The Book of Bamboo: A Comprehensive Guide to This Remarkable Plant, Its Uses, and Its History - Softcover

Farrelly, David

Softcover

ISBN 10: 087156825X ISBN 13: 9780871568250

Publisher: Sierra Club Books, 1984

Synopsis

Bamboo’s amazing versatility, strength, and beauty have given it a larger role in human culture than any other plant. Both sustainable and plentiful, it has been used for millennia to make objects ranging from clothing and housing to more exotic luxuries like phonograph needles and children’s toys, to name but a few.
This acclaimed sourcebook part history, part illustrated catalog, part cultivation guide details the myriad uses of bamboo, along with an immense bounty of information and lore on how to grow, maintain, and harvest this extraordinary plant; how to use it in craft and construction projects, including floors, fences, papers, and play equipment; and bamboo’s place in the literary, visual, and musical arts. An encyclopedic roster of more than 1,200 bamboo species is a book in itself, as is author David Farrelly’s A-to-Z catalog of artifacts made from bamboo: acupuncture needles, blowguns, bridges, kites, ships, violins, windmills, and a thousand other things.
Strong, flexible, and beautiful in both its natural and finished states, bamboo is an abundant resource that could beneficially replace many less sustainable materials currently in use, and continue to transform our culture in the process.

About this title

From the Inside Flap

e once again with a new preface by the author, The Book of Bamboo introduces us to the oldest, most remarkable resource on the planet. Part catalog, part history, The Book of Bamboo shows us how this versatile wood, which is both sustainable and plentiful, has been used for thousands of years to make items ranging from things needed for survival like clothing and housing to more exotic and luxurious objects like phonograph needles and children's toys, as well as dozens of others. With information both practical and wistful, David Farrelly tells us about the plant's biology and life cycle, gives tips on harvesting and planting, and lore about the ancient wood. Farrelly conveys the rich and timeless message that bamboo -- strong, flexible, and beautiful in both its natural and its finished states is an abundant resource that could beneficially replace many of the less sustainable materials now commonly used in many aspects of our daily lives and transform our culture in the process.

About the Author

David Farrelly has taught at Washington University, the University of Iowa, and the University of Saskatchewan. He has worked at planting, harvesting, and building with bamboo in rural Mexico, Nicaragua, France, and the United States.

Edition details

• Publisher: Sierra Club Books
• Publication date: 1984
• ISBN 10: 087156825X
• ISBN 13: 9780871568250
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 352