Product Description

It has been said that a shed is to a man what a handbag is to a woman - both contain all the essentials for surviving in the modern world and in the same way that no decent man would ever consider looking in a woman's handbag uninvited, so no reasonable woman would dream of setting foot in a man's shed. This book is a study of over 40 men and their sheds around the UK, a quirky look at the personalities and the passions hidden within the shed, whether it is used for eccentric inventions, as a chapel, a housing for a milk bottle collection, an allotment shed, a home for exotic reptiles or a place to make music. The fascinating story of each bloke and his shed is accompanied by photographs of the inner sanctum and of the customized exteriors.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #13618 in Books
• Published on: 2002-10-01
• Format: Illustrated
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 96 pages

About the Author
Gordon Thorburn started his writing career as an advertising copywriter before becoming a freelance journalist in corporate communications and eventually a full-time author of a variety of books ranging from romantic fiction through an account of the RAF to a hilarious look at village cricket. He lives in Buxton, Derbyshire.

Customer Reviews

Can't get you out of my shed
What an excellent way to imagine you have another life outside of the daily grind. Each of the short articles, accompanied by a picture, explains a different use that chaps have for their sheds. It is well presented and made me wonder in awe at the somewhat unusual spare (and not so spare) time activities of the shed-loving community. The photographs capture the esence of the activities undertaken in each shed, and it is amazing to look at how each shed has evolved over time to be an ideal partner for whatever goes in inside. It rather put my simple garden shed full of tools and garden equipment into the shade. It is a great read to flick through in any order, and gives flight to your imagination, and maybe your motivation, in order to contemplate what your old shed would be like with a lick of paint and a comfy chair.

An Englishman's home is... his shed
The shed is a powerful psychological totem for the Englishman. It is private space, sacred space, space for contemplation - oh and space for storing the debris of a life's hobbies, DIY, and assorted junk-gathering. This excellent little photo-essay on shedding covers a range of sheds and their owners ranging from the purely functional to the esoteric and eclectic. All human life (at least, all human life as comprehended by the Shed-Type Bloke) can be found within the walls of an outbuilding - the hopes, dreams and mad projects of the British male can be seen in extremis in this book.

Oh and it's funny too ;)

Sheds I have known and loved
This is a pretty cracking book, with some fantastic sheds featured, brought to life with some lovely black and white photography.

My only criticism is that the text lets it down a wee bit - I didn't feel that the author really gets to the bottom of the "shed thing", but tended instead to ramble on a bit about stuff that wasn't really relevant.

That said, it's worth buying on the strength of the photos - you can't help but smile looking at them!