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Playing with Fire: The Art of Chopping and Burning Wood
How to get sparks back in your life and keep them burning.The blaze of a log fire on a cold night speaks to the heart in a way no other flame can. It has character and ever-changing form; it has vibrant colour and a balletic movement. Indeed, it was the flame that transformed the way life was lived on earth, but now that primary driver of evolution finds itself being extinguished in a modern world of microwaves, induction hobs and central heating. Gradually the flames are going out, as houses are now built without fireplaces, bonfires are banned, and schoolchildren are forbidden to use the Bunsen burner. But the sight of a flame remains as evocative as ever. Playing with Fire wants to inspire, and teach, looking at the history of fire and showing the wonders that the burning flame can conjure.
224 pages, Hardcover
Published December 11, 2017
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March 24, 2019
The cover is appealing and the title is worthy of consideration for the Diagram Prize and that was what attracted me to reading this book. I love a good fire but it is not my department to make it happen in any way whatsoever.
I'm flipflopping over whether this is a decent or just 'meh' book. The multiple copy-editing fails don't help the slight unease about how it may have been put together, and too many stock image pretty pictures (they may not be stock images but it is how they feel) But there is lots of interest in here, especially when Heiney talks to people connected with the business of wood and turning it into heat (foresters, stove makers, axe makers and so on). I felt as a book it would have done better as a more personal document and otherwise as a documentary film.
I'm flipflopping over whether this is a decent or just 'meh' book. The multiple copy-editing fails don't help the slight unease about how it may have been put together, and too many stock image pretty pictures (they may not be stock images but it is how they feel) But there is lots of interest in here, especially when Heiney talks to people connected with the business of wood and turning it into heat (foresters, stove makers, axe makers and so on). I felt as a book it would have done better as a more personal document and otherwise as a documentary film.
Displaying 1 of 1 review