The Granite Kiss: Traditions and Techniques of Building New England Stone Walls [B1449]

2003 PB in nice clean condition. In this elegant, literate primer, a master stonemason imparts the fundamentals of building traditional New England-style dry (unmortared) stone walls, along with thoughts on the history, aesthetics, and philosophy of the craft of placing stone. In this eminently readable primer on the fundamentals of placing stone, Kevin Gardner distills 25 years of experience in building and repairing New England-style dry stone walls into principles and practices that are adaptable to a wide variety of designs and circumstances. In addition to directions on building basic stone walls, he also demystifies steps, wells, ramps, walkways, and may other forms of dry masonry. Gardner also discusses the philosophy behind the repair and restoration of old walls, and gives the beginning wall builder ways to think about the place of the stone wall within the landscape. Along the way, Gardner considers the mythology of the stone wall and its place in the New England imagination. And he explores the history, philosophy, and aesthetics of working with stone in a book that will bring as much pleasure to armchair craftsmen as it will valuable instruction to the beginning wall builder. Selected as one of 2001's Best Gift Books by The Times of Trenton, New Jersey; one of the 50 best nonfiction books of 2001 by the Christian Science Monitor. 22 black & white illustrations, glossary, bibliography, index.

From recent-ish Amazon/GoodReads reviews: "I heard Kevin Gardner speak at the Lawrence Barn in Hollis a few months ago. He's a true Renaissance Man! If you want to learn how to build a stone wall, this is your book. If you want to read a well-written book by a man with a great sense of humor, this is also your book. Thank you, Kevin!"; "Great book, explaining the history, hows, and whys of building New England-style stone walls. Gave it to a friend who is building stone walls and he's enjoying it. The only thing I would like is if the book had more illustrations."; "Really informative, very cool to dial in on history and how to build dry stone walls.

As I have 100s of feet of walls on my property, it is great to see them in a new light"; "You may think an instructive book on building a stone wall would be very dry, however this work is very easy to read. Some technique, some philosophy and generally just a fun book to read. You won't learn everything but you will have a great base of how to prepare yourself, both physically and more important mentally, for building a stone wall. Looking forward to more from Kevin Gardner."