A Carpenter's Life as Told by Houses

By: Larry Haun

Narrated by: Patrick Lawlor

From one of Fine Homebuilding's best-loved authors, Larry Haun, comes a unique story that looks at American home building from the perspective of twelve houses he has known intimately. Part memoir, part cultural history, A Carpenter's Life as Told by Houses takes the reader house by house over an arc of 100 years. Along with period photos, the author shows us the sod house in Nebraska where his mother was born, the frame house of his childhood, the production houses he built in the San Fernando Valley, and the Habitat for Humanity homes he devotes his time to now. It's an engaging read written by a veteran builder with a thoughtful awareness of what was intrinsic to home building in the past and the many ways it has evolved. Builders and history lovers will appreciate his deep connection to the natural world, yearning for simplicity, respect for humanity, and evocative notion of what we mean by home.

©2011 Larry Haun and Kevin Ireton (P)2011 The Taunton Press

A real treat

This was a great surprising read of the life of the legendary Larry Haun.

A philosophers must read

Houses are the secondary story. I found the most interest in his stories. As he says, "it's our stories in the end that we really have". There are some god history lessons told as well. It will you make you think about our 'progress'.

Right on, Larry!

Larry Hahn’s wonderful history of American house carpentry in the twentieth century is slightly marred by his sometimes cynical and disappointed presentation. More people should be like Larry. His experience is very valuable. Having built my own home in the eighties, I wish I knew a fraction of what he explains. I hope the print version of this book is well illustrated, as his words are worth a thousand pictures.

Plumb Level & True

A story-telling carpenter who left footprints in the sands of time.words to live, and build, by.

Great memoir!

As a carpenter I have loved Larry Hauns articles/videos. He was of a different breed than us young carpenters of today. Such an interesting take on housing and what it actually is and does. Definitely recommend this to anyone interested in history and housing.

Touching story with some nice technical details and relevance

A touching story told by an honest, hard-working man. As he says himself, though, he’s fond of a good bumper sticker, and his pattern of constantly coming back around to generalized points gets a little old. Does not distract from the importance of the message, however.

great

it caught me by surprise, as I tought it was a more technical book. with that said I couldn't stop listening to it.

chapter 14

to the heart of my life, and ours. from age 30 to now 74, I gardened; from steuben county NY, to the blue ridge mountains Virginia, to the coast of Maine, to the worst central Florida. now half my plants are for pollinators. i was always germinating seeds, planting out in row tunnels. this book speaks for my heart.

I’ve been carpenter since 1981 and a fan since 1987.

I got by first look at Fine Home Building and Larry in ‘87. I subscribed on the spot and collected as many back issues as I could. It was my version of a college education and Larry Hahn was my favorite teacher.

Very well done

Great story that weaves the life of the man with the evolution of homes in north America. Very interesting.