What an inspiring man! George Nakashima was a revolutionary woodworker whose passion was to be true to the purpose of the wood, to bring out the innate glory of the tree: "Each flitch, each board, each plank can have only one ideal use. The woodworker, applying a thousand skills, must find that ideal use and then shape the wood to realize its true potential."

Rather than read some analysis of Nakashima's style, here you can read his own words. Drawings by Nakashima's own hand. Chapters about species of trees, their spiritual and practical uses. Pages about where to cut, and why. Gorgeous photos of Nakashima's stunning original designs that are so lovely, you'll want to run your fingertips over the paper. Slabs of trees that make a woodworker's heart race. A genius of a man who enriched our lives, even if we never knew him.

What an inspiring man! George Nakashima was a revolutionary woodworker whose passion was to be true to the purpose of the wood, to bring out the innate glory of the tree: "Each flitch, each board, each plank can have only one ideal use. The woodworker, applying a thousand skills, must find that ideal use and then shape the wood to realize its true potential."

Rather than read some analysis of Nakashima's style, here you can read his own words. Drawings by Nakashima's own hand. Chapters about species of trees, their spiritual and practical uses. Pages about where to cut, and why. Gorgeous photos of Nakashima's stunning original designs that are so lovely, you'll want to run your fingertips over the paper. Slabs of trees that make a woodworker's heart race. A genius of a man who enriched our lives, even if we never knew him.

If you want more detail, I wrote an expanded review with images at http://clearheartblog.blogspot.com/2012/04/george-nakashima-soul-of-tree.html ( )