Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

This book is a reproduction of three Popular Mechanics Magazine publications from before WW I, at the height of the Mission furniture craze. It includes about 100 projects. Each one consists of a parts list, one to two pages of text (a total of about 200-500 words), a black-and-white shaded drawing of the finished piece of furniture (sort of like a bad photo) and minimalist plans. The plans are simple front and side elevations. Don't expect exploded views like one would find in a modern woodworking magazine. A paragraph from the text for a five-drawer dresser/mirror combination is illustrative of the brevity of much of the instructions: QUOTE: In working up the various parts, proceed in the usual manner. If not thoroughly familiar with the various tool processes involved, it will be necessary to investigate pieces of nearby furniture and to read up some good text dealing with the processes involved. In other words, don't buy this book if you are a novice woodworker looking to have your hand held, step-by-step through the construction process. What one really gets with the purchase of this book are two things. First, an interesting look at turn-of-the-century America and the arts & crafts period, from the perspective of a middle-class magazine for home craftsmen. Second, one gets a collection of designs for generic mission or arts & crafts furniture. To me, the vast majority of the designs are unappealing. At best, they seem just a little off target, as though a high-school woodshop class student were given an assignment to make an original mission furniture piece. However, there are a few interesting pieces. I bought this book because I buy *EVERYTHING* about Stickley/Mission/Roycroft furniture. I do not regret the purchase, but I will probably never make any of the projects, and if I did I would have to spend a half a day (at least) making production drawings of the parts for the furniture.