Chainsaws: A History | 
| Author: David Lee
Creators: Mike Acres, Chain Saw Collectors Corner
Publisher: Harbour Pub Co
Category: Book
List Price: $44.95
Buy New: $28.03
You Save: $16.92 (38%)
New (29) Used (9) from $23.86
Avg. Customer Rating:  6 reviews
Sales Rank: 133613
Format: Illustrated
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 216
Shipping Weight (lbs): 2.7
Dimensions (in): 11.1 x 10.1 x 0.9
ISBN: 1550173804
Dewey Decimal Number: 608
EAN: 9781550173802
ASIN: 1550173804
Publication Date: December 1, 2006
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Shipping: International shipping available
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Product Description
"Winner of the 2007 Award for Best Non-Fiction Book from Arts Hamilton
Winner of US Magazine Independent Publisher's IPPY Award for Best Western Canadian Regional Title"
"It rips, and cuts, it makes a horrible racket--a chainsaw is a frightening thing. I write not to glorify its terrible power but to acknowledge its place in the most sweeping revolution that technology has wrought in the 20th century--the revolution of individual empowerment."
So begins author David Lee in this first-ever book on the worldwide history of the chainsaw, an invention that transformed the forest industry and eventually became the indispensable companion of every red-blooded country dweller. Chainsaws, it turns out, have a curious history and since the 19th century they have taken on many forms. From 600-pound steam-powered behemoths to gas chainsaws mounted on wheeled carriages to diesel chainsaws and electric chainsaws with portable generators, this book musters a curious collection of contraptions and inventors the like of which we haven't seen since "Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines," Carefully tracing the evolutionary threads of countless short-lived pioneer devices, author Lee, working together with a worldwide network of chainsaw buffs, traces the roaring, woodchip-and-oil-sprayed progress of what is now a lightweight modern machine that holds a place of honour in the world's woodsheds.
"Chainsaws" is a handsome gift book full of wonderful old and new photos along with priceless chainsaw ephemera that will warm the heart of anyone who's ever held a power tool. From Andreas Stihl's Black Forest experiments to Vancouver's booming WWII chainsaw industry, to the postwar raceto develop one-man saws, the rise and fall of Canada's proud Pioneer brand, and the late entry into the field of the centuries-old arms manufacturer Husqvarna, it examines why the chainsaw is no good for massacres (in Texas or elsewhere), and why it is unlikely to replaced by any new high-tech inventions such as lasers.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 1 more reviews...
 Perfect book for chainsaw enthusiasts! June 21, 2008
What do you get for the dad who has everything but is irrationally obsessed with chainsaws? Well I got him this book and it was perfect. It is organized by brand, which is helpful for enthusiasts who tend to collect a certain type of chainsaw. Anyway, HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
 Chainsaws are not evil, there just plain fun!!! February 12, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Chainsaw is an enjoyable, informative book. I always wondered what happened to a number of old chainsaw companies. The book explains it's a lot like the auto industry as it matured. Great pictures. Easy reading.
If you like mostly old chainsaws or machines in general this book is fun to read. I was suprised the chainsaw took a lot of time and R and D to become what it is today.
Great history of chainsaws, but--- January 23, 2008
I am a Certified Arborist and climber. As such, I use chainsaws almost every day when I'm up in the trees or on the ground. I enjoyed this book and found the histories of the many manufacturers fascinating, the photos of old and rarely seen chainsaws great. My one problem with the book concerns how each manufacturer's history is presented: Each company is given a separate chapter and so each time you get up to the present time with one company and turn the page, you're back in the early 1900's with the next company. I think a more integrated approach would work far better when it comes to understanding how the industry developed, although I'm sure the author would have new headaches organizing his book along those lines. It would make for a much better read, I think, if we could read about what was going on with each company during a specific, say, decade, and see what was going on with their competitors at the same time. The timeline in the back of the book helps, towards that end, but the book needs to use the timeline in its organizational approach, as I see it. Still, this book is a great one for chainsaw enthusiasts and I salute the author for a job well done!
Great Book or Gift for a Chainsaw Enthusiast December 23, 2007
A great book or gift for a chainsaw enthusiast! There are people who use tools and people who love tools. This book will not teach anyone how to use a saw or fix a saw, but provides a unique perspective on the engineering and development of a classic power tool, and is a real treat for a 'tool hound' or someone who uses a modern chainsaw on a regular basis.
This is not a textbook, but slightly more informative that the typical 'coffee table book'. Beautifully illustrated with photographs of original and restored saws, primarily from a couple of remarkable private collections, along with some historical photos. It follows chronologically from early design efforts and unweildy contraptions, to more modern and powerful saws, and the lightweight marvels in use today.
Chainsaws: A History August 3, 2007
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
A comprehensive record of the histroy of chainsaws, unbvaluable publication for people in the indudustry
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