The Man Who Made Things Out of Trees - Rilegato

Beautifully crafted, [The Man Who Made Things Out of Trees ranges] freely over intellectual territory - masculinity, nostalgia, identity . . . Fascinating . . . Never have the benefits of getting your chopper out appeared more obvious (Robert Crampton, Books of the Year The Times)

There's a bit of a wood theme this year, in fact, with ... Robert Penn's The Man Who Made Things Out of Trees. One can't help but wonder if all these books encouraging self-reliance and back-to-nature are signs of impending apocalypse (Ian Sansom, 'Books of the Year' Guardian)

This book is bound for great things (Sophie Morris Independent)

Penn is a fine writer, and the mix of research, reportage and personal reflection is persuasive . . . A lovely book (Ed Cumming Observer)

[An] extended tribute to the beauty and usefulness of the ash tree... A homage to vanishing skills that were once integral to the functioning of rural Britain (Tom Fort Literary Review)

A eulogy to the importance of ash throughout human history . . . Fascinating (Tobias Jones Guardian)

I was completely smitten . . . [A] delightful, page-turning love letter to an often-overlooked material (Grant Gibson Craft Magazine)

Often wry and always interesting . . . A passionate love letter to the ash tree (Harry Wallop Daily Telegraph)

This book is a great pleasure to read . . . I defy anyone to read this and not want their own collection of natural and unique objects to connect our daily lives back to the natural woodland which once covered the country (Royal Geographical Society)

A delight to read . . . Penn's writing is poetic . . . [The Man Who Made Things Out of Trees] speaks to the quality of the human experience, of craftwork and making things by hand, of appreciating resourcefulness and natural beauty (Nathalie Spencer RSA)

Robert Penn is an author, journalist and TV presenter. Robert wrote and presented Tales from the Wild Wood, a TV series about British woodlands. He lives in a wooded valley in the Black Mountains, South Wales, with his wife, three children, two spaniels and a collection of axes.