The Old Barn Book: A Field Guide to North American Barns & Other Farm Structures

For the barn scholar, not the barn lover. Bryan Lee I bought this book for some research I was doing on classic American barns, and this offered some helpful details, though I was a little disappointed in the quality of the photography, which are very grainy b & w shots, little more than casual snapshots. This is no coffee table book, but will offer some good information if pure technical detail is all you're after.. Michael Nation said Descriptive and informative. A very good textual description on different types of barns. The pictures could be a little better but overall a very good reference to use when identifying barns from our past. More information could have been used for the SE (Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina). Not much in the way of competition that I've seen so I'd recommend this book.. Barn research Jack I was able to obtain a quick general knowledge of barn types in the United States. Very appreciative that the writers researched these barns and illustrated their findings with photos and drawings.

ALLEN G. NOBLE is Professor of Geography at the University of Akron and author of Wood, Brick, and Stone: The North American Settlement Landscape.RICHARD K. CLEEK is Professor of Geography at the University of Wisconsin Center.

. From the Back Cover From hay barns to corn cribs, from fences to chicken coops, from silos to outhouses, 'The Old Barn Book's' clear drawings, photos, maps, and descriptions make it easy to figure what's what around a farm

With The Old Barn Book, you'll be able to spot the difference between a Dutch barn and a Swedish barn, a barn for cows and a barn for tobacco. You'll find out why some barns have hipped roofs and others gables, why some have doors at the end and others have them on the side, why some are wood and some are stone, why some are round. Their structures reflect the ethnic heritage of a region's settlers and the nature of the land itself. Whether you are nostalgic for farm life or like to drive out in the country or want to join in the barn preservation movement, you will find this book an indispensable guide.. Barns give character to the countryside