Tower: Faith, Vertigo, and Amateur Construction

There are hundreds, if not thousands, of tiny towers to appreciate ... All are mere pebbles on the earth's surface. It is the tall imagination that counts, in this book at least. Tower is Bill Henderson's winning personal account of erecting, by hand & almost entirely on his own, a wooden tower on a plot of land in Maine. For Henderson, constructing the edifice--which he resolutely declares to have "no purpose," religious or utilitarian--is an exercise in faith & self-reliance. Henderson guides us through the details of design & construction with clear illustrations & with humor, often digressing to contemplate the various towers of Yeats, Joyce, Sam Rodia, & Gustave Eiffel. The finished result is not only Henderson's completed tower, in which we share an inspiring sense of accomplishment, but a revelatory insight into what motivates the builders & thinkers who precede our own efforts to gain a higher viewpoint. "Perhaps the gentlest, sweetest, most introspective & humblest towering achievement in the history of towering achievements." --Bill Roberts, Newsday. "A Luminous achievement ... worth its weight in gold." --John Robinson, Maine Sunday Telegram.Bill Henderson is the author of 'Tower: Faith, Vertigo, and Amateur Construction' with ISBN 9780865476141 and ISBN 0865476144.