Review
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“Erin Bried can build a fire, thanks to
grandpa.”—USA Today
“A step-by-step guide to (almost) everything the hard-working,
self-sufficient Greatest Generation learned about life and
living.”—Chicago Tribune
“Don’t pass up How to Build a Fire…it’s [full of] knowledge our
grandhers seem to possess in abundance – life skills that made
them such stand-up guys.”—The Houston Chronicle
“How To Build a Fire is fascinating, humbling and humorous.”—The
Chicago Sun-Times
“Erin Bried can help you nail certain tasks.”—The New York Daily
News
“How to Build a Fire is a succinct life-skills book filled with
humor and wisdom…useful for both men and women….It’s a quick,
useful guide with a touch of nostalgia.”—Library Journal
“How to Build a Fire takes readers back to basics by championing
more than 100 practical life skills. All of them are guaranteed
for life, but are especially valuable during an economic
recession.”—Book Page
“How to Build a Fire offers sound advice on manual jobs and also
gives lessons on more subtle skills.”—Boston Globe
“How to Build a Fire makes a lovely stocking stuffer by a roaring
fire.”—SELF magazine
“Our elders could still teach us a lot—and you’ll find it all in
How to Build a Fire by Erin Bried. It demystifies stuff like
making ice cream (yay!) and playing dominoes. Your kids will
think you’re the coolest.”—Parenting magazine
“Although her book touches on the sacrifices of the “Greatest
Generation,” Bried’s How to Build a Fire is a companion piece to
Tom Brokaw’s 1998 book. The former newscaster’s book lauds the
efforts of the people who grew up during the Depression and saved
the world by winning World War II. Bried’s book acknowledges
those efforts – eight of the 10 grandhers served in the war –
but she lets them teach lessons big and small.”—Stockton Record
“How to Build a Fire is a practical guide to all those things you
always meant to learn, from breaking in a baseball mitt to
writing a love letter — and being a role model for your kids.”—St
Petersburg Times
“How many times have you wished your grandher were still
around to give you some priceless advice?”—Tulsa World
“…Fun to read. More importantly, it’s the perfect gift, birthday
or otherwise, for grandchildren of any age, or even their
parents! After all, you can only learn just so much on the
Internet.”—Monterey County Herald
“If How to Build a Fire is anything like How to Sew a Button,
then it will be a great gift for any young adult in your life,
male or female. Because honestly, we should all know how to sew
on a button and build a fire. Just in case…”—Frederick News Post
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About the Author
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Erin Bried is a senior staff writer at SELF magazine
and author of How to Sew a Button: And Other Nifty Things Your
Grandmother Knew, How to Build a Fire: And Other Handy Things
Your Grandher Knew and How to Rock Your Baby: And Other
Timeless Tips for Modern Moms. She's appeared on Today, Better
TV, and National Public Radio and in magazines and newspapers
nationwide. She lives with her baby daughter and her better half
in Brooklyn, New York, where she plays peek-a-boo, sings off-key
lullabies, and reads bedtime stories every night.
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Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
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1
Pioneering
Begin by knowing your way around your kingdom. That way, you'll
always be warm, safe, happy, and well fed wherever you go.
Grow Up
"Talk to s, and they will grow. Life without love, for all
living things, is nothing. If you give love to something, it will
reciprocate. That's how we are as humans, too."
-Angel Rodriguez
How to a Tree
Step 1: Choose the right tree. Consider not only its size, speed
of growth, shape, and looks, but also its hardiness. It should be
native to your area and strong enough to weather the hottest and
coldest temperatures, and all the sunshine and rain you may or
may not get. Other things to think about: Will your tree lose its
leaves every year (and do you really want to rake them)? Does it
bear fruit (and if so, will you eat it or curse it when it's
smushed on the bottom of your shoe)?
Step 2: Find a good spot. Look up, look down, look all around and
make sure your tree will have plenty of space to thrive. Your
tree may look small now, but it won't be for very long, and if
you a soon-to- be-big sucker right next to your house or
directly under utility lines, you'll be paying for that bad
decision for years to come. Also, a no-brainer: Before digging
any holes, call your local utility company to make sure you're
clear of any underground cables.
Step 3: Dig a hole. A well-ed tree will grow faster and live
longer than a poorly ed tree, so take care to do it right.
Using a shovel, dig a big ol' -shaped hole as deep as the
tree's roots (or root-ball) and at least twice as wide. The hole
will most certainly look bigger than you think it needs to be,
but the roots need that extra room to grow. Don't slack on the
digging.
Step 4: Measure up. Place your tree in the hole and see if it's
deep enough. If it's just right, proceed to step 5. If it's too
deep, put some soil back. If it's too shallow, go have a
lemonade. Then come back and keep digging.
Step 5: Position your tree. It should stand upright in the center
of the hole. If your tree comes in a container, tap the pot to
gently remove it, being careful not to rip the trunk from the
roots. If your tree comes with its roots wrapped in burlap, plunk
the whole thing in the pit and carefully remove the burlap, along
with any twine, wire, nails, or stes.
Step 6: Fill the hole. Replace the soil you removed, packing it
down firmly around the roots. You'll want your tree pit to catch
water, so make sure your tree grows from the pit's deepest point.
Then look for a little bulge at the base of your tree's trunk.
It's called the root collar, and you want your soil to snuggle
its bottom only. If you can't see your tree's collar, it may be
ed too deep.
Step 7: Add water. Give the ground a good soak.
Step 8: Spread mulch (wood chips or bark) around your tree a
couple of inches deep. It'll help keep the soil warm and moist,
prevent weeds and erosion, and just make the whole thing look
nice.
Step 9: Feel proud. Not only do trees help beautify the world,
but they also help you save on energy costs, improve your water
and air quality, give a home to songbirds, boost your property
value, and fight global warming. Take good care of it by watering
it once a week and pruning only dead or broken branches.
More Handy Tips:
To find the best trees for your area, enter your zip code at
ArborDay.org and get all the information you've ever dreamed of.
Better yet, join the Arbor Day Foundation for ten dollars, and
you'll receive ten free trees of your choice. Seriously.
If you're ing a sing with naked roots, remove any
packaging and soak the roots in a bucket of water for up to six
hours before ing.
If you're ing a tree that came in a pot and the roots look
tangled once they're free, use a utility and make an X on
the bottom of the root-ball and a vertical line down each side.
True
"By the time I was six, I was splitting wood. Make sure you've
got it lined up right and then go from there. It's not about
muscle. The ax will do the work for you, but you can help it a
little bit. If you're lucky, you'll hit it and have two pieces of
wood. Usually, it takes a few blows. And don't cut your feet!"
-Philip Spooner
How to Split Firewood
Step 1: Dress appropriately. Wear safety goggles, leather work
gloves, steel-toed boots, and a plaid flannel shirt, if you've
got one. The first three items will help protect you from harm,
while the last one will make you look butch. You'll also need a
maul, which is basically a ter version of an ax built
specifically for splitting wood vertically, as sed to
chopping across it. (Axes will work, too, but because they're
slimmer, they tend to get stuck in the wood more often, and
that's just frustrating.)
Step 2: Set a twelve- to eighteen-inch log on end on a raised,
flat wooden surface about fourteen inches tall. The perfect
chopping block: a sawed-off tree stump. Your second-best option:
on the soft ground. You may have to wrest your maul from the
depths of the dirt sometimes, but that'll only help you build
stronger muscles. Never ever split wood on pavement, or you and
anybody in your vicinity will get hurt. Flying shards of steel?
Not fun.
Step 3: Get in position, and eyeball where you'd like to split
the wood. Cracks are nature's way of helping you along, so take
advantage of them. Once you've focused on your target, place the
sharp edge of your maul on it and, with your arms fully extended,
grip the end of the handle with both hands. Step back a few
inches so you're slightly reaching, and your feet
shoulder-width apart.
Step 4: Prepare to strike. Pick up your maul and hold it parallel
to the ground, across the front of your body, blade facing away
from you. Place your weak hand at the base of the handle, palm
facing down, and your dominant hand closer to the head, palm
facing up. Grunt for good measure.
Step 5: Swing deep. Slightly bend your knees, and then raise your
maul overhead with your arms extended, allowing your dominant
hand to slide to the base of the handle. Keeping your eye on your
target, swing your maul in a downward motion to meet the wood.
Find the grace in the movement. Every woodsman knows that
technique (and gravity) counts more than brute strength.
Step 6: Repeat as necessary. Maybe it'll take one good crack,
maybe more. Just keep hitting your log in the same place until it
splits. Then keep going until you have your desired a of
splits. Save the little pieces, too. They make great kindling.
Step 7: Stack 'em up and let 'em dry. If it's new wood, it'll be
ready to burn in about nine months. If it's already seasoned,
it's ready to burn now.
More Handy Tips
Knotty, gnarly, or curvy wood can be tough to split. Save those
pieces for last or, better yet, just use them for decoration.
To gain more momentum in your swing, rise up on your toes before
dropping your maul.
If your maul does get stuck, keep a few steel wedges nearby and
tap them into the wood with a little sledgehammer. That'll
usually be enough to split the log into pieces and free your
tool.
Always remember, the best cure for a hot head and a cold house:
splitting wood. Do it as often as necessary.
Stay Warm
"We used to go camping when I was a boy. We'd put a lean-to in
our packs and head out and live off the country for three or four
days. If you spend a night in the woods and you don't know how to
build a fire, you're going to be cold."
-Bill Holloman
How to Build a Fire
Step 1: Find a good spot. Look for a clearing, one that's far
away from houses, trees, roots, and overhanging branches and also
sheltered from the wind. Then clear a circle about three feet
across, brush or dig out the center so it's slightly concave, and
place big, dry rocks around the edge.
Step 2: Gather your supplies: matches, tinder (twigs, dried
grasses and leaves, newspaper, and so on), kindling (sticks
smaller than your wrist), two or three dry, split, seasoned logs
about twelve to eighteen inches long, and a pail of water (or
sand or dirt) for safety.
Step 3: Build a tepee-shaped blaze. Just toss your tinder into
the center, leaving space for oxygen to circulate around it.
Stand your smallest pieces of kindling on end to form a pyramid
over your tinder. Repeat with three or four larger pieces of
kindling. Then, without knocking the whole thing over, hold your
breath and very gently lean a couple of logs on top. Exhale.
Step 4: Strike a match, light your tinder, and watch it all go up
in flames, just as you'd hoped. Once the fire really gets
roaring, the logs will topple over the hot coals to keep burning.
Add more logs as needed, being careful you don't smother the
flames.
Step 5: Get out your s'more fixin's and let the ghost stories
begin. Did you hear the one about the guy with a hook for a hand?
What about the girl with the ribbon around her neck? Come to
think of it, who is that standing behind that tree?
More Handy Tips
If there's not a lot of tinder around, you might have to get
creative. Try dried pine needles, pieces of papery birch bark, a
fallen bird's nest (pulled apart), or even the fluff from a
cattail (ahem, the kind that grows in wetlands, not the kind that
is connected to your neighbor's kitty). Pine pitch (or sap) will
always light, even on wet days. So will a cotton ball swabbed
with Vaseline.
To identify good fire logs, knock two together. If you hear a
clunk, they're ready to burn. If you hear a thud, they're
probably still too wet to do anything but smoke you out.
Never build your fire on top of rocks, and never toss rocks into
it, either. Hot rocks can explode, possibly causing harm to
anyone nearby.
Never leave an unattended fire burning. Always, always put it
out, using water, sand, or dirt.
To prevent your matches from getting wet, dip their tips in wax
and store them in an empty film canister.
No matches? Build a fire plow. Find a piece of soft wood about a
foot or two long and a very hard, pointy stick, about a foot
long. Rub the point of your stick along the grain of the soft
wood until you form a groove. When you see saw dust collecting,
rub faster; you'll eventually get a tiny burning ember. Touch it
to your tinder, and ignite your blaze. It may not be the quickest
way to start a fire, but it sure beats freezing your
you-know-what off.
Stay Afloat
"We had tin boat races in the basin, and they were thrilling.
You'd fold up a piece of corrugated iron, about three feet wide
and eight feet long, and fasten it together on the ends with
screws and tar. I had one that I called the Orchid, which I
painted lavender. I was doing real well in the race, but then I
got too exuberant and I capsized it and it sank. Of course, I
swam down and brought it back up again!"
-Buck Buchanan
How to Paddle a Canoe
Step 1: Climb aboard. This is the hardest thing you'll do all
day, but if you can get in a canoe without tipping it, then
you'll be golden on the pond. Just stay low in a crouched
position, step as close to the centerline as possible, and slide
both hands along the sides to steady yourself as you walk toward
your seat. If you're alone, sit in the back of the boat.
Step 2: Grab your paddle. If you're right-handed, grip the paddle
with your left hand on top of the handle and your right hand on
the shaft, closer to the blade. To check your grip, hold the
paddle in front of you, parallel to the water. Your arms should
be just slightly wider than shoulder-width apart.
Step 3: Use the simple J-stroke, so you don't have to be bothered
sw sides with every paddle. While keeping your chin up and
back straight, reach high with your paddle and then dive it into
the water just ahead of your knees. The blade should be
perpendicular to the boat and fully submerged. Then draw your
paddle alongside the boat, and when your left hand is extended
across your body and your right hand is even with your hips, turn
the blade parallel to the boat and use it as a rudder; push it
gently away from you to scoop out a gentle J-shaped hook. (On the
right side of the boat, it's actually a backward J.) Repeat the
stroke from the start.
Step 4: Check your course. If you're paddling properly, you
should be going in a straight line.
More Handy Tips
Always wear a life preserver and sunscreen when boating. Both can
save your life.
When your arm gets tired, switch sides (and grips), and use the
J- stroke on the other side. Remember, your J should always hook
away from the boat.
Keep your boat straight in rapids and waves. If you approach
either sideways, you'll swamp your boat, and it'll sink.
If you plan on paddling for a long time, bring water with you. A
snack couldn't hurt, either. And toss a change of clothes in a
dry bag, in case you happen to get wet.
Get Hooked
"When I was two and a half years old, my grandher got an alder
limb, a piece of twine, and a fishhook. He put an angleworm on
the hook and set me loose at the creek behind our house. I caught
a trout about four inches long! I came back and showed my mother.
She didn't know I was fishin'! She looked at my grandher and
said, "You left him all alone?" My grandher said, "He's old
enough to go fishin'. See? He caught one!"?"
-Philip Spooner
How to Catch a Freshwater Fish
Step 1: Gather your equipment: a spinning rod and reel (with
hook, line, and sinker attached); some bait; an ice-filled cooler
for your catch; a sandwich, drink, and chips (for you, not the
fish); and your fishing license. (Get one at your local bait shop
before you go, or you may be hit with a very large fine. What's
worse, you won't get to keep your catch or possibly even your
equipment.)
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