Carpenter: Build My Man is an inspired intriguing book that reveals men's responsibility for the current condition of our families. For years, MJ Lykins has had a waiting list of couples seeking help for difficult family issues. They want love back in their marriages. His limited number of hours, coupled with a desire to help each family, inspired him to write Carpenter: Build My Man. It is written to help men who want to restore love and do the best they can for their families. Using colorful, creative back drops mingled with true life stores, MJ Lykins presents a manageable and intriguing blue print that has impacted men positivity. He gives men the tools to change their life and families. He parallels a man's spiritual life with the construction of a home and walks men through step by step how they can rebuild their lives and relationships. It captures the pit falls found in many men and using his creative format encourages men to become the leader in their homes. It's written to reach men in all walks of life. Starting from where they are right now. His years of working with men played an important role in creating a motivating and comprehendible format that is easy reading. It's entertaining, yet reaches men's hearts. With encouragement from wives and children who have benefited from changed men, they helped to motivate MJ to create a book that can be put into the hands of all men. He reveals some of the creative coaching ideas he and his wife use in working with couples. This is a must-read for men with a struggling family, caught in the routines of life. If you want a renewed, revitalized, loving relationship in your life, then consider allowing a "Carpenter to build your man."

"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.""--

The Genius of Japanese Carpentry tells the story of the 1200-year-old Yakushiji monastery in Nara and the dedicated modern-day craftsmen who are working to restore what has been lost to the depredations of time, fire and warfare. Although the full monastery reconstruction will not be completed until 2030, one of the main temples, the Picture Hall, has been completely restored employing the same woodworking technology used to create the original building. This new edition of an architectural classic is by Azby Brown—one of the world's leading experts on Japanese architecture. It contains a new preface and many new text materials and photographs—most of them now available in color for the first time. Azby Brown chronicles the painstaking restoration of the temple through extensive interviews with the carpenters and woodworkers along with original drawings based on the plans of master carpenter Tsunekazu Nishioka. An inspiring testament to the dedication of these craftsmen and their philosophy of carpentry work as a form of personal fulfillment, The Genius of Japanese Carpentry offers detailed documentation of this singular project and a moving reminder of the unique cultural continuity found in Japan.