From Publishers Weekly
"To know New England well, one must know its stone walls," writes the author of this authoritative paean to the structures he calls the "signatures of rural New England." There were once approximately 240,000 miles of stone walls in New England, and Thorson, a professor of geology and geophysics at the University of Connecticut, combines natural history and human history as he tells the story of the walls and how they were built. In his geo-archeological study, he begins by exploring how the stones, formed deep within the earth, were shaped and scattered by glaciation, buried under forest and soil buildup, brought to the surface after the New England pioneers cut down the trees and exposed the soil to frost heave, and tossed to the sides of their fields by early farmers clearing the land. He finds these tossed walls, which make up the majority of stone walls in New England, as aesthetically pleasing as the carefully constructed walls that came later. Every type of stone wall fascinates him. He extols their color, form and texture, the sounds they make, the shelter they provide for animals, their beauty as they disintegrate. As agriculture declined in the region, the walls were neglected, and today they are "almost as sad as they are simple," he says, for they are evidence of a lost Yankee culture. Now most of the walls have been abandoned, and their stones have become a cash crop to be sold and often carried far away from their original locations, which Thorson considers an "environmental tragedy." His book covers much technical material, but his enthusiasm for the subject brings it to life. Copious notes, extensive bibliography and an appendix with geologic time lines are included. Illus. not seen by PW.Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.


From Library Journal
As Thorson writes in his introduction, "Abandoned stone walls are the signatures of rural New England." The only national fencing census, made in 1871, estimated that there were approximately 240,000 miles of these "signatures." In telling their story, Thorson (geology and geophysics, Univ. of Connecticut) weaves together cultural and environmental histories with geography and natural science. With explanations written for a general rather than an academic readership, the author describes how the size, shape, and color of stones indicate how and where they were formed. These stones, as a natural resource of New England, shaped the culture of the region, beginning with the soil movement that yielded the stones from the ground. The resulting walls created microclimates and supported plant life while delineating property boundaries of the small family farms. Thorson traces the growth and decline of the farms and discusses the technological changes that resulted in the transition from an agricultural to an industrial nation. The author knows his subject thoroughly and communicates his enthusiasm. His intriguing book is best suited to public libraries and essential for libraries in New England.Denise Hamilton, Franklin Pierce Coll. Lib., Rindge, NH Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Booklist
Yielding plentiful insights about New England's signature stone walls, geologist Thorson's scientific treatment deepens appreciation of them as more than quaint artifacts. Despite popular lore, most of the walls are not legacies of the colonial era; in fact, most were built in the 50 years following independence, when a baby boom provided many hands for each year's petrological harvest. But before those labors, nature had worked to make the metamorphic rocks composing the walls. Thorson's story reaches back to the Mesozoic era then proceeds to the glaciation that shaped the landscape the colonists encountered, which, he underscores, was not the stony ground of popular conception. The stones were buried and surfaced in an inexorable process called frost-heaving, initiated by deforestation. An enlightening excursion that goes well beyond the romantic notions surrounding the walls. Gilbert Taylor
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

FROM THE PUBLISHER

There once may have been 250,000 miles of some mans in Americans Northeast stretching farther than the distance to the moon. Even though most of them are crumbling today, they contain a magnificent scientific and cultural story. Stone walls tell nothing less than the saga of how New England was formed. Every stone has a story, and in Thorson's portrayal they live and breathe. New England's stones are the remnants of ancient mountains formed by prehistoric collisions between continents, then broken apart and buried as glaciers moved and melted. As the stones gradually worked their way back to the surface, they became impediments to cultivating the land, so eighteenth-century farmers piled them into walls. Usually the biggest investment on a farm, stone walls became a defining element of the northeastern landscape and a symbol of the shift to an agricultural economy. Linking geological history to the early American experience, Stone by Stone presents a fascinating picture of the land the Pilgrims settled, allowing us to see and understand it with new eyes.

SYNOPSIS

Because there are 240,000 miles of them—enough to reach a near moon—Thorson (geology and geophysics, U. of Connecticut) considers the stone walls in New England not just architectural ornamentation, but landforms in their own right. As a geologist and geoarchaeologist, he studies how and why they were built, and what has happened to them since. Annotation c. Book News, Inc.,Portland, OR

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

"To know New England well, one must know its stone walls," writes the author of this authoritative paean to the structures he calls the "signatures of rural New England." There were once approximately 240,000 miles of stone walls in New England, and Thorson, a professor of geology and geophysics at the University of Connecticut, combines natural history and human history as he tells the story of the walls and how they were built. In his geo-archeological study, he begins by exploring how the stones, formed deep within the earth, were shaped and scattered by glaciation, buried under forest and soil buildup, brought to the surface after the New England pioneers cut down the trees and exposed the soil to frost heave, and tossed to the sides of their fields by early farmers clearing the land. He finds these tossed walls, which make up the majority of stone walls in New England, as aesthetically pleasing as the carefully constructed walls that came later. Every type of stone wall fascinates him. He extols their color, form and texture, the sounds they make, the shelter they provide for animals, their beauty as they disintegrate. As agriculture declined in the region, the walls were neglected, and today they are "almost as sad as they are simple," he says, for they are evidence of a lost Yankee culture. Now most of the walls have been abandoned, and their stones have become a cash crop to be sold and often carried far away from their original locations, which Thorson considers an "environmental tragedy." His book covers much technical material, but his enthusiasm for the subject brings it to life. Copious notes, extensive bibliography and an appendix with geologic time lines are included. Illus. not seen by PW. (Sept.) Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.

Library Journal