Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I snagged this book since I gravitate to most things involving wood and axes. I liked the layout and really enjoyed the tales of their neighbors and friends, but when I read the part about how to fell a tree I couldn't help but cringe. Felling trees is a regular part of my job with the US Forest Service. I'm no grizzled veteran faller but those I've worked with have enough confidence in my abilities to make me a saw instructor for our newer employees. That said, I found much of the Phibrick's falling process to be downright dangerous. The biggest example is their simple face cut. The photo shows a substantial dutchman (where the flat part of your face cut passes beyond the angle part). End result is you have little to no holding wood to control your tree on its way to the ground. If it's leaning back just a hair, or the wind pushes back, it'll just shear that little bit of wood (or big bit if your back cut is triple the appropriate size as the author's is) along the grain and the tree will go where it pleases. You want to have as much control of the tree as you can, especially if you have a wife and kids waiting for you at home. I could elaborate but I don't want to rant (too much). If you're looking for sound advice on falling trees (easy or complex) look to Professional Timber Falling by Douglas Dent, available at good logging supply warehouses, or find a copy of the Falling and Bucking Safety Guide put out by the Oregon state OSHA. Enjoy the stories and the nice pictures of stacked firewood around the world that this book offers, but please take your tree falling lessons from someone with a better understanding. I was astonished that the publisher seems to have skipped even the most basic technical review before putting it to the press.