This is no ordinary woodworking book, and James Krenov is no ordinary cabinetmaker. A glance at his work - illustrated here with over 150 beautiful color and black-and-white photographs - will show why his artisan ship stands among the finest in the world today. This book contains reflections on his life and work as a cabinetmaker - not just the how, but the why of a way of living and working with wood. Craftsmen in every medium will be inspired by this account of familiar and even recurring problems - getting started, finding one's true self in the work, developing habits that increase the joys and lessen the difficulties of a complex craft, and the crucial task of resisting the pressure to do less than one's best. Cabinetmakers, amateur or otherwise, will be fascinated by the discussion of the woods Krenov uses and his tools, as well as the individual pieces shown.