Shelters, Shacks & Shanties: And How to Build Them (ISBN 1558219528)

This book is great! Read this review.:
This book is great! I would recommend this to anyone 12+, because the shelters are quite hard to build. It is excellent for boy scouts. I got this for Christmas and in my troop were starting on plans already! Great for any wilderness lover and I recommend all the related books! 1/16/08

simple, practical construction:
I was looking for ideas on simple structures for the homestead. The book is a bit dated, but you have to go back to find simple, uncomplicated ideas. We have grown so accustomed to specialized fasteners, tools and other hardware. Building a simple shed can be expensive when you have to buy materials. We have an abundance of raw materials and this book provided some ideas towards cost effective structures.

YOU "SHAN'T" REGRET BUYING D. C. BEARD'S "SHANTY BOOK!":
I'VE KNOWN OF AND ENJOYED "SHELTERS, SHACKS & SHANTIES" SINCE MY GRANDFATHER GAVE ME THE ORIGINAL EDITION, WHEN I WAS A MERE PUP. A LOT OF THE ITEMS HAVE BEEN ACTUALLY "FIELD TESTED" (SUCH AS THE "TRICK" OF MAKING A BOG-SHANTY FOUNDATION OUT OF A BRUSH-MAT!) AND REALLY PROVEN TO "WORK" IN THE WILD, OVER A YOUTH FRITTERED AWAY PLAYING "SASQATIL," AS THE THE GREYHAIRED ELDER INDIANS CALLED HIM. AS A YOUNGSTER I THOUGHT NOTHING OF GOING OUT FOR A COUPLE WEEKS WITH 25-30 POUNDS OF GEAR, FEASTING ON FISH AND CORNPONE AND SLEEPING IN A SIMPLE BEARD-INSPIRED STICK-SHACK TO KEEP THINGS "CIVILIZED." EVEN THE BOG-SHANTY WAS BUILT, AND DAN BEARD'S SUGGESTION FOR MAKING A STONES-AND-SOIL HEARTH FOR COOKING WAS TESTED AND FOUND PRACTICAL! (YES, YOU CAN COOK ON AN OPEN HEARTH, IN A POLE SHACK, ATOP A WOODEN FLOOR, BUILT ATOP A 7-FOOT-THICK PAD OF BRUSH, WITHOUT MAKING AN ASH OF YOURSELF!) THE TRICKS AND TIPS REALLY WORK, IN "THE REAL WORLD," AND THE ADVANTAGE IS THAT ALL OF THESE STRUCTURES UTILIZE SUCH SMALL STICKS & TIMBERS THAT THE SO-CALLED "GREEN IMPACT" IS TRIVIAL; SUCH SAPLINGS AS ARE USED ROUTINELY DIE AS THEY ARE CROWDED OUT BY BIGGER TREES, AND THE THINNING-OUT FOR BUILDING MATERIALS FREES UP WATER AND NOURISHMENT FOR THE MORE ESTABLISHED TIMBER. SO LONG AS SOMEONE DOESN'T GO BONKERS AND TRY TO BUILD A HAMLET IN A HECTARE OF TIMBER, AN OCCASIONAL SHELTER, SHACK OR SHANTY SHAN'T STRESS MOTHER NATURE, UNDULY! EVEN IF YOU NEVER BOTHER WITH SUCH PRIMITIVE CONSTRUCTION, EVERYTHING YOU'LL READ ABOUT WAS SOLIDLY BASED ON HOW THINGS WERE DONE BY "PREHISTORIC PEOPLES," GOING BACK AS FAR AS YOU CARE TO LOOK! YOU'LL CERTAINLY GET A VERY NOVEL HANDS-ON INSIGHT INTO HOW EARLY PEOPLES HAD BUILT THEIR DWELLINGS, AND THE BOOK'LL BREAK KIDS OF THE TIRESOME MYTH THAT "ALL INDIANS LIVED IN TEEPEES." (GIVE ME A BREAK!) JUST MAKE SOME OF THESE SHACKS FOUR OR SIX TIMES AS WIDE, AND ONE OR MAYBE EVEN TWO HUNDRED FEET LONG, AND YOU'VE GOT PRETTY GOOD VERSIONS OF THE LONGHOUSES OF THE IRIQUOIS CONFEDERATION! THE BOOK'S ALSO GREAT FODDER FOR FUN FANTASIES AND DELIGHTFUL DAYDREAMS, AND DOZENS OF IMAGINARY DEEP-WOODS OUTINGS, AS WELL AS BEING A WONDERFUL RESOURCE TOOL FOR WRITERS WHOSE OUTDOOR WORKS OCCASIONALLY TURN THEIR BACKS ON EDDIE BAUER & CO. ENJOY!

This book is great! Read this review.:
This book is great! I would recommend this to anyone 12+, because the shelters are quite hard to build. It is excellent for boy scouts. I got this for Christmas and in my troop were starting on plans already! Great for any wilderness lover and I recommend all the related books! 1/16/08

Old book but great ideas do not grow old!:
I know that most people will find this book to be anything but "green" however, I found this concept to be perfect in a world that sometimes forgets what it is like to be young at heart. Some of the shelters are not safe and one should always supervise young children who if left alone will build forts and such, yet there is a certain allure about thinking you are back in time and surviving on your own wits. Great ideas for survival campouts or if you like getting out "there" and just might once or twice get too far out "there" and find yourself in the need of an overnight shelter. Loved the book and will use or adapt many of the detailed plans.