How to Build Your Own Log Home for Less Than $15,000

If rustic is your favored style for building your own home quickly and cheaply, read this. The kind of guidebook in which attention to detail and clarity of illustration are paramount, Williams' effort doesn't disappoint in those respects, and with chapters like "The Basics of Chain-sawing," "Squaring or Milling Logs," and "Sawing Framing Timbers," he doesn't fail to provide truly basic guidance to bottom-up construction, either. At the other--the finishing--end, Williams offers instruction in wiring, plumbing, cabinet installation, and even has a chapter on making doors that is separate from the one on hanging them. This is, however, not about assembling a prefab log home or even one made of materials from the local supply company. Both simple enough for the novice and comprehensive enough for those who already know the business end of an auger and where to stick it, it is for the serious do-it-yourselfer. And as an added attraction for librarians and biblioholics: a whole chapter on building bookcases. Mike Tribby