About book Cabin: Two Brothers, A Dream, And Five Acres In Maine (2011)
A decent book which could have been much better. Lou is at his best when describing the cabin, its construction, and the Maine woods surrounding it. Unfortunately, the book bogs down in some serious navel-gazing and amateur psychology. This may appeal to those who enjoy Doctor Phil type cathartic admissions, but it detracts from the Thoreau cabin experience. He also slips when describing the settlement of Maine, portraying this complex and nuanced story as the evil Europeans usurping the garden of Eden from the peace-loving and earth-friendly natives. Final analysis: an okay read which wanders from its thesis. Disclosure: I am prone to rant and rave violently against the tidal wave of navel gazing memoirs which has swept over the US publishing industry in recent years. And Louis Ureneck is a repeat offender no less! So I would normally be predisposed to savage Cabin's introspection in my review. However, I too am the owner of a rustic cabin (in the Adirondacks) and I closely followed "From the Ground Up" (the author's NY Times blog on the subject). Moreover I willingly bought this book knowing full well what I was getting into! Enough about me.In short, this was an excellent book, which I read more or less at a single sitting. As a "gentleman cabin owner" I can't emphasize enough how much we hang on the experiences of others. Nowadays, when driving around, I find my eyes constantly drawn to foundations and roofs. "Mmm...cinder block piers". "Look how they routed the stovepipe out the cabin side not the roof". "Now there's a great idea for firewood storage". Etc., etc. Cabin is full of great details like this. I also really enjoyed Ureneck's observations regarding wildlife, local ecology, weather, geography, and regional history.However, I am rating this four stars, not five, in part for the reasons noted above, but mainly because I craved even more details on construction, including (especially) the mistakes. How was the well insulated for winter? Did he use heated sleeves? But what was the power source since the cabin is not connected to local power lines? And so forth. More along the lines of Dick Proenneke.Make no mistake. Anyone who dreams of building a cabin in the woods would profit from this book, which is written with honesty and humility, and is full of useful information. Especially for foundation builders ;-)Comment
Do You like book Cabin: Two Brothers, A Dream, And Five Acres In Maine (2011)?
Quick read. Reminded me of Bill Bryson's style of mixed self-analysis, history and narrative.
—Britty
Beautifully written, fascinating detail, interesting back history notes
—karen
An excellent book about family, nature, and cabin building.
—hardz994
