Listening to Stone

Listening to Stone by Snow, Dan. hardcover edition. ISBN: 9781579653712.

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 Americas premier artisans, but also one of our most articulate voices on the natural world and our relationship to it. Snows medium is stone: He is the nations 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 Mausss tactile photographs of Snows artistry are matched by the artisans quietly compelling prose. In a voice as expressive as Annie Dillards and as informed as John McPhees, Snow demonstrates astonishing range as he touches on such subjects as geology, philosophy, and community. We learn that stones grace comes from its unique characteristicsits 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, Snows lifes 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."