Chainsaw Love: Field Notes on the World's Most Dynamic Power Tool
Considered the most powerful of all hand tools, the chainsaw has been vital to contemporary life in ways large, small, and sometimes surprising since it first came on the market in the 1940s. In his engrossing new book, Chainsaw Love: Field Notes on the World’s Most Dynamic Power Tool, author James Card celebrates this formidable implement, sharing stories and reflections about the world of chainsaws and the people who use and appreciate them.
Considered the most powerful of all hand tools, the chainsaw has been vital to contemporary life in ways large, small, and sometimes surprising since it first came on the market in the 1940s. In his engrossing new book, Chainsaw Love: Field Notes on the World’s Most Dynamic Power Tool, author James Card celebrates this formidable implement, sharing stories and reflections about the world of chainsaws and the people who use and appreciate them.
In his unflinching, entertaining style, Card introduces readers to lumberjack competitors, hot-saw builders, and the sculpture carvers who take sawing to new heights. He asserts the key role
chainsaws play in clearing the right-of-way for powerlines to keep the electrical grid humming; in fore try and conservation efforts to maintain desirable ecosystems; and in the sciences, where
ecologists use chainsaws to age trees for scientific research. Card also considers the chainsaw’s place in pop culture, from movies to rock songs to presidential photo ops.
Readers of Chainsaw Love will discover the lore and terminology of forests and wood cutting, insights into chainsaw variations and parts, guidelines for saw care and maintenance, safety recommendations, and other hard-won tips and tricks. Dozens of photos from the field, as well as helpful diagrams, add to readers’ understanding of the saw’s evolution and modern use.
Part homage, part social history, and part field guide, Chainsaw Love is the perfect book for chainsaw users of all stripes and anyone curious about this magnificent and underappreciated machine.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
James Card has written for The New York Times, Rolling Stone, Foreign Policy, and other national publications. He is the only journalist in history to have stories about ice fishing and deer hunting on the front page of The New York Times. Between stints as a magazine editor and a journalist, Card worked as a line-clearance tree faller. He is the author of The Dawn Patrol Diaries, recounting his experiences as South Korea’s only fly-fishing guide. He lives in central Wisconsin and cuts firewood with a chainsaw throughout the year.
