The Man Who Made Things Out of Trees

An exuberant tale of craftsmanship for nature lovers and rugged outdoor types everywhere Robert Penn cut down an ash tree to see how many things could be made from it. After all, ash is the tree we have made the greatest and most varied use of over the course of human history. Journeying from Wales across Europe and Ireland to the USA, Robert finds that the ancient skills and knowledge of the properties of ash, developed over millennia making wheels and arrows, furniture and baseball bats, are far from dead. The book chronicles how the urge to understand and appreciate trees still runs through us all like grain through wood.

Robert Penn is a journalist, woodsman, lifelong cyclist and the author of several books including the Sunday Times bestseller It's All About the Bike and. He lives in the Black Mountains, South Wales with his wife, three children, two spaniels, twelve bicycles and a collection of axes. He bakes his own bread in a wood-fired oven.