Product Description

A master craftsman provides us with the timeless wisdom he has gained from heaving and hewing stone.

In his highly anticipated second book, Vermonter Dan Snow once again proves that he is not just one of America's premier artisans, but also one of our most articulate voices on the natural world and our relationship to it. Snow's medium is stone: He is the nation's premier drystone wall builder. Schooled in this ancient craft, he painstakingly creates structures as breathtaking as sculpture with nothing but gravity as their glue. In Listening to Stone, Peter Mauss's tactile photographs of Snow's artistry are matched by the artisan's quietly compelling prose.

In a voice as expressive as Annie Dillard's and as informed as John McPhee's, Snow demonstrates astonishing range as he touches on such subjects as geology, philosophy, and community. We learn that stone's grace comes from its unique characteristics—its capacity to give, its surprising fluidity, its ability to demand respect, and its role as a steadying force in nature. In these fast-paced times, Snow’s life's work offers an antidote: the luxury of patience, the bounty and quietude of nature, the satisfaction of sweat. "I work with stone," he ultimately tells us, "because stone is so much work."

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #29720 in Books
• Published on: 2008-11-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Dimensions: .90" h x 7.00" w x 9.90" l, 1.44 pounds
• Binding: Hardcover
• 145 pages

Review
"What a pleasure to have the tales of these new wonders told, and in such lovely prose."—Bill McKibben, author of The End of Nature

About the Author
Since 1976, Dan Snow has been hand-building unique drystone constructions for clients in New England and abroad. He is one of only a handful of Americans certified by Great Britain's Dry Stone Walling Association. He lectures and leads workshops and is the subject of the documentary film Stone Rising. He lives in Dummerston, Vermont.

Peter Mauss is a photographer of architecture, interior design, and landscapes. He lives in Vermont and New York.

Customer Reviews

My Favorite Book of the Year
I've been a huge fan of Dan Snow since I received his first book, In the Company of Stone, 6 years ago as a gift from my father. I often find myself re-reading this cherished volume, so perhaps it's not too much of a surprise that Dan's next book scores at the top of my list of favorite books I've read this year. It is difficult to keep the hands of family and friends off my copy, because they inevitably find themselves fascinated not only by the thought-provoking and entertaining writing, but by the beautiful and intriguing photos as well. If you are interested in stone walls or sculpture, you will love this book. Dan Snow writes about not only his relationship with stone, but the relationship that stone has with the rest of us, (and, for that matter, the world) with fresh perspective. The writing is cleanly and carefully crafted such that each word, sentence, and paragraph seem to fit as gracefully together as the stones that comprise his creations. The result is simply delightful; I highly recommend this book.

Pure Zen
This is a beautiful little book. Sitting out here in Hawaii reading "Listening to Stone", my mind was immediately transported to the verdant Vermont countryside where a man still works with his hands in the most elemental way with the most elemental of materials. While the rest of us struggle with the strangeness of modern life, Snow has found a livelihood in simplicity itself. His art is beautiful in a Zen way where the material fits in nature without spoiling it.

The language of the book is wonderful too. His descriptions are vivid and poetic.

I loved it.

Poetic, Inspiring, Dream-like
While reading this inspiring and visually appealing little book it kept reminding me of a book I owned in the early 1970's (now long lost, alas, in my perigrinations). It was a book of selected works by the American poet Robinson Jeffers with photographs of the stunning stone house he built with his own hands over several decades on a cliff overlooking the California coast which he called "Tor House." Etched in a granite block over his mantlepiece was the line from Virgil, "Ipsi sibi somnia fingunt" -- Rough translation: "They make their own dreams for themselves."

I don't know if craftsmen make the best poets, but Vermonter Dan Snow is very poet-like in his worldview and the richness of his expression. I kept wondering whether he was a better stone-craftsman or writer. He excels in both endeavors. His lifework is really the realization of his inner fantastic dreams. Less a "how-to" book than an ethereal and heady meditation on stone, its place in the physical world, and the ways in which man may manipulate it, use, venerate it, Snow succeeds brilliantly. The writing is very thought provoking, almost meditative.

What fascinated me most about Dan Snow's work is this irony--it is founded in the most practical of media--stonework, and yet has this dream-like quality as well.

Peter Mauss's photographs are stunning, and capture the other-worldly and sometimes bizarre quality of Snow's structures. My favorites were the several outdoor fireplaces or fire pits surrounded by the wild verdure of a Vermont skyline.

Highly recommended from this reader!