Log Buildings of Southern Indiana Review

Average Reviews:

(More customer reviews)Warren Roberts studied countless log buildings in Southern Indiana to write this book. He discusses the history of log cabins in America, and he develops an intriguing way to study the buildings to learn about American history. The book also has a thorough description of how a log building is constructed. The writing is so detailed that one could probably build a log cabin just by reading a few chapters. Roberts finds out some intriguing points about log buildings that challenge the conventional ideas about these structures. First, he provided convincing evidence that hewn-log buildings were probably covered with siding. When originally constructed, the first cabins were almost indistinguishable from frame houses. Second, Roberts challenges the "myth of the log cabin" by proving that log cabins were built more by members of a community working together rather than by lone, rugged individuals who were out to conquer the wilderness with little more than an axe, knife, and gun. It is an important study, and I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in architecture and American history.

Click Here to see more reviews about: Log Buildings of Southern Indiana

When a person set out to build his house in southern Indiana a century ago, a series of complex decisions had to be made: Shaped log or hewn-and-chinked? Dog-trot or I-house? Which neighbors can help? How many of the seventy-five necessary tools must be bought or made? How much time is available? How these decisions were made and how these structures were built can be found in Log Buildings of Southern Indiana, an invaluable book for anyone interested in the history, construction, and preservation of log buildings and the architecture of the American Midwest. Houses, barns, or outbuildings constructed of logs have always aroused interest, wonder, and curiosity in Indiana. To many people they represent a very tangible link with the past, a way of gaining insight into the everyday life of the pre-industrial era. Despite such interest, there have been few detailedstudies of the log buildings of southern Indiana. Based on a close study of more than 400 log buildings carried out over a period of many years, Warren Roberts attempts to fill that lack. Employing more than 50 photographs and 45 drawings, Roberts describes the extant log buildings of southern Indiana, categorizes them, and tells how they were built. He also presents the backgroundand history of log constructing in western Europe and the United States, and he discusses various theories concerning the origins of log constructionin America.

Click here for more information about Log Buildings of Southern Indiana