skills and knowledge of the properties of ash, developed over millennia making wheels and arrows, furniture and baseball bats, are far from dead. The book chronicles how the urge to understand and appreciate trees still runs through us all like grain through wood.

There is no greater debt than that which mankind owes to trees, and Robert Penn proves this brilliantly - a highly readable account of the multitude of uses one single ash tree can provide

Beautifully crafted, [The Man Who Made Things Out of Trees ranges] freely over intellectual territory - masculinity, nostalgia, identity . . . Fascinating . . . Never have the benefits of getting your chopper out appeared more obvious

The appeal of Robert Penn's enchanting narrative extends far beyond tree enthusiasts, woodworkers and fanatic loggers like me. It is a book-lover's feast. Penn's wonderful prose and compelling research put The Man who Made Things out of Trees right up there in the league with such classics as John McPhee's The Survival of the Bark Canoe

Rinker Buck, New York Times bestselling author of 'The Oregon Trail'

Penn is a fine writer, and the mix of research, reportage and personal reflection is persuasive . . . A lovely book

[An] extended tribute to the beauty and usefulness of the ash tree... A homage to vanishing skills that were once integral to the functioning of rural Britain

A beautifully figured and multicolored ode to our love affair with the invaluable Ash tree. I swooned. Penn's paean to the many uses of the Ash is so well-wrought that I am compelled to take up hurling

There's a bit of a wood theme this year, in fact, with ... Robert Penn's The Man Who Made Things Out of Trees. One can't help but wonder if all these books encouraging self-reliance and back-to-nature are signs of impending apocalypse

A eulogy to the importance of ash throughout human history . . . Fascinating

I was completely smitten . . . [A] delightful, page-turning love letter to an often-overlooked material

Often wry and always interesting . . . A passionate love letter to the ash tree

A delight to read . . . Penn's writing is poetic . . . [The Man Who Made Things Out of Trees] speaks to the quality of the human experience, of craftwork and making things by hand, of appreciating resourcefulness and natural beauty

This book is a great pleasure to read . . . I defy anyone to read this and not want their own collection of natural and unique objects to connect our daily lives back to the natural woodland which once covered the country

The Pursuit of Happiness On Two Wheels

It's All About the Bike

Robert Penn's It's All About the Bike: The Pursuit of Happiness on Two Wheels is a paean to the humble bike; it's the story of why we ride, and why this simple machine holds the power to transport us all. 
 
 Robert Penn has ridden a bike most days of his life. He rides to get to work, to bathe in air and sunshine, to stay sane and to feel free. This is the story of his love affair with cycling and the journey to build his dream bike; a freewheeling pilgrimage taking him from Californian mountain bike inventors to British artisan frame builders, and from perfect components to the path of true happiness. 
 
 'A gem of a book ... a joy' &amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;Economist 
 
 'Infectious, exhilarating, highly engaging' &amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;Independent 
 
 'Be swept along by Penn's enthusiasm, humour and refreshing candour' &amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;Sunday Telegraph 
 
 'Enriches your enjoyment of a ride' &amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;Sunday Times 
 
 'As a depiction of a world you might vote for, Penn's does not sound bad at all' &amp;nbsp;&amp;nbsp;Observer 
 
 Robert Penn writes for the Financial Times, Observer and Condé Nast Traveller, as well as a host of cycling publications. He is the author of The Wrong Kind of Snow. Robert lives in the Black Mountains, South Wales with his wife and three children and commutes to work across a heather moor on a mountain bike.

Penn writes with a Bill-Brysonesque facility for concentrating a lot of information and research into an easy-to-read ... Best of all ... his account enriches your enjoyment of a ride

Fantastic ... Well worth a read if, like me, you love cycling!

Artfully, Penn turns his quest for hardware ... into a worldwide spin around cycling and its culture

The pages overflow with pioneers, mavericks and geniuses - certainly, it is hard to imagine anyone who reads this book being able to buy a bike "off the peg" again

I've just spent a week pedalling slowly from Windermere to Aviemore with a copy of Penn's zealous eulogy in my pannier. His infectious admiration for the exhilarating sociability of cycling, coupled with reverence for quality craftsmanship, made highly engaging company ... appreciate the wit and enthusiasm of this unusual odyssey

Penn tells us that the bicycle, as we know it, was invented in 1885 and is the most efficient form of transport ever devised... A joyful book

Bike-lit is booming, and while 'cross-country hardtail' might not have the same ring to it as 'penny-farthing', there's evidently little to do with cycling about which Robert Penn can't wax lyrical. Whether his subject is spokes or saddle sores, he is relentlessly enthusiastic... Penn's amiability is puncture-proof

[H]is adrenalin-charged enthusiasm... delivers a good ride... The social history is snappy and his almost religious quest for ultimate craftsmanship full of wit.

The bicycle is one of mankind's greatest inventions - and the most popular form of transport in history. Robert Penn has ridden one most days of his adult life. In his late 20s, he pedalled 40,000 kilometres around the world. Yet, like cyclists everywhere, the utilitarian bikes he currently owns don't even hint at this devotion. Robert needs a new bike, a bespoke machine that reflects how he feels when he's riding it - like an ordinary man touching the gods. 
 
It's All About the Bike is the story of a journey to design and build a dream bike. En route, Robert explores the culture, science and history of the bicycle. From Stoke-on-Trent, where an artisan hand builds his frame, to California, home of the mountain bike, where Robert tracks down the perfect wheels, via Portland, Milan and Coventry, birthplace of the modern bicycle, this is the narrative of our love affair with cycling. It's a tale of perfect components - parts that set the standard in reliability, craftsmanship and beauty. It tells how the bicycle has changed the course of human history, from the invention of the 'people's nag' to its role in the emancipation of women, and from the engineering marvel of the tangent-spoked wheel to the enduring allure of the Tour de France. It's the story of why we ride, and why this simple machine remains central to life today.

Robert Penn

Slow Rise

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