This list is by no means meant as a complete, end-all, be-all of everything that you will ever need to be a craftsman or complete person. It is just a suggested reading list of books that I have found helpful, useful, insightful, and/or inspiring in my own craftsmanship journey. It is not meant as a bibliography for my personal philosophy or cannon for my new home-brewed kooky religion where I am allowed 4 wives, French bulldogs as sacred creatures, cookies & cold milk for the sacrament, and bicycles, Jeeps, and tractors are the only allowed form of mechanized transport… It is just a list of books.
- Baidarka: The Kayak by George Dyson
- A Cabinetmaker’s Notebook by James Krenov
- The Shaker Legacy: Perspectives on an Enduring Furniture Style by Chris Becksvoort
- The Complete Book of Shaker Furniture by Timothy Rieman
- The Furniture of Sam Maloof Paperback by Jeremy Adamson
- Shop Drawings for Greene & Greene Furniture: 23 American Arts and Crafts Masterpieces by Robert Lang
- Building Classic Arts & Crafts Furniture: Shop Drawings for 33 Traditional Charles Limbert Projects by Michael Crow
- English Arts & Crafts Furniture: Projects & Techniques for the Modern Maker by Nancy R. Hiller
- The Art Of Japanese Joinery by Kiyosi Seike
- Japanese Woodworking Tools: Their Tradition, Spirit and Use by Toshio Odate
- The Genius of Japanese Carpentry: Secrets of an Ancient Craft by Azby Brown
- The Woodwright’s Shop: A Practical Guide to Traditional Woodcraft by Roy Underhill
- Anarchist’s Tool Chest By Christopher Schwarz
- Campaign Furniture By Christopher Schwarz
- The most current National Electric Code (NEC) Book
- Machinery’s Handbook by Erik Oberg (I like the Toolbox Edition, but to each his own)
- British Campaign Furniture: Elegance Under Canvas, 1740-1914 By Nicholas A. Brawar
- Foxfire Series Book Collection Set Books 1-12
- The Pack Goat by John Mionczynski
- The New Traditional Woodworker: From Tool Set to Skill Set to Mind Set by Jim Tolpin
- Building Traditional Kitchen Cabinets by Jim Tolpin
- Mouldings in Practice by Matthew Sheldon Bickford
- Any Charles Hayward titles
- By Hand & Eye by George R. Walker & Jim Tolpin
- The Essential Woodworker By Robert Wearing
- The Case for Working with Your Hands, Or, Why Office Work Is Bad for Us and Fixing Things Feels Good by Matthew B. Crawford
- Welsh Stick Chairs by John Brown
- Roubo on Furniture
- Mastering Kilns and Firing: Raku, Pit and Barrel, Wood Firing, and More by Lindsay Oesterritter
- Amazing Glaze: Techniques, Recipes, Finishing, and Firing by Gabriel Kline
- Mastering Hand Building: Techniques, Tips, and Tricks for Slabs, Coils, and More by Sunshine Cobb
- Mastering the Potter’s Wheel: Techniques, Tips, and Tricks for Potters by Ben Carter
- Backyard Foundry for Home Machinists by B. Terry Aspin
- Bronze Casting Manual: Cast your own small bronze by Olivier O. Duhamel
- Castle by David Macaulay
- Canoecraft: An Illustrated Guide to Fine Woodstrip Construction by Ted Moores
- Building a Strip Canoe, Second Edition, by Gil Gilpatrick
- Illustrated Guide to Wood Strip Canoe Building By Susan Van Leuven by Susan Van Leuven
- Fuselage Frame Boats: A guide to building skin kayaks and canoes by S. Jeff Horton
- Canoe and Kayak Building the Light and Easy Way: How to Build Tough, Super-Safe Boats in Kevlar, Carbon, or Fiberglass by Sam Rizzetta
- Canoe Paddles: A Complete Guide to Making Your Own by Graham Warren and David Gidmark
- Making a Bent Shaft Laminated Canoe Paddle: Instructions for the DIY Paddle Maker by Jeff Bach
- The Complete Guide to Sharpening by Leonard Lee
- Let My People Go Surfing: The Education of a Reluctant Businessman by Yvon Chouinard
- Companies We Keep: Employee Ownership and the Business of Community and Place by John Abrams
- Moving Heavy Things by Jan Adkins
- Timber Frame Construction by Jack Sobon and Roger Schroeder
- Advanced Timber Framing: Joinery, Design & Construction of Timber Frame Roof Systems by Steve Chappell
- Timber Frame Hybreds: Enduring Traditions, Boundless Possibilities by Anthony F. Zaya and Tim Diener
- English Historic Carpentry by Cecil Hewett
- The Marlinspike Sailor by Hervey Garrett Smith
- The Art of Albert Paley: Iron, Bronze, Steel by Edward Lucie-Smith
- Thomas Wilson’s Ironwork Notebooks: Inspiration from a Master by Sally Adam
- The Complete Modern Blacksmith by Alexander Weygers
- Metallurgy for the Non-Metallurgist by Arthur Reardon
- Hardening, Tempering and Heat Treatment by George Gently
- Anvils in America by Richard Postman
- New Edge of the Anvil: A Resource Book for the Blacksmith by Jack Andrews
- Stahlgestaltung (Blacksmithing functional art in German) by Fritz Kuehn